CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES OF ROLE PLAYING AND ROLE TRAINING UTILIZING PSYCHODRAMATIC METHODS IN GROUP THERAPY WITH ADOLESCENT DRUG ADDICTS

Abstract

CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES OF ROLE PLAYING AND ROLE TRAINING UTILIZING PSYCHODRAMATIC METHODS IN GROUP THERAPY WITH ADOLESCENT DRUG ADDICTS EUGENE ELIASOPH Riverside Hospital, Ne York Despite the addict's progress in treatment in the Riverside Hospital in- patient and follow-up program, he must inevitably face the situation in which he is confronted with drugs.1 At that point, he must make a choice as to his_ future course. This is truly a decision, a commitment, in the existential sense.2 As Sartre might conclude, all previous history cannot be relied on at this moment, this precise moment of engagement. In dealing with this in individual treatment with the patient, it is extremely difficult to bring the sense of urgency, and the reality of the situation, into focus. The most effective method that I have been able to utilize to accomplish this is the psychodramatic technique of role playing and actual acting out of real life situations with anticipation of the recurrence of such situations