THE CANDLE TECHNIQUE IN PSYCHODRAMA

Abstract

One of the most sens1trve issues in every form of group psychotherapy is the problem of how to confront a protagonist with feedback about himself in a relatively non-threatening manner. The responses of the protagonist who receives the feedback are often unpredictable and may range from acceptance to a complete denial. The responses may also vary from one set of conditions to another. This difficulty of predicting the response of a given protagonist to feedback is well known to practicing group psychotherapists and is also documented in the psychological literature. Thus, while there is evidence suggesting that receiving feedback about one's own behavior enhances the process of learning in the course of a psychotherapeutic situation (e.g. Kaswan and Love 1969, Rogers 1968), others have demonstrated (Ginot 1974) that exposure to self-confrontation may be perceived as a threat resulting in defensive behavior and perceptual distortions.