Home The Art of Theater Theatrical Literature and History Social Science and the Theater Theater in Health Care and Sports Credits Links   Sports and Health Care Theater has always been a part of human culture. Theater has primarily been used for entertainment purposes. In the past few years, however, theater has explored new opportunities to help people. This practice is called Psychodrama. Psychodrama is used for treating certain mental and emotional disorders. This may be a wave of the future in medical healing. Even though theater covers a broad spectrum of topics, it continues to be limited in the area of sports. Theater has touched upon sports occasionally such as in the production of Damn Yankees. One of the reasons that productions involving sports are few and far between, is because of the difficulty in creating the scene. Something such as a football field may be hard to create on stage in a way that is realistic. Another reason that there haven't been many plays about sports is because it is difficult to find a central conflict or theme.   Psychodrama: The use of drama to heal the mind Drama therapy has its main focus on the intentional use of the healing aspects of drama and their therapeutic process. It is a method of working and playing that uses action methods to facilitate creativity, imagination, learning, insight, and growth. -Definition of the British Association for Drama therapist   Psychodrama is a method of treatment that treats a person's reality as sacred. People who have had scarred pasts are allowed to reclaim parts of it and integrate those parts into positive present day life experiences. Psychodrama is a method of dramatic therapy that deals with and treats a persons inner emotions. Psychodrama is targeted towards people who are in the "experience" level of life. What this means is that this method of treatment is not meant for very small children. It is meant for those children and adults who have gone through an emotionally or physically disturbing experience. Psychodrama was first developed by Dr. J.L. Moreno, a psychiatrist who came to the United States in 1925. He was the pioneer in the field of psychotherapy. But like many forerunners, several of his achievements are now ignored and pushed aside by newer and better ways of thinking. In psychodrama the patient is the "protagonist." The therapist serves many times as the "director. " Other group members play other roles. They are often times referred to as "auxiliary egos." The purpose of this setting is so the patient can directly interact with humans acting out his/her internal conflict. Psychodrama is becoming increasingly popular. If you are interested in the field of Dramatherapy, please follow the link below to NYU where there is an excellent dramatherapy program.   NYU Dramatherapy