Various hats, old clothes and masks, toys, and dolls were dumped onto an Oriental rug in front of a group of uncomfortable adults. A gray-haired, barefoot woman smiled, cajoling the group to find items to dress up with. Although reluctant at first, each person soon latched onto an item.

This is an Oct. 24 presentation at the Psychodrama Training Institute of Chicago. The dress-up activity was the first phase of the little-known therapeutic technique.

“Psychodrama is more about action than talking because the intellect can defend us very well,” said Lorelei Goldman, a psychodramatist and director of the institute. “Instead of talking about feelings, you get to experience them.”

Psychodrama is a professional practice based on ideas of Dr. Jacob L. Moreno, a psychiatrist who first developed group psychotherapy while working with a group of prostitutes in Vienna.

Moreno’s observations on the benefits of group psychotherapy led him to develop psychodrama in the 1940s. Instead of talking about problems, psychodramatists relive their experiences through role-playing.

The institute began holding drop-in demonstrations Sept. 24 at the Heartwood Holistic Center, 1599 Maple Ave. Formerly part of the Oasis Psychodrama Institute in Chicago, the not-for-profit institute is run by Goldman, who has a master’s degree.

The institute serves mostly as a drop-in center for people to experience psychodrama, although students studying to become psychodramatists also are welcome.

Visitors must contact Goldman before attending the Wednesday night sessions and are called by their first names to preserve anonymity.

People come to work through not only personal problems but also collective issues, such as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Goldman said.

Psychodrama has three acts. After an ice-breaker, which could be a simple activity such as saying each person’s name, participants start the second phase, in which a person called the protagonist volunteers to have his or her problem acted out. Other group members are “auxiliary egos” and represent figures in the protagonist’s experience. They create a sense of solidarity, camaraderie and safety for the protagonist.

One of the most important parts is the role-reversal, in which the protagonist not only acts as himself but also “becomes” other people.

“Role-reversal is one of the most powerful techniques in psychodrama,” Goldman said. “The person who is selected learns new perspectives and perceptions about himself and others.”

The third stage, the “reformed ego” phase, allows for reflection on the enactment.

Goldman said not many people know what psychodrama is.

“The idea is something people are afraid of,” she said. “They think it’s a lot of therapy when it’s not.”

Although psychodrama is used worldwide in hospitals, schools and rehabilitation centers, the Evanston institute is currently the only place in the Midwest where psychodrama is practiced on a drop-in basis, Goldman said.

One woman, Francine, has attended the institute’s psychodrama sessions twice. Recently she mentioned her divorce problems in a session.

Francine said the sessions helped her stand up for herself.

She even gained the confidence to ask her ex-husband, who was supposed to move out of state in late November, to leave sooner.

“Lorelei really knows what she’s doing,” Francine said. “She is good at getting to the core, leading me to work on what needs work and focus on what we need to focus on.”