Trial in Action: the Persuasive Power of Psychodrama
| Publication year | 2011 |
| Pages | 90 |
| Citation | Vol. 40 No. 6 Pg. 90 |
2011, June, Pg. 90. Trial in Action: The Persuasive Power of Psychodrama
June 2011
Vol. 40, No. 6 [Page 90]
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Trial in Action: The Persuasive Power of Psychodrama
by Joane Garcia-Colson, Fredilyn Sison, and Mary Peckham
356 pp.; $85
Trial Guides Publishing, 2010
2400 SW Park Pl., Portland, OR 97205
(800) 309-6845; www.trialguides.com
Reviewedby Wilbur C. Smith
Wil Smith is a sole practitioner in Boulder, emphasizing criminal defense law and civil rights litigation-(303) 996-4200, wil@civilcriminal.com.
Trial in Action presents a unique twist on the trial lawyer's art. The authors strongly believe that, as a trial lawyer, "your goal is to help your juries hear, see, and feel your clients' stories." As a means to this end, they present the technique of legal "psychodrama,"in which the lawyer prepares for trial through dramatic role playing.
In a legal psychodrama, the trial team scripts, directs, and performs a stage production that vividly recreates the facts of the case. The psychodrama is supervisedby a professional "psychodramatist" and is performed well in advance of trial. Usually, the actors in the pretrial production will be the lawyers, the parties, and perhaps even the witnesses involved the case.
The book begins with an overview of the psychodramatic method, its history, its technique, and its recent application to trial advocacy. As the authors explain, psychodrama originated in psychiatry as a form of group therapy. True to its name, psychodrama blends psychiatry with the performing arts. In the 1970s, trial lawyers began experimenting with psychodrama as a means of teaching...
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