The Drama Triangle in Therapy

I was discussing ‘the drama triangle’ with my supervisor today, and the roles we can so often get caught up in of ‘victim, persecutor and rescuer’. This is something to watch out for a lot as therapists, as it can be easy to be pulled into the ‘helper’ or ‘rescuer’ role. When this happens we tend to disempower our clients. We see them as a ‘victim’, or someone in ‘need’ of our help. This is not a position anyone wants to be in, and so sometimes a person being treated as a victim moves into the ‘persecutor’ role, attacking or blaming the one trying to rescue them, causing that person to then move into either ‘victim’ or ‘persecutor’ in turn.

The drama triangle plays out as long as there is the idea of someone weak and in need of help. Of course as therapists, and in life, we can help. Yet when this is done from a place of insecurity, of needing to be seen as helpful, or in meeting one’s own need to be appreciated or liked, it is the ‘rescuer’ role on the drama triangle, and as such may set up a dynamic where the person ‘being helped’ takes either the victim or persecutor role.

The ‘victim’ role might be a position where a person insists change is impossible. No matter how many suggestions the ‘rescuer’ makes, they find an excuse or reason it can’t work for them. The ‘persecutor’ role might be a punishing or attacking response to being ‘helped’. For example if a therapist is overly accommodating in changing the session time, the client may decide not to show up, responding negatively to the suggestion that they are so ‘weak’ as to need special treatment.

Essentially, when involved in the drama triangle, there is a lack of respect for the other party. In my work as a therapist I do not see ‘victims’, but I do see people who may benefit from therapy. This doesn’t make them weak or broken. It makes them vulnerable and brave. While they do not ‘need’ anything from me, they sometimes need a place to come and be held, or mirrored back to, while they work through the very real challenges and traumas they may be holding them back.

The best kind of therapy is where there is a genuine respect for our clients. We do not see them as ‘broken’ or ‘victims’, and so are much less likely to be caught up in either the rescuer or the persecutor position on the drama triangle. This paves the way for genuine change to take place.