Psychodramatic Anger Work, Empowerment, Antagonists, and Perpetrators

This chapter outlines the process of safely working with anger, antagonists, and perpetrators in trauma-focused psychodrama scenes. The risks of retraumatization and benefits of empowerment with anger work will be weighted. Psychodramatic interventions for expressing anger, setting boundaries, and renegotiating internalized messages from past perpetrators will be discussed. Various types of antagonist roles, including perpetrators, inner critics, negative beliefs, abandoning authorities, and oppressive systems, can be interfaced with in psychodrama. Particular attention must be given to safety and the window of tolerance of the protagonist and the group when working with anger and antagonist roles. Considerations for safety with role reversals and role plays with perpetrator roles will be highlighted.