Monodrama — Gestalt Therapy | Psychotherapy Library

The client plays all the roles in a scenario, fantasy, or dream. If a dream contains a door, a wolf, and a corridor — the client becomes each of them in turn. Built on the premise that all elements of a dream or fantasy are projections of parts of the client's personality. Monodrama lets one enter the texture of the experience from the inside, instead of analyzing it from the outside.

Step-by-step guide

Ask the client to retell the dream or fantasy
Pick out all the elements: people, objects, animals, the place
"Be the house. What are you like? Dark? Warm? What do you want?"
"Now be the door. Are you closed or ajar? Who do you let in?"
"Be the voice that sounded in the dream. Where are you from? What do you demand?"
Integration: "This voice, this door, this house — they are parts of you. How do they work together?"

When to use

Recurring nightmares: the client can dialogue with the frightening element
Confusing dreams that need clarification of the personal content
Catastrophic fantasies: "What if I fail?"
Scenes of conflict with several participants: the client plays all the roles
Triangular situations: mother–father–me

Key phrases

In your dream there was a black house. Be the house. What are you like? What do you feel?

Follow-up questions

Now be the window of this house. What do you see from yourself? Who do you let look in?

And now be the woman who stood in front of the house. What do you see?

Now be the tension between the house and the woman. What is happening?

Alternative phrasings

How are all these parts — the house, the window, the woman — parts of one organism?

Warnings

⚠️ Do not use in active psychosis: the client may lose the boundaries of reality
⚠️ With trauma, take care: nightmares with physical violence may be too intense
⚠️ Do not over-complicate: with more than 5–6 elements, the monodrama becomes blurred
⚠️ Make sure the client understands: "These are your parts, not real people or things"

Source: Perls, 1969; Latner, 1992