Working with Life Scripts: Spontaneity, Surplus Reality, and Personal Change

This article addresses features of spontaneity, the power of life scripts, and surplus reality. A psychodrama unfolds wherein Jean, a 22-year-old woman, confronts the issue of being pulled across the generational boundary by her mother, who has used Jean to solve her struggles in her marriage as well as stresses in her life. Jean resolves the issue by disengaging from her mother in a dramatic scene in which the entire group assists by empowering Jean.