Role play

Trupti Talekar
Role play
• Enacting a behavior, role, situation

• Within a role play, clients can perform a decided-upon

behavior in a safe, risk-free environment

• Part of various therapies

• Fundamental element in Psychodrama therapy- developed by

J.L. Moreno
Dos & Don’t
• Use it only when necessary
• Collaborate with the client
• Do not lose focus of the goal
• Do not make personal judgments on acting or other nonverbal
behavior
• Create the scenario as close to reality as possible
• Be comfortable and play the part as accurately as possible
• Do not use it without asking the client’s permission or
understanding
• Do not take up a scenario where the client may become even
more disturbed
Steps
• Warm up- explain technique, set a goal and discuss concerns if
any
• Scene setting- what, where, who and when
• Selecting roles- who will play which role
• Enactment- acting out the situation
• Sharing & feedback- observations, reflections, conclusions,
insights
• Reenactment- repeated practice in and outside sessions
• Follow up- do it in reality and provide further feedback
Steps
Warm up- explain technique, set a
goal and discuss concerns if any

Scene setting- what, where, who and

when

Selecting roles- who will play which

role

Enactment- acting out the situation

Sharing & feedback- observations,

reflections, conclusions, insights
Use of role play
• For in-training counselors-Practice of techniques learnt in
counseling
• Family therapy-understanding of family emotions, dilemmas,
dynamics, and diversity.
• can learn new skills, explore different behaviors, and observe
how these behaviors affect others
• With adolescents- understand values, emotions, beliefs
• With children- to enact what they can not verbalise
Use of role play
• Assessing the problem
• Creating insight
• Understanding two parts or conflicts in a person
• Understand others around and the person’s relation with others
• Used in different therapies
• Reality therapy
• Gestalt therapy
• REBT therapy
• Cognitive therapy
• Behavior Therapy
Likely scenarios
• Within individual
• Relationship
• Couple
• Family
• Teacher & student
• Professional relationships
• Skill building
• social skills,
• interpersonal skills,
• communication skills,
• presentation skills
Practice
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdsaW_TSzHU -