The Michigan Psychodrama Center will host a one-day introductory psychodrama workshop on May 15, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This full-day experiential program is offered in collaboration with the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys and is open to both lawyers and non-lawyers. The cost is $150, with additional package options available for those attending the related Day 2 program.
Psychodrama is an action-based method developed by J.L. Moreno that uses guided enactment, role-play, and group interaction to explore internal experience and interpersonal dynamics. Rather than relying solely on discussion, participants engage in structured exercises that bring thoughts, emotions, and relationships into a lived, observable form. Psychodrama functions as a “deep action method” that enables individuals to explore and reorganize experience through active participation rather than passive reflection.
For trial lawyers, these methods have direct application. Jury trials are not simply presentations of facts; they are group processes governed by choice, connection, and influence. Sociometry, the science of interpersonal choice and group structure, is central both to psychodrama and to effective advocacy.
The lawyer who understands and engages these group processes is better positioned to lead jurors toward a just outcome. This workshop provides a practical and experiential introduction to those same dynamics, while remaining fully accessible to participants with no legal background.
This is not a lecture-based program. Participants will be invited to engage in personal and group-based experiential work throughout the day. At a minimum, all attendees will participate as members of the audience, observing and supporting the process.
More active participation is encouraged but never required. The structure is designed to create a safe, respectful, and well-contained environment in which participants can engage at their own level.
Because this workshop includes personal experiential work, confidentiality will be taken seriously and protected at all times. Participants will be asked to respect the privacy of others and to honor a simple but essential principle: what happens in the group stays in the group. Creating that sense of safety and trust is fundamental to meaningful psychodramatic work.
The workshop will cover the three essential phases of every psychodrama session: warm-up, action, and sharing. Participants will also be introduced to core techniques and building blocks of the method, including group sociometry, doubling, role reversal, and mirroring. These tools form the foundation of psychodramatic practice and help participants better understand role, relationship, spontaneity, and group process.
This program is designed for both beginners and those with prior exposure to psychodrama or group work. For newcomers, it offers a clear and supportive introduction to the method. For more experienced participants, it provides an opportunity to deepen understanding through direct participation, observation, and renewed attention to the fundamentals that make psychodrama so powerful in practice.
This workshop also serves as the required foundation for the Day 2 seminar on May 16, which will focus on the application of what participants have experienced and witnessed on Day 1. Attendance at this introductory workshop is mandatory for participation in Day 2. There are no exceptions.
Participants who register for both days will receive a discounted package rate, billed through the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys. Those attending only the May 15 workshop may register directly through the Michigan Psychodrama Center.