The Ans in Psychorlurap~. Vol. 19, pp. 333-346.199?
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Printed in the USA. Ail rights reserved.
THE CONCEPT OF DRAMATIC TRANSFERENCE
ELIRAN
I wish to begin this discussion by describing an
encounter that strongly influenced my thoughts about
the transferential #lationship. I believe that this epi-
sode illustrates several of the questions and problems
that arise in regard to the nature of transference in
drama therapy. and provides a starting point for a
discussion of these issues. The theoretical discussion
presented here is based on a broader study conducted
in I985 by the writer at Nassau County Medical Cen-
ter in Long Island, New York (Eliaz. 1989). in that
study I present three case studies that provide the
basis for my understanding and formulation of the
concept of dramatic transference The partial case that
follows offered my first sense of a unique form of
transference that can occur through drama therapy.
The t~nsacti~~n mentioned above took place in
19X4 during a music therapy session in a school for
learning disabled and emotionally disturbed students.
Mark, the leader, was an experienced music therapist
who was to serve as my intrmship supervisor. Mark
had previously introduced me to the group of boys.
Now I was to focally join the group as student in-
tern. The other participants were Martin, an 8-year-
old blond boy; William, also 8, black. tall, and thin
almost to the point of emaciation; and Dwayne, 7
years old, short for his age but well-built.
Mark and I had previously discussed his long- and
short-term therapeutic goals for each boy and the ac-
tivities he had designed to further these goals. We had
also plotted a variety of ways to integrate my disci-
pline, drama therapy, into this ongoing music therapy
group. Despite all this planning. however, I did not
know what to expect as the five of us sat in a circle,
each with a drum in front of him.
Eliran Eliaz. a drama therapist in a private clinic in Gnat Neck, NY. where he works with patients in individual and group drama therapy,
is also on the faculty of the New York Univcnity drama therapy program.
0197-455#92 $5.00 f .
Copyright 0 1992 Pcrgamon Press Ltd.
ELIAZ PhD, RDT*
Mark guided the group through several minutes of
rhythmic communication on the drums. He played a
series of brief but powerful solos. These were inter-
spersed with responses from the rest of the partici-
pants. Mark tried to guide the conversation toward
quiet and relaxation, but Martin did not comply. Dis-
satisfied with the drum in front of him, he reached out
to play on all the other drums. His eyes began to light
up, and a smile that rapidly turned into a guffaw
accompanied his strikes on the stretched skin of the
drums. Mark protected the drum in front of him from
Martins strikes. William, Dwayne, and I followed
Marks lead. protecting our own drums. For an in-
stant, there was silence. Martins hands were poised
to strike. Who would be the recipient of Martins
wrath?
Mark had forewarned me that Martin might be in a
violent frame of mind. Martin had been experiencing
a great deal of tension at home, and this intensified
during the weekends when there was no relief from
his mother and stepfather. On Mondays such as this,
therefore. he often arrived ready to explode.
Today, the situation was exacerbated by my pres-
ence. 1 sensed that Mark was afraid I would be Mar-
tins victim. Looking directly into Martins eyes,
Mark began to flutter his hands slowly and delicately
on the drum. 1 joined in this line of communication,
and jmmediately William and Dwayne also joined.
Martin stood up, his hands raised in the air as
though frozen. Suddenly, the predator pounced on his
prey: Martins right hand dove toward the drum. Sur-
prisingly, it made only a gentle impact, and conse-
quently a soft sound. His left hand continued in this
motion.
333
 ELIRAN ELIAZ
Mark stood up and imitated Martin. We all fol-
lowed suit, our movements exaggerated in the air, but
our fingers lightly caressing the drums. Gradually, a
tranquil, calm conversation was created. We
slowly sat down again as the sound faded out.
With a mifd hint in his eyes, Mark gave Wilham
permission to lead. William was restrained in his
rhythms, but they evidenced natural musical talent.
Dwayne resisted Marks attempts to pass the lead
to him. He let Mark know that he had no desire even
to speak today. As he did so, he stole glances in my
direction as if to say, Who gave you permission to
break in here? or I will not supply you with any
info~ation. What do we have to discuss?
Mark and I then assumed control of the beat. each
of us moving to the rhythm, trying to touch the
boys who were with us. The initial pattern was kept
throughout this sequence.
Martin hit the drums. William whispered secrets.
principally to Mark. Dwayne participated hallheart-
edly, while Mark tried to relate to everyone gently but
decisively. Insofar as the drum allowed, 1 sought to
have the boys recognize my prcscnce.
Later. the drums were put aside in one comer, and
Mark silently sat down at the piano and began to play.
At first he played as though only for himself, but
gradually he connected with the boys, asking,
Where are you now?
Dwaync, said Mark. let your body relax, Ele scampered to my side and rubbed his head against
move around the room. Be whatever occurs to you.
but tistcn closely to the music. Dwayne lifted his
shoulders so that they seemed to engulf his curly
head. The melody beckoned to him again, but
Dwayne continued to resist, saying softly, I dont
want to. I just dont feel like it.
Mark nodded to Martin, who was already poised to
start, like a bird prepared to fly. After some initial
turns and spins, Mark picked up Martins rhythm and
accompanied his flight. Martin, through laughter
and twisting, flew, as he told us, above the houses
and Central Park, and finally collapsed in the middle
of the room. Martin accompanied his movement with
speech as if to ensure that he would reach his desti-
nation.
William entered the circle. Mark changed the ac-
companiment. but William paid no attention to the
change. He ran silently around the room. Marks
rhythmic accompaniment eventually calmed William
down, and he slowly became another bird, his fingers
poised like the claws of a bird of prey. He leaned over
Mark, his victim. Mark. entirely attuned to
Williams mood, put greater energy into the music
and began to hit the piano keys randomly. Martin
jumped up and joined William on the stage, and the
two of them wrestled as two giant birds. They made
threatening noises and gestures. The music died out,
and they fell in a heap, exhausted. in the middie of the
room.
Come on Dwayne, now it is your turn, Mark
called. What do you want me to play for you?
I already told you that I dont feel like it today,
Dwayne whispered.
Marks repeated attempts to persuade Dwayne
proved unsuccessful. Eliran, why dont you enter
the circle? Mark asked. Its your turn. I mean-
dered toward the center of the room. I felt somewhat
confused as I stood there, trying to internalize Marks
beat. Perhaps I also realized that I was being tested for
the first critical time. Would I be allowed to enter the
group or forced to remain a guest?
Suddenly 1 found myself moving slowly, my back
hunched over, my right hand leaning on a cane, my
legs carrying my heavy, trembling torso. I paused
inte~ittently, and then moved ahead, my eyes unfo-
cused. Walking this slowly enabled me gradually to
assume the role, and 1 became convinced that I was in
my dotage. walking slowly on a busy, dangerous
street.
From his seat behind me, Dwayne suddenly
jumped up and began to walk on all fours like a dog.
my free hand, as if to say, I am here, dont be
afraid.
My hand began to caress Dwaynes head gently. I
continued to move around as if old and weak. Slowly,
Dwayne began to guide me with words and gestures.
Dont be afraid, I wiH come with you everywhere.
Im moving close to you so you wont fall, and Ill
protect you.
This statement of Dwaynes aroused Martin and
William. They pounced on Dwayne like dogs and
started to fight with him. Mark began to play soft
music. The boys, affected by the music, ceased
fighting.
Still gasping from the struggle, the three boys
stood at the piano. each ready to participate in the
closing ritual by taking a turn improvising on the
piano. Martin and William each let himself go on the
piano. Dwayne also took his turn, but atypically, as
Mark later explained to me, he did not show much
interest in the piano.
The session complete, Mark prepared to escort the
boys to their classes. He closed the piano cover.
O.K., guys, did you enjoy today? he asked.
 THE CONCEPT OF DRAMATIC
I stood at a distance of about 6 feet from Mark and
the boys. I thought I needed to give them a moment of
privacy. 1 did not want my presence to interfere with
the almost physical connection that existed among
them.
As I organized my papers, preparing to leave. I
listened intently to the boys responses. Dwayne was
the first to speak. I liked the old man the best. he
said. As I raised my head to look at him. Dwayne
burst away from Mark and jumped at me.
Before I could understand what was happening, I
felt Dwaynes hands around my shoulders. At the
same time, his legs wrapped around mine. Please
dont leave me here alone, he pleaded, his voice
quavering. I love you, and you wont leave me here
alone. I felt Dwaynes heart beating against my
chest. His tears fell on my neck. He was hanging on
to me, while I had one hand on my briefcase and the
other holding the papers I had intended to put inside
the case. Please. please take me with you. he con-
tinued, crying. Dont leave me alone.
I could not see Mark. 1 wanted to get from him a
sign of aid. (Afterward, Mark told mc that he had
been sitting engrossed. This was the first time he had
witncsscd anything like this phenomenon. The boys
vulnerability had moved Mark to tears. A new sids of
Dwayne was suddenly revealed. Mark sensed the
thcrapcutic power concentrated in this one brief ex-
change between Dwayne and Eliran, the visiting
dmma therapist.)
While Dwaync was still wrapped around me, his
words reverberated within me. I liked the old man
best. Why had he not said, I liked Eliran best. or
I liked that man best, or 1 liked you best! Who
was Eliran in his eyes at that moment? Eliran? Thrr-
apist? The old man? Who was this old man? Did I
remind him of an actual old man he knew?
With Dwayne still hanging on me, I put the case
and the papers back on the desk. I tried gently to get
him off of me. While doing so. I said to him, I
understand that we must hold hands and walk to class;
the next session is already beginning. Dwayne tight-
ened his grip on me. Dont let them take me. you
promised youd be with me, he said through tears.
This statement showed that I was not Eliran to
Dwayne at that moment. I was not a therapist, nor
was I simply an old man. I was the old man who had
promised to be with him:
The dramatic world view is not a simple one in
which I am I and you are you. . . . For, in the
dramatic model of role taking, things are not
TRANSFERENCE
what they appear to be. Roles and realities are
not fixed. You become me and I become you
through the processes of identification and pro-
jection. Not only does the individual often see
himself as a representation. but he also sees
others as representations. That is, through the
process of transference. one views. for exam-
ple, a friend as a mother or a therapist as a
father. Through transference. the individual
transforms an actual role of another into a sym-
bolic one. In effect. one re-creates reality ac-
cording to ones subjective world view.
(Landy. 1986. p. 95)
In this paper 1 will lay the foundation for a dra-
matic concept of transference. This work is prelimi-
nary and attempts only to bring the insights of the
finding of this research into a general approach to
transference in drama therapy.
Dramatic Transference
Freuds discovery of transference led him imme-
diately to express this phenomenon in dramatic terms.
Soon after his patient, Dora, terminated her treat-
mcnt, hc wrote:
Might I perhaps have kept the girl under my
trcatmcnt if I myself had acted a part, if 1 had
exaggcratcd the importance to me of her staying
on, and had shown a warm personal interest in
her-a course which, even after allowing for
my position as her physician, would have been
tantamount to providing her with a substitute
for the affection she longed for? I do not know.
(Freud, 190511953, p. 109)
Since this encounter, psychoanalytic definitions of
transference have incorporated many dramatic notions
of substitution, replacement, assignment of roles, re-
creation of past relationships, play and as if think-
ing. Freud in his original formulation stated plainly:
What are transferences? They are new editions
or facsimiles of the tendencies and phantasies
which are aroused and made conscious during
the progress of the analysis; but they have this
peculiarity, which is characteristic for their spe-
cies, that they replace some earlier person by
the person of the physician. (p. 116)
Greensons restatement is no less explicit: Essen-
tially, a person in the present is reacted to as though
336 ELIRAN ELIAZ

he were a person in the past. Transference is a repe- In chess. for example. the relationship of imagi-
tition. a new edition of an old object relationship nation to rules is reversed. Here, the rules are overt
(1967. p. 152,. and the imaginary situation covert.
Sandler, Dare. and Holder put the matter most suc- Schematically, one could summarize as follows:
cinctly: In this sense transference can be regarded as Covert m
a specific iiiwion . . . (1973. p. 47). Imaginary Play Rules Fantasy
Board Games Fantasy Rules
A similar distinction can be posited between psy-
Dramatic Aspects of Transference in Psychoanalysis
choanalysis and theatre. in the theatrical situation in
general. the imaginary roles are made overt and the
The specific illusion that is the drama of trans-
rules that govern these roles are covert. This situation
ference differs from theatre in three specific spheres:
may be described as the adult equivalent of imaginary
play. In the psychoanalytic situation, the rules of pro-
1. Choice of role. The patients choice of roles for
cedure for treatment are overt. The imaginary trans-
him or herself and the analyst is spontaneous
ferential relationship is covert and unconscious from
and unconscious.
the viewpoint of the patient.
2. Playing of rofes. The patient plays his or her
Thus one could schematize as follows:
own role and tends to see the psychoanalyst in
Covert m
a complementary role, that is. a role responding
to and defined in relation to the patients role. Drama Rules Fantasies
The patient thus may perhaps invite or provoke (Imaginary (Rules of (Dramatic
the analyst into action expressive of this desired play) relationship story as
role. The analyst attempts to play neither this within the enacted)
nor any alternative roles, to enable the patient dramatic story)
to project his or her transferential material as
fully as possibls. Psychoanalysis Fantasies eules
3. Kelrrtionship to rculity. For the patient. the il- (Board (Imaginary (Formal
lusion is felt not as a repetition of the past. but Games) roles aspects of the
as strictly appropriate to the present and to the transferred therapeutic
particular person involved* (Ssndler et al., onto therapist procedure)
1973). For the analyst, the illusion is ficti- frum patients
tious, a dramatic recreation of a different emotional life)
relationship.
Elements of Trunsjerence
How might one characterize the difference bc-
tween drama and the dramatic nature of the transfer- Transference phenomena are considered the chief
ential relationship? Both operate along dual planes of thcrrrpeutic agent in psychoanalytic treatment (San-
fantasy and reality. The crucial difference can be il- dler et al., 1973).
lustrated by borrowing a distinction made by the So-
viet development psychologist Vygotsky.
Covert and Overt Elements
Vygotsky set out to refute the popular notion of
free play.* He argued that there is no such thing as CDVCtl OWrt
play without rules (1978, p. 94). Rather, in sym- (Unarticulated in its sponta- fAniculated)
bolic or dramatic play. the imaginary aspect of the news manifestation)
play is overt, whereas the rules of the play are covert: I. Fantasied (Transference) 2. Rules of the Therapeutic
If the child is playing the role of the mother, then Relationship Relationship
she has rules of maternal behavior (p. 95). Vygotsky 3. Conscious Pcrsunal Fan-
continued with the claim that, Just as the imaginary tasies

situation has to contain rules of behavior, so every

game with rules contains an imaginary situation Fi~urc I. Fhe covert and overt elements of the transferential rela-
(p. 95). tionship in the psychotherapeutic setting.
 THE CONCEPT OF DRAMATIC TRANSFERWCE
The following is a brief characterization of each
element according to its numerical notation in Fig-
ure 1.
1. The fantasied (tran.$erencei re~atio~hip. As
described above, this is the patients specific
unconscious illusion. The drama is played out
without the patients awareness that he or she is
distorting reality through transferring an old re-
lationship onto the person of the therapist.
2. R&s of the therapeutic relationship. These
very ovext rules define the therapeutic real-
ity in the sense of the specific, undistorted
ways in which therapist and patient conduct
themselves. Included here are elements of the
contract or frame, such as time and fees
(Dewold. 197 I), as well as rules regarding non-
disclosure by the therapist of personal informa-
tion (Greenson. 1967; Sandler et al., 1973).
and free association that is allowing all
thoughts to come freely to awareness and to
report them fully, on the part of the patient
(Sandier et al., 1973). The therapeutic alli-
ance and the real relationship, that is, the
conscious, adult relationship bctwccn analyst
and patient, belong within the realm of the
overt structure of the thcrapcutic relationship.
3. Conscious personul funtasy. This element is
overt only in potential at first. The therapeutic
goal of the employment of transferential reac-
tions is to facilitate recovery in the conscious
mind of personal fantasies related to prior sig-
nificant object relationships.
Tran~ferentiu~ Techniques in ~sy~.h~nuiysis
The techniques by which the therapeutic goal of
bringing unconscious fantasies to consciousness is to
be attained are as follows:
1. Certain aspects of analytic technique play a role
especially in facilitating the creation of a trans-
ferential reaction. The constancy of the setting,
with avoidance of changes introduced by the
therapist, and lack of disclosure of details of the
therapists personal life combine to create a se-
cure and monotonous, nonintrusive experience.
The client will need to draw upon his or her
personal emotional life in order to interpret this
nondescript setting. The intimacy and trust that
are attained by the therapists empathy and un-
derstanding combine to produce a state of emo-
tional arousal, lending affective intensity to the
patients interpretation. The patients interpre-
tation of the analytic setting will be expressed
in unconsciously assigning a transferential role
to the analyst and a corresponding role to him
or herself.
2. The imaginary, covert transferential reaction is
now enhanced. It will ultimately be the degree
of emotional arousal and involvement that the
patient feels within the transferential situation
that will be convincing of the personal signifi-
cance of this situation (Greenson, 1967). En-
hancement involves eliciting the emotional de-
tails of the transference. highlighting those as-
pects most troublesome for the patient, and
defining the highly specific characteristics of
this relationship. For example, a patient expe-
riences the therapist as rejecting. The emotions
specific to this feeling, such as rage, depres-
sion, self-destruction, revenge, are focused
upon.
Enhancement will involve an essentially
dramatic component. The patient will essen-
tially m-create a highly significant relationship.
The analyst encourages this distorted view of
the present relationship by abstinence, the sys-
tematic avoidance of offering substitute gratifi-
cation, and by encou~ging curiosity regarding
the transference. Thus, the analyst essentially
promotes a one-sided rehearsal on the therapeu-
tic stage. The analyst may become aware of a
personal tendency to enter upon the stage. He
or she must analyze these countertransferential
feelings in order to maintain a one-sided drama
and maintain the setting of abstinence.
It is axiomatic that transferential reactions
may be enhanced only where there is a clear
distinction between the realm of the imaginary
fantasy and the realm of the rules of the rela-
tionship. The rules of the therapeutic relation-
ship are overt whereas the entire imaging
transferential re-enactment proceeds on a co-
vert. unconscious level. Any attempt in such a
case to bring together these two realms, for
example by trying to bring the unconscious fan-
tasy into consciousness, will interrupt the en-
hancement phase.
3. When the transferential relationship has been
sufficiently enhanced to bear specific deep
emotional meaning for the patient, the enhance-
338 ELIRAN
ment phase is followed by a cleaving phase. In
cleaving, the specific illusory object relation
projected upon the therapist is placed in con-
tradistinction to the reality situation of the treat-
ment. The working alliance and therapeutic
frame here collaborate in creating a dissonance
between the role assigned to the therapist and
the real therapeutic role of which the patient is
now reminded. Here the overt realm of realistic
therapy roles becomes the tool for cleaving the
transference image from the therapist (Green-
son. 1967; Sandler et al.. 1973).
The timing of the cleaving phase and its re-
lationship to a more or less full enhancement
depend upon the form of treatment. The more
the treatment resembles formal psychoanalysis,
the more fully is enhancement desirable before
any cleaving. The more the treatment resem-
bles insight-oriented psychotherapy, the sooner
will cleaving maneuvers become desirable be-
fore a full transferential relationship is devel-
oped (Dcwold, 1971).
4. Once the transferential figure is sufficiently cn-
hanccd and adequately cleaved, the patient can
bc helped to recognize in overt form the spc-
cific personal fantasy expcricnccd. In final re-
sult, the personal fantasy and the rules of the
therapy coexist in overt conscious form, and
the dramatic element of the treatment has been
concluded (Greenson. 1967).
In summary, there are four sequential steps in-
volved in the psychoanalytic handling of transference
(Figure 2). First, transferential reaction is facilitated.
and then enhanced. Both of these first steps occur in
the realm of the unconscious experience of the pa-
tient. Cleaving of the transference from the therapist
then follows. Finally, awareness of an original emo-
tional complex in the patient is created. The last two
steps occur in the realm of conscious experience of
the patient.
Psychoanalytic Use of Transfcrcnce
I. F;lcilirarion of psychoanalysis
covell
2. Enhancement
Overl
3. Cleaving
4. Awarcnas
Figure 2. Summary of psychoanalytic we of tr;m\fcrencs
ELIAZ
For the sake of clarity. the two technical aspects of
this process can be restated as:
1. The analyst faces a severely limited range of
techniquks for enhancemen;. The only realm
where rules and imagination are clearly distinct
is in the transferential illusion (covert fantasy),
which distorts the therapeutic relationship
(overt rules). The analyst must encourage pro-
jection of the fantasy object onto him or herself
in dramatic, transferential form. The only
screen possible is the screen upon which the
patient appears unconsciously and the analyst
by default.
2 Enhancement will of necessity require comple-
rion prior to cleaving. which reasserts the real-
ity of the therapeutic relationship. Cleaving
will permanently disrupt enhancement by plac-
ing the rules and the fantasy on the same overt
level.
Limitations on Purticipotion by the Analyst
After describing his temptation to play a part
for Doras bcncfit. Freud offered the following ca-
veat, which was to become a limitation for gencra-
tions of psychoanalysts:
Since in every cast a part of the factors that are
encountered under the form of resistance re-
main unknown, I have always avoided acting a
part. and have contented myself with practicing
the humbler arts of psychology. In spite of ev-
ery theoretical interest and of every endeavour
to be of assistance as a physician I keep the fact
in mind that there must be some limits set to the
extent to which psychological influence may be
used, and I respect as one of these limits the
patients own will and understanding. (Freud.
1905/1953, p. 109)
The caveat put forward by Freud may be formu-
lated in terms now already familiar: To act a part
would risk enhancing the transference so decisively
that the possibility of cleaving would become more
remote. This undesirable result becomes inevitable
due to quantitative limitation of the analytic drum&s
personae. The analyst is restricted to the role of an-
alyst; no other part is open to him or her. For the
patient, the transferential role assignments have al-
 THE CONCEPT
ready taken place. There are no other actors, no other
stage.
It is fundamentally in its alteration of this quanti-
tative limitation that drama therapy offers an alterna-
tive understanding and approach to the transferential
situation. Funher, drama therapy epitomizes the more
general case. What is described as dramatic trans-
ference can be seen as the fundamental expression
of transference within a therapeutic situation. Psy-
choanalytic transference, the phenomenon detailed
up to this point, can be understood as a specific ex-
pression of dramatic transference.
Foundations of Dramatic Transference
What are the broader, more fundamental aspects of
dramatic transference? Figure 3 is a schematic repre-
sentation (camp. Figure I).
Dramatic Transference
Covert Overt
I. Fantasy Relationship to 2. Rules of the Therapeutic
Therapist us Figure From Relatwnship
The Pas1 4. Fantasy (Dramatic)
3. Rules of the Dnmnlic Re- tiondnp Wilh TherapIst
latwn~hip or Group Members
5. Conwziws Perwnal hn-
Ll*y
FiXurr 3. Dramr Therapy (Elcmenr~)
Explunution
The following is an item-by-item explanation
each element as it appears in this schema.
I. Fantasy relationship to rherapist. Clients in
drama therapy experience very specific distor-
tions of their relationship to the drama thera-
pist, specific illusions that reproduce prior
object relations. The drama therapy situation
differs from the psychoanalytic in three major
ways:
a. Drama therapy usually involves a group
for at least part of its work. Transference reac-
tions within groups are common occurrences.
Transference may occur toward group members
or the group as a whole as well as toward the
therapist, and the nature of a given transference
can be influenced by various aspects of group
process (Yalom. 1975).
OF DRAMATIC TRANSFERENCE
b. The drama therapist is actively involved
in functions that require him or her to play sev-
eral roles. These roles include stage director,
group organizer, and, at times, participant in
dramatic roles. One may claim that this activity
in itself prevents the development of transfer-
ence. The therapists activity may, however,
serve a selecting function. Transferences in
which the therapist will be experienced as a
prior object who was apathetic, neglecting, de-
pressed. or paralyzed may seem to be more
difficult to project upon such an active thera-
pist. Transferences in which the therapist is ex-
perienced as controlling, demanding. manipu-
lative, self-aggrandizing, or exploitative may
be developed more easily. Yet, once a transfer-
ence has developed. it will not differ in any
essential feature from the specific illusion of
psychoanalysis. The transference may be con-
ceptualized as a form of addition or distortion
of a reality-based feature of the therapist (Ha-
vens, 1976; Yalom. 1975).
c. The transference relationship plays a dif-
ferent role in drama therapy and psychoanalytic
Rela-
therapy. In analytic work, transference is seen
as a necessary element of the treatment. In
drama therapy. transference is at times present
as a feature of the treatment. Drama therapy
may proceed without major transferential reac-
tions. However, such transferential reactions
do occur. When they occur they must bc rec-
ognized. and their treatment must involve spc-
cific techniques, which we elaborate below. A
of drama therapist must be equipped to treat these
situations. Transference is an essential element
of drama therapy as a field, but transference is
not an obligatory element in every instance of
treatment by drama therapy.
2. Rules of the therapeutic relationship. A basic
contract, more or less explicitly stated, is a
component of drama therapy no less than of
psychoanalytic treatment.
3.4. Covert rules of the dramatic relationship and
overt fantasy (dramatic) relationships with
therapist or group. This is the major therapeu-
tic tool under consideration. The dramatic sit-
uation is one in which there is conscious agree-
ment among group members to enact a fantasy.
a. The participants in this drama may or may
not include the therapist. Participation by the
therapist entails offering him or herself to the
 EURAN
client with mutual agreement that what is being
enacted is not real but fantasy. and not uncon-
scious but overt.
When the therapist does not participate. the
return to the therapists role is facilitated by this
ability to help the client project the transferen-
tially aroused image upon the dramatically
evoked images played by group members.
b. Dramatic play is analogous to the situa-
tion of imaginary play. Although there is overt
conscious attention to the imaginary situation.
a covert set of rules for this dramatic relation-
ship will be followed (Yalom. 1975).
c. In the dramatic situation, then. there is a
distinction between the realm of the imaginary
fantasy and the realm of the rules of the rela-
tionship. Thus the requirements of the axiom
delineated (see Figure 3) are ful~lled.
5. Conscious awareness of a persmal funmy.
Overt. this can be the goal of drama therapy.
The path to awareness of this fantasy is. for
psychoanalysis, often especially via transfer-
ence analysis. In drama therapy, this awarcncss
can be attained through avenues other than
those involving transfcrcnce.
When a tmnsfercntial situation occurs and is
treated as such in drama therapy, the thcrapcu-
tic goal must be awareness of the specific trans-
ferential fantasy. This awareness must include
the clients consciousness that he or she has
cast the therapist in a specific role, and that this
role has sprung in large measure from the cli-
ents inner world.
For example. should a client experience the
therapist as the clients controlling father. it is
not enough for the therapist to deflect this pro-
jection onto a dramatic situation within the
group. For the client to gain adequate therapeu-
tic awareness of this relationship, the client
must recognize that it is a re-experience of the
relationship with his or her father as a complex
of transferential feelings toward the therapist.
Drumatic Treatment of Trunsferencr
How can we describe therapeutic treatment of the
transferential situation in drama therapy? Let us again
begin with the schematic representation. Figure 4
shows the movement between 1. 2, 3, and 4. This
movement is basically similar to the movement in
psychoanalysis (see Figure 2).
ELIAZ
Transference Situation in Drama Thetapy
I. Facilitation of Fantasy
covert 2. Cleaving
3. Enhancement
ovtrt
4. Awareness of Fantasy
Figure 4. Treatment of trw%ference In drama therapy
The two crucial differences between psychoana-
lytic treatment and drama therapy are apparent:
1. Cleuving precedes enhancemenr. Once the
therapist notes a transferential reaction, he or
she may choose to limit this reaction immedi-
ately. The therapist can accomplish this by re-
moving the projection from his or her person by
actively stressing the therapis~Ieader/director
role.
2 Enhancement is pmsible affer cleaving. Cleav-
ing precludes an enhancement that is uncon-
sciously directed toward the therapist. How-
cvcr, cleaving leaves open the possibility of
further enhancement of the previously transfcr-
ential fipurc through the medium of other fig-
ures. In drama therapy the ~rarna~i~ personae is
maximally flexible and broad. opening addi-
tional avenues for further enhancement. Thcsc
avenues may include re-projection of the figure
onto the therapist. but within the context of the
therapists playing a consciously dramatic role.
Other avenues involve projection onto group
mcmbcrs who tissumc dramatic roles. In such a
case the therapist helps the patient appreciate
what roles the patient has transferred into group
members. Important figures and object rela-
tions can be projected in imaginary or dramatic
form in order to create a therapeutic re-
ex~~encin~ of them. Gestalt therapy and psy-
ChodtJma use such techniques regularly (Ha-
vens, 1986). Re-projection techniques are often
emphasized by schools that deny or diminish
the importance of transferential reactions. Such
schools may claim that as long as the therapist
is active and not trying to create a psychoana-
lytic mirror, transference reactions do not
take place. The writer argues that psychoanal-
ysis does not create transferences, but that it
manages transferential reactions in a specific
theraputically effective manner (Sandier et al.,
1973).
 THE CONCEPT OF DRAMATIC
In terms used in this work, much of the psy-
choanalysts behavior is directed toward en-
hancement of the transferential figure projected
upon him or her and preserving the possibility
of an effective cleaving of this figure at the
appropriate point. As stated above, the drama
therapists activity does not prevent develop
ment of transference, but it may act as a select-
ing agent.
The writer has collected clinical evidence of
the development of transferential reactions
within the context of drama therapy and be-
lieves that transference reactions abound in
most clinical situations. In the case of drama
therapy, to ignore or deny transference phe-
nomena will serve only to limit the therapist
from therapeutic exploitation of these crucial
phenomena.
The situation. then, involves acknowledg-
ment of the process of transferential projecting
upon the therapist and other figures. The ana-
lyst would invite continued projection upon
him or herself; the Gestaltist would see only the
projection upon other media. Where can the
drama therapist turn for an alternative?
Sullivanian Model of Treatment
We can divide the interpersonal techniques in
two, those that displace and those that reduce
projection. The first are those I have called
counterprojective: directed against the other
people in the room. The purpose of these in-
terventions is to move the projections out of the
medium between therapist and patient onto the
space or screen before them. . . . The goal is
not to reduce or eliminate projections but to
move them. . . . (Havens, 1976, p. 101)
Havenss formulation of the counterprojective second. For this reason, the writer emphasizes aware-
techniques of Harry Stack Sullivan provides a direc-
tion for analysis. Here we find acceptance of the
transferential situation and a management, a moving
of the projection onto a screen. In another passage
(p. 32). Havens described Sullivans interpersonalist
treatment as one in which the therapist sits side by
side with the patient. The two observe an imaginary
screen upon which the patients social world is
re-created.
The drama therapist performs a similar, counter-
TRANSFERENCE
projective move when he or she arranges a dramatic
re-enactment of the transferential object relation.
However, rather than seek re-projection onto an imag-
inary screen, the drama therapist makes use of the
dramatic stage for this maneuver. We could easily
paraphrase: The goal is not to reduce or eliminate
projections. but to move them, that is. to cleave them
from the therapist and enhance them through the me-
dium of drama.
One final note must be added here. Although the
counterprojective cleaving in the service of en-
hancement may bear similarity to interpersonal tech-
nique. the final goals in using these techniques differ
fundamentally. Interpersonal technique strives to
achieve change not through insight into a specific
transferential or projected object-relations complex,
but through changes in paratactic distottions that are
mediated by the therapeutic conversation. Kicking
at assumptions rather than examining whole projec-
tions will be the medium of change (Jones, 1953, p.
52). Thus, comments about some aspect of a relation-
ship are made, rather than attempts to characterize the
relationship in lolo. A mother may be hypothesized
along a ground scheme of oral engulfment, but the
therapeutic comment may be limited to, Mothers
can be a mixed blessing. The imaginary screen is
more like a field for operative surgery than for histo-
logical examination (Jones, p. 52). This counterpro-
jcction is followed not by enhancement, but rather by
direct attack.
Here. drama therapy coincides more closely with
psychoanalysis, as well as with other re-projection
techniques. The counterprojective. or. rather, mov-
ing of the projection technique is followed by an
intense enhancement of the object relation. The goal
includes insight into the global nature of this fantasy
that will be reproduced and re-experienced in a global
way by means of dramatic technique, as well as ex-
pansion of ego skills in modification on the conscious
plane. The stage is for recreation first, modification
ness of the fantasy (see 4, Figure 4) as the final ther-
apeutic goal.
Structural Considerations of Transference
In psychoanalysis, the form of transference devel-
oped by the patient is considered symptomatic of the
patients condition. The analysts diagnosis is two-
fold. First, the images and relationship units projected
on the analyst provide the specific personal meanings
 ELIRAN
that require analysis. Second. the very ability of the
patient to relate to the therapist in a transferential
manner serves as a critical diagnostic signpost with
respect to the structure of the patients inner life and
relations to inner objects. This second. structural, is-
sue requires greater elaboration. Psychoanalytic the-
orists of the past two decades have attempted to ex-
pand and redefine some aspects of our notion of trans-
ference. Theorists had long observed that not all
patients were capable of developing useful transfer-
ential reactions when treated within the context of
psychoanalysis. Some patients became overwhelm-
ingly involved with the analyst, lost touch with the
reality of the therapeutic relationship, and conse-
quently demanded fulfillment of their wishes rather
than analysis. Others seemed oddly unable to attach
specific feeling constellations to the analyst. Rather,
they remained aloof. treated the analyst as analyst
only, but with exquisite sensitivity to being hurt by
the analyst (Havens. 1976).
To return to the notion of dramatic transference,
one may say that in the usual transferential relation-
ship the analyst plays simultaneous dual roles: as an-
alyst and as an imago from the patients inner world.
Let us now consider patients who see only the image
and lost the therapist. and patients who see only the
therapist without the specific imapo. Havens (1976)
refcrrcd to these situations as special cases of ovcr-
whelming transference and of insufficient transfcr-
ence. The technical ramifications of each of these
special circumstances are discussed separately.
Overwhelming trunsference. In this case, enhance-
ment is unnecessary. The patient spontaneously pro-
jects onto the analyst images from the patients inter-
nal world. The analyst will therefore make use
of cleaving techniques to deflect these projections
from his or her person in order to preserve the
therapy.
Havens discussed the use of Sullivanian counter-
projective techniques (Havens, 1976, 1986; Kern-
berg, 1984). Essentially, the treatment is focused on
bringing material to the overt level. The trouble is not
in getting onto the stage but in getting off of it.
Insufficient trunsference. In this case, the patient
fails to invest the analyst with a separate specific im-
age. Rather, the patient treats the analyst as a part of
the patient, a nonspecific tool for conducting current
interchange and regulation of self-esteem.
Here Havens cited the use of radical empathy, sim-
ilar to existential technique, in facilitating the pa-
tients tolerance for the treatment and in coaxing away
narcissistic libido; that is. attracting the patients in-
ELIAZ
terest in the analyst as object (1976, 1986). Techni-
cally, when one speaks of emphasis on techniques of
enhancement, one must be willing to postpone cleav-
ing maneuvers. Enhancement here refers, not to en-
hancement of the projection of an already formed
imago, but to the creation and development of this
imago. The self-object relationship with the analyst
progesses to the point at which the imago is suffi-
ciently organized within the patient so that he or she
can deal with it as a projected imago later in the
treatment (Kohut, 1971).
Treatment of Special Transferential Problems in
Drama Therapy
Analytic treatment, then. undergoes substantial
modification in response to these special transferential
situations. In the case of drama therapy. any conclu-
sions must be more tentative. It is possible only to
construct a basic guide to the questions involved. Fur-
ther clinical experience will be necessary to fill in the
details. and perhaps to redraw the map.
In the case of overwhelming transference. the
provocation of a fantasy relationship with the thcra-
pist will occur very quickly and deeply. If the thcra-
pist attempts to cleave this image via the overt rules of
the thcrapcutic relationship, this cleaving will prove
insufficient. The therapist will need to enlist further
tools to assist in this process. What is available? After
a simple cleaving, the therapist may use overt fanta-
sied relationships to other group members or to him or
herself within the drama to enhance the imago that has
been cleaved. Four variations of this process may be
required.
I. The therapist will choose a drama involving
group members only. The therapist will not en-
gage in the drama. The client already has dif-
ficulty distinguishing between the reality of the
therapist and the clients internal fantasies. The
tentative nature of a drama could further
weaken this grasp on reality.
2. The function of the group drama will be cleav-
ing more than enhancing. The drama may need
to be very explicit in order to attract the clients
attention away from the therapist. The dramatic
power of the group drama serves mainly to
compete with the excessive dramatic power of
the transference rather than to enhance a rudi-
mcntary, vaguely evolved imago.
3. The therapist uses the therapists role as direc-
tor of the group drama to further the cleaving
 THE CONCEPT OF DRAMATIC TKANSFEREIVCE

function. He or she may. for example, display that of the theatre. possess a
behavior inconsistent with the omniscience or of stable self catharsis in order to be
omnipotence projected onto the therapist by the able to give over to the artistic reality
client (Havens, 1986). reality
4. The final goal of the cleaving may be somewhat sense is insecure. however, may not be able to
limited. It may be sufficient for the client to themselves artistic expe-
achieve cleaving and awareness of the intense they must themsetves,
personal struggle with the transferential imago. telling themselves watching
The client may not be able to benefit from fur- is only theatre.
ther interpretation linking this previously trans-
ferential imago with his or her transferential patient with insufficient transference, Kohut
view of the therapist. continued. entering into the dramatic

dramatic techniques
WC can schematize these alterations as follows: suffice to projection specific imago. Fur-
Unconscious I.
ther, the specific created before it
can be organized sufficiently

i. Cleaving. involve a necessary delay at the point of enhance-

fantasy relation
members a
dramatic Cleaving formed? Most the individual
achieved partial.
Still partially uoconseious 3 Cleaving, Sceond Kom- make-up
pctitive) Phase
would be required
(Dramatic power of
group drama is cmploycd
continuously to pull the
dramatic sessions
transfcned
movement
figures. The thcra- once the client has consolidated
pist, in the role of dircc-
tar, purposely behaves

image).
Awareness of Original
Fantasy
include aware- (By itself inadequate
ness of the previous
transferential process
creation of a meaningful
towards the therapist is encouraged
empathic technique.)
therapy.
Enhancement-Second Phase
(Use of dramatic tcehniqucs to enhancement
In the case of insuf~cient t~nsfe~nce, enhance- ference. This phase currently hypothetical. problem for
ment techniques take priority. Let us consider a pas- research.)
sage from Kohut (197 I, p. 2 IOf): Cleaving
patient tol-
in its the analytic erate cleaving through devices?).
Personal Fantasy.
specific which resembles to a ex-
tent the of the artistic experience, such as therapy.
 ELIRAN ELIAZ

The similarity of Figure 6 to that of the psychoan- 3. Cleaving 3. Enhancement of

alytic one will be obvious. This similarity is due pri- Transferential
marily to a seeming restriction of enhancement to the Fantasy
realm of a direct relationship with the therapist. It 4. Awareness of 4. Awareness of
must be noted that the effectiveness of special drama Personal Fantasy Personal Fantasy
therapy techniques in treatment of the client with in-
sufficient transference remains untested. Drama Therapy Drama Therapy
One could summarize these three forms-
adequate, overwhelming, and insufficient transfer- Overwhelming Insufficient
ence-by way of a passage from Goethe quoted by Transference Transference
Kohut (1971, p. 211). These lines are quoted as ap (Figure 5) (Figure 6)
plying . . . not only to the mental state brought I. Premature. Intense 1. Facilitation of
about by the experience of a work of art, especially Transferential Transferential
the play on the stage, but also to the mental state that Fantasy Fantasy (inadequate)
characterizes the engagement of the analytic process
2. Cleaving, First Phase 2. Enhancement, First
as the patients past is revived and the present
Phase
recedes.
The passage evokes an image of the patients de- 3. Cleaving, Second 3. Enhancement.
velopment of adequate transference: (competitive) Phase Second Phase
4. Awareness of 4. Cleaving
What I possess, seems far away, Original Imago
And what is gone becomes reality. (partial)
5. Awareness of
For the patient with overwhelming transference. Personal Fantasy
one could paraphrase:
Conclusion
What 1 possess is of no importance Let us now return to Dwayne. who was left at the
Because my past is my only reality. end of the music therapy session. Dwayne was
wrapped around the therapist, crying, Dont leave
And the patient with insufficient transference: mc alone; Dont Ict them take me; You promised you
would be with me.
What I possess is always far away The therapist was not a therapist anymore. For
Because what is gone has not yet become Dwayne, the therapist was simply the old man who
reality. had promised to be with him. Here is an example of
a transferential situation. Here is transferential spec-
The drama therapist, no less than the psychoana- ificity in its double sense: specificity of content-that
lyst, will be called upon to distinguish among these is. a specific constellation of feeling and fantasies,
radically different transferences and to alter his or her and not just a vague, general attitude, and specificity
therapeutic responses accordingly. of object-that is, this constellation has been trans-
In looking schematically at a comparison of the ferred specifically onto the person of the therapist,
management of transference in psychoanalysis and and not globally and vaguely onto many figures.
drama therapy, we see the following: The provocation of the fantasy relationship with
Psychoanalysis Drama Therapy the therapist occurred very quickly and deeply. The
cleaving of the imago from the therapist via the overt
(Figure 2) (Figure 4)
rules of the therapeutic relationship (the therapist tried
1. Facilitation of 1. Facilitation of gently to get Dwayne off of him). While doing so the
Transferential Transferential therapist said to Dwayne: I understand that we must
Fantasy Fantasy hold hands and walk to class (see p. 335). This
2. Enhancement of 2. Cleaving proved insufficient. What could the therapist have
Transferential done?
Fantasy The therapist could have used an overt fantasied
 THE CONCEPf OF DRAMATIC
relationship to other group members to enhance the
imago that had been cleaved. Examples include say-
ing goodby by involving the group members only,
or taking the role of a very powerful director to
further the cleaving function.
The increasing emphasis on the analysis of trans-
ference, together with developments in ego psychol-
ogy, have led other psychoanalytic writers to attempt
to refine and expand the concept of transference. Al-
though there is extensive literature, representing
many concepts and models of transference. psycho-
analytic transference remains as a special case in
which limitations of technique restrict the expression
and handling of the transference.
In searching for a more general concept of trans-
ference, I found that drama therapy can offer an al-
ternative understanding and approach to the transfer-
ential situation. What is described as dramatic trans-
ference can be seen as the fundamental expression
of transference within a therapeutic situation. Psy-
choanalytic transference can be understood as a spc-
cific expression of dramatic transference.
Much of the psychoanalysts behavior is directed
toward enhanccmcnt of the transfcrcntial figure pro-
jcctcd upon him or her. The drama therapist, in con-
trast, may act as a sclccting apcnt, though this dots
not prevent the dcvclopmcnt of transfcrcncc. By sc-
letting agent, the writer means that the drama thcra-
pist is capable of willfully shifting the transfcrcnce
from therapist as persona to therapist as person, as hc
or shr shifts from one role to another. Thcsc shifts, in
turn, augment the quality of enhancement and bring
cleaving.
Grcenson argued that in order for psychoanalysis
to be successful, there must be a split in the patients
ego between a reasonable, observing. analyzing
ego. and an experiencing, subjective, irrational ego
(1967. p. 47). This is the split between participant and
observer-an essential factor in drama therapy prac-
tice. By using the concept of aesthetic distance in
drama therapy, the two stages (participant and ob-
server) can be experienced simultaneously. When it is
both felt and observed, the paradox of repression is
resolved (Scheff, 198 I, p. 47).
In formulating future research questions and prob-
lems concerning transference in drama therapy, the
researcher might well respond to the situations of in-
sufficient and overwhelming transference.
In the case of insufficient transference. research
questions might include: How can the drama therapist
attract the patients interest in the therapist as object?
TRANSFERENCE
(Havens, 1976. 1986). What are the techniques of-
fered by drama therapy for enhancement? Enhance-
ment here refers not to enhancement of the projection
of an already formed imago. but to the creation and
development of this imago.
In the case of overwhelming transference, the
questions might include: What are the cleaving tech-
niques that can be used by the drama therapist to
deflect projections from the therapists person in order
to preserve the therapy? How can Sullivanian coun-
terprojective techniques (Havens, 1976, 1986; Kem-
berg. 1984) be demonstrated in drama therapy?
Although this study concentrates on a psychoana-
lytical model for drama therapy, many other models
are used to help elucidate the still young discipline
that has yet to discover a developed theoretical base.
The work of the symbolic interactions, for example,
provide rich conceptual grounds for further building
drama therapy theory. This and other work (i.e., that
of Piaget, Erikson, and Jung) should be addressed in
further theoretical studies.
The implications of this research for training of
drama therapists appears to be rich. However, further
research needs to be done in exploring the effects of
working with transference in drama therapy. Trans-
ference is a very complex phenomenon in both psy-
choanalysis and drama therapy. It has been explored
for many years in psychoanalysis. As it is in its in-
fancy as a drama therapy concept, great care should
bc taken in research and practice before drawing any
conclusive results.
The connection between transference and drama
has implications for both psychoanalytic psychother-
apy and drama therapy. For the former, this linkage
provides a fresh metaphor, transference as drama,
which can aid in further broadening a general concep-
tualization of transference. Further, it provides new
techniques that the therapist can employ to heighten
the clients self-awareness. For the latter, this rela-
tionship provides a significant concept that is at the
root of drama therapy practice.
Although this writer compares two systems of psy-
chotherapy, it should be understood that psychoanal-
ysis comes from a long history of theory and practice,
whereas drama therapy is still very much in a forma-
tion phase.
This paper is part of an early study (Eliaz, 1989)
that has been done on the issue of transference in
drama therapy. It is the start of understanding the
connection between psychoanalytical transference
and what the writer has called dramatic transference.
 ELIRAN ELIAZ

In further examining the frequency and quality of Greenson. R. (1967). The technique and practice of psychoanaly-
sis. New York: lntemattonal tiruversities Press.
these phenomena through drama therapy research.
Havens. L. (1976). Punicipanr observation. New York: Jason
one may get closer to understand its importance in Aronson.
drama therapy treatment. Havens. L. (1986). Muting CORIUC~. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
The approaches the writer has surveyed do not Universiry Press.
combine to form a unified and agreed-upon model. Jones. E. (1953). The life and work of Sigmund Freud (Vol. I).
There are numerous conceptual and practical differ- New York: Basic Books.
Kemberp. 0. (1984). Severe personaliry disorders. New Haven:
ences. Still, 1 hope that this presentation contains suf-
Yale University Press.
ficient information so that one can begin to trace the
Kohut. H. (1971). The anulysis of the serf. New York: International
general direction for treatment of transference in Universities Press.
drama therapy. Landy, R. (1986). Dramu therapy: Conccpfs und practices.
Springfield. IL: Charles C Thomas.

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