SOCIOANALYSIS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

Abstract

At the twenty-first annual meeting of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, held in New York City in 1962, Dr. Moreno suggested that those who based their therapeutic approach on sociometric theory, whether engaged in group psychotherapy, individual therapy or psychodrama apply the term "socioanalysis" to describe their work. He expressed the view that it was essential to reach a consensus around a single term which could be clearly differentiated from psychoanalysis. The term "socioanalysis" seemed most appropriate to him because it had always been his position that in psychotherapy we must deal with the socius, the whole man in interaction with others. It is not a segment of an individual that is involved in any action. Since the entire individual must be involved, no reduction to simpler elements of abstraction can prove adequate. The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of the theoretical basis of socioanalysis and its application to psychotherapy.