psychodrama

[ sahy-koh-drah-muh, -dram-uh, sahy-koh-drah-muh, -dram-uh ]

noun

1. a method of group psychotherapy in which participants take roles in improvisational dramatizations of emotionally charged situations.

psychodrama

/ ˌsaɪkəʊdrəˈmætɪk; ˈsaɪkəʊˌdrɑːmə /

noun

1. psychiatry a form of group therapy in which individuals act out, before an audience, situations from their past
2. a film, television drama, etc, in which the psychological development of the characters is emphasized

Derived Forms

• psychodramatic, adjective

Other Words From

• psy·cho·dra·mat·ic [sahy-koh-dr, uh, -, mat, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychodrama¹

First recorded in 1935–40; psycho- + drama

Example Sentences

In Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, Crispin writes, “the focus of attention is the self, and the beautiful locale becomes the backdrop of the real action, which is interior psychodrama.”

From Outside Online

The sorry French psychodrama surrounding the Rwanda tragedy has to stop.

From The Daily Beast

And the curse of the Boomer psychodrama about the Clintons will be canceled for lack of interest.

From The Daily Beast

And the psychodrama that ensued has been a gift that keeps on giving.

From The Daily Beast

The psychodrama is finally penetrated by news when the BP oil spill takes place (I know, soooo 2010).

From The Daily Beast

Tweeters compared the new "psychodrama" to Feydeau, the Belle Epoque playwright famed for bedroom farce.

From The Daily Beast