Developed by the German psychotherapist Hanscarl Leuner, Symboldrama combines methods from both classical and modern psychoanalysis, and it draws on Jung’s work with symbols and the unconscious. The method is also known as Katathym Imaginative Psychotherapy because it focuses on working with a person's imagination.
Symboldrama is based on the principles of depth psychology, using the client's imagination to delve into desires, emotions, conflicts, and defense mechanisms that are unconscious or unrecognized.
Often referred to as the method of "waking dreams," Symboldrama uses symbolic imagery as a key to unlocking the “unconscious” mind. When we close our eyes, we can visualize various images and scenes. In Symboldrama, these images are considered reflections of a person’s inner experiences, characteristics, and feelings. They serve as symbolic metaphors that provide insight into what is happening internally. Decoding these images can bring a person closer to resolving their problems.
Through Symboldrama, clients can release negative emotions and conflicts and fulfill their deep-seated needs. This allows them to focus on their present experiences, restoring a sense of inner harmony and wholeness.
The effectiveness of Symboldrama was first confirmed through a series of scientific experiments conducted by Leuner himself in the 1940s. Since then, the method has gained recognition within the psychotherapeutic community and has been included in the medical insurance systems of many European countries.
The Foundation of Symboldrama: Imagery and Stages of Personality Development
Drawing on psychoanalytic knowledge, Symboldrama identifies several factors that influence the formation of a person’s character and identity:
- Role within the family system: The dynamics of relationships with family members.
- Childhood period: The formation of attachment relationships.
- Experience of separation: The impact of separation from parents and the fears associated with it.
- Development of sexuality: The formation of sexual identity and expectations in relationships.
- Interaction with close people: How relationships with others will be shaped and the emotions that accompany them.
These factors shape one’s identity, influence emotional experiences, and define relationships and conflicts when interacting with the outside world. The impact of these factors on our lives is often unconscious. During therapy, the client explores their personal history—examining the individual development stages to identify any unresolved issues that might have occurred.
Building on this, the primary goal of Symboldrama therapy is to develop a fully realized personality—one that is aware of its needs and capable of actualizing its potential.
All these factors contribute to the formation of defense mechanisms within our psyche, leading to conflicts in relationships, intense emotional experiences, and psychosomatic disorders. By decoding these images with the support of a psychotherapist, the client can address these developmental deficits and resolve internal conflicts.
During a session, the client can visualize these images, draw them, and with the therapist's guidance, interpret their personal significance. Each stage of the client’s personality development corresponds to a specific motif or image, and identifying these can bring the client closer to resolving their concerns.
Oral
(birth to 1.5 years)
Phallic/Oedipal
(3 to 7 years)
Phallic/Oedipal
(3 to 7 years)
By identifying unmet needs hidden in the subconscious, a client can address and transform them into new qualities, allowing their personality to develop harmoniously moving forward.
How a Symbolic Drama Session Unfolds
The initial sessions of symbolic drama are diagnostic. The therapist needs to get acquainted with the client and understand their personality traits to better navigate their difficulties and identify the root causes. Since symbolic drama adheres to the principles of depth psychology, it allows the psychotherapist to work on the core of the problem and help the client address it from within. Working only on surface symptoms is akin to taking a pill for a headache when suffering from chronic migraines. The symptoms will resurface with the slightest stress.
Symbolic drama is not a short-term method; it involves deep immersion into the client’s unconscious and thorough work on the underlying causes of their problems. Work with images may begin within the first 1-5 sessions.
Here’s how therapeutic counseling using the symbolic drama method typically unfolds:
Conversation with the client: Discussing their concerns and current problems. Establishing an atmosphere of trust with the therapist.
Guiding the client into a state of relaxation.
The client imagines images using their fantasy: These images can be spontaneous or suggested by the therapist (in which case they are called "motifs"). The therapist asks guiding questions that lead the client towards interpretation.
Discussion after visualizing the images: Exploring associations, emotions, and memories that arise during the process.
The therapist gives the client homework: This might involve working with the images through journaling or drawing.
Not every session with the therapist involves working with images, as it all depends on the client's concerns and unique characteristics. For instance, if a person struggles to overcome their fear of public speaking, the issue might stem from a lack of oratory skills, or it might be rooted in the client’s personality, feelings of shame, and panic. In such cases, it’s essential to work on the aspects of the client's personality that trigger these problems.
Symbolic Drama: Method, Techniques, Exercises
Of all the therapeutic approaches that work with images, symbolic drama is the most deeply developed and systematically organized. It shares much in common with Jung's theory of archetypes, his method of active imagination, and psychodrama.
The symbolic drama method involves exercises and techniques based on working with drawings and images imagined by the client.
Therapeutic work within this method includes psychodiagnostics with the use of drawings. The client draws a scene from an imagined and experienced image. While there are scientifically grounded explanations for the symbolism and colors of various images, the most important aspect is how the author of the drawing interprets it. What does it mean to the patient? What emotions does it evoke? The answers to these questions hold the key to the client’s internal conflicts and repressed feelings.
In addition to the technique of imagination, the therapist may suggest that the client work with katathym objects or metaphorical associative cards. Such objects can facilitate working with images, reveal the client’s inner world, and help transform their experiences.
Who Is Symbolic Drama Suitable For?
Katathym Imaginative Psychotherapy (KIP) has proven to be an effective method for addressing various client issues.
Here are some of the problems that symbolic drama can help with:
Neuroses and neurotic disorders
Phobias and anxiety disorders
Existential issues (such as questions about the meaning of life and its loss)
Communication problems, conflicts in relationships/family
Situations of uncertainty or feeling lost
Symbolic drama is a method that is suitable for individual and group psychotherapy, as well as for couples and child therapy. It helps clients reduce emotional tension, develop imagination, and improve self-regulation and mindfulness skills, enabling them to recognize their own states and cope with emerging difficulties.
However, unlike other methods, symbolic drama also has certain contraindications:
Acute and chronic psychoses
Intellectual developmental delays (ID)
Cerebroasthenic syndrome (CAS)
