psychodrama

American  

[sahy-koh-drah-muh, -dram-uh, sahy-koh-drah-muh, -dram-uh] / ˌsaɪ koʊˈdrɑ mə, -ˈdræm ə, ˈsaɪ koʊˌdrɑ mə, -ˌdræm ə /

noun

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

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psychodrama British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• psychodramatic adjective

Etymology

Origin of psychodrama

First recorded in 1935–40; psycho- + drama

Example Sentences

While essentially a disaster film, the visually alarming and nerve-racking “Fukushima” is also a cross-cultural psychodrama, about an industry, and perhaps a society, having a meltdown all its own.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

They’ll get into the psychodrama of Kit Harrington’s Henry Muck, the thrilling parallels to real world stories, the tragic downfall of Eric Tao, and more.

From Slate • Mar. 3, 2026

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has warned her MPs against more plotting and "psychodrama" after two defections from the party in four days.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

It would make a great double-feature with Burt Lancaster’s 1968 “The Swimmer,” another hallucinatory psychodrama about a braggart skidding downhill.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Then you are faced with only one alternative: psychodrama.

From The Capgras Shift by Vaknin, Samuel