Psychology and Acting

When I was a psychology student it hit me one day how both, psychologists and actors, try to capture the complexity of human experience and behavior in their work.

I realized back then that my fascination for the human experience got sparked by movies! All those afternoons at the cinema, captivated by how actors expressed inner conflict, intense emotions, ambivalence in character, disruptions in social and moral norms...

By using role-play during our training as therapists, we got a glimpse of how demanding it is to embody another person’s presumed experience to understand how they might feel and interact with the world.

It is a very powerful tool, evoking sensations and feelings in us that correspond with this other person. Feelings that can be strange, irritating, alien to us. And yet, it is us who feel them, even while pretending to be someone else. 

Through acting we gain permission to feel and express this other person’s emotions and inner conflicts, connecting us with our own emotional range and capacity.

I believe that by daring to be this permeable we grow as human beings. We become softer, more inclusive and more open to diversity, both in ourselves and in others.

I am grateful for this wonderful art form and for all the actors who are role models for daring vulnerability. Acting has a healing power, and Drama Therapy has been used in a variety of settings for many years for good reason.