EXPLORING PSYCHODRAMATIC TECHNIQUES WITH DEFECTIVE DELINQUENTS

Abstract

Psychodrama as a therapeutic technique for the mentally retarded has been notably neglected. Stacy and De Martino (3) report that "this is unfortunate since it seems very likely that psychodramatic approaches could be used very successfully with the mentally retarded because of the great amount of freedom, spontaneity, and flexibility which characterize the psychodramatic methods." Tawadros ( 4) found that role playing and spontaneity training was possible with retarded adolescents with an I.Q. as low as 50. Flegler (1) used dramatic play in a classroom of retarded children. Many of their class activities centered around the production of a story with
which they were familiarized. Psychodramatically, they used spontaneous expression, guided by the teacher, to act out the story. Fliegler felt that the children improved in reading skills, visual memory, auditory memory and discrimination, and listening skills. Moreno (5) used role playing techniques in the treatment of mentally retarded girls, (I.Q. as low as 50), 1934. Sarbin (6) in the article "Spontaneity Training of the Feeble Minded," 1945, reported beneficial results with feeble-minded children.