use of "psychodrama" in media

Sun Oct 5 22:06:43 CDT 2008

 Hi Cynthia, well, I commented on the popular use of this word on m webpage, http://www.blatner.com/adam/pdntbk/histdistort.htm
         and common usage through google: 3 or 4 examples.  While many dictionaries still keep the sense of it being a psychotherapeutic method, a number also have broadened the definition according to usage.  (It's also the name of a rap group in Chicago). 

  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychodrama   Main Entry: psy·cho·dra·ma 
  Pronunciation:
  \-ˈdrä-mə, -ˈdra-\ 
  Function:  noun   Date:  1937
1: an extemporized dramatization designed to afford catharsis and social relearning for one or more of the participants from whose life history the plot is abstracted   2: a dramatic narrative or work characterized by psychological overtones     3: an often ongoing psychological struggle ; also : an expression of psychological turmoil
— psy·cho·dra·mat·ic  \-drə-ˈma-tik\ adjective 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychodrama
 Psy·cho·dra·ma (sk-dräm, -drm)
n.
1. A psychotherapeutic technique in which people are assigned roles to be played spontaneously within a dramatic context devised by a therapist in order to understand the behavior of people with whom they have difficult interactions.
2. A dramatization in which this technique is employed.
3. An event, social interaction, or narrative that manifests psychological forces or problems: "In [Pierre, Melville] abruptly reinvents himself as a domestic novelist, proposing to write a psychodrama of family intimacy" Richard H. Brodhead.

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psycho·dra·matic (-dr-mtk) adj.
psycho·drama·tist (-drm-tst, -dräm-) n.

 http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/psychodrama
psy‧cho‧drama
1MP [uncountable and countable] a way of treating mental illness in which people are asked to act in a situation together to help them understand their emotions
2 [countable] a serious film, play etc that examines the minds and feelings of the characters, rather than what happens
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: CGayle 
  To: list at grouptalkweb.org 
  Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 10:14 PM
  Subject: use of "psychodrama" in media

  I just read an editorial about the election  (I do NOT want to discuss election here), that used the term "psychodrama", stating, "in the psychodrama that is this election,...."

  It is the fourth time I have heard "psychodrama" used in this regard this year.  A couple times on mainstream tv news. "Psychodrama" is increasingly used to describe dramatic intensity....but in a negative vernacular vs a positive one. The ups and downs and back and forth's of this election for which "psychodrama" has been used seems to refer to dramatic intensity that changes often and in surprising ways, like an action thriller, and perhaps refers to the intensity of polarizing...the polar opposite of healing.  At any rate, I have not liked this usage.

  I started to write a brief comment to the columnist of this article...and then I wondered if maybe I was over reacting.  Maybe "psychodrama" is getting a new use in the culture.  Is this a concern?  Does it matter?  Is this an opportinunity for education?  Would that be nerdy? 

  I looked up in dictionary, does psychodrama have other usages?  My dictionary is quite dated (20 years), but there was no other usage in Webster's, 1988...."an extemporized dramatization designed to afford catharsis and social relearning for one or more of the participants from whose life history the plot is abstracted".  

  Close enough to not be proper use of term by journalists.  Although they make up new words and usages every day...the more clever the better.  

  Have others read/heard this usage of "psychodrama"?   And if so, what are your thoughts and reactions?

  Cynthia Gayle
  Seattle

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