Trial In Action: The Persuasive Power of Psychodrama

Reading Trial in Action will encourage you to confront and refine everything you think you know about psychodrama. The book reminds us of a truth we forget sometimes: the best lawyers are those who recognize that most jurors want trials to be about justice, not about determining winners and losers. Trial in Action is a must read for both beginning law students and seasoned practitioners.

As an academic and a trial consultant, I often reflect that law schools do precious little to teach how to prepare a case, much less how to prepare oneself for courtroom work. Trial in Action will become the manual to which practicing lawyers will turn for a unifying vision of the action method of case preparation and trial presentation.

Garcia-Colson, Sison, and Peckham intelligibly meld psychodrama and trial skills in an easily understandable book. As a pioneer in psychodramatic trial consulting, I highly recommend this book to lawyers and psychodramatists alike. J. L. Moreno would be pleased.

Trial in Action explains psychodramatic techniques in a way that even a layperson could understand. Filled with practical advice and examples, it guides the novice and refreshes the skilled practitioner. Learn what you didn’t learn in law school—how to tell your client’s story in a compelling manner.

If you want to become better at what you love doing, take a chance and read this book. It will revolutionize your life and practice.

This is an amazing book! It explains both the theory of psychodrama and its practical application to trial lawyers in a straightforward and easy to understand way. It is one of those rare books that the reader gains more insight and knowledge every time he or she peruses its pages. What a wonderful book for trial lawyers who care about their clients.

Trial In Action is one of the best written books on psychodrama that has come to my attention.

This is a terrific new book that fully describes the use of psychodrama as a tool for trial lawyers. It is written by three brilliant lawyers who are also impressively skilled psychodramatists. They are also eloquent story tellers. They take you step by step through the process of using psychodrama to help discover the client’s story and communicate it to the jury. An important addition to library of any trial lawyer, it is also very valuable for psychodramatists and psychodrama students as it describes the method simply and elegantly.

I first experienced psychodrama at Trial Lawyers College. It was transformational. But, understanding the power of the techniques and how to actually apply them to my work as a trial lawyer was a huge challenge for me. Then I read “Trial in Action” and all of the pieces came together. Trial in Action was like mortar holding together all the different parts of the psychodramatic techniques I’d learned. I can honestly say that Trial in Action was the single best investment in learning about psychodrama and how to actually use it to be a better trial lawyer that I’ve made. Without the fundamental guidance that is provided in this book, I might still be floundering about, wondering “how does this all fit together?” Now I truly understand, and am very grateful to Joane, Fredilyn and Mary for this wonderful contribution to our work as trial lawyers.

If you’re a trial lawyer and don’t know about psychodrama, this is the book for you. Trial in Action makes concrete the forensic applications of psychodrama by bridging the gap between psychology and trial work. This is the book the practicing bar has been waiting for.

Great advances happen when creative people look at matters in previously unrecognized ways. With this long overdue work, the authors show trial attorneys how the courtroom looks through the prism of psychodrama. Your trial work will never be the same.

Trial in Action: The Persuasive Power of Psychodrama is a wonderful book that pulls together for the first time in one place a comprehensive analysis of the use of psychodrama in all aspects of trial practice. I am delighted to see a book that makes this topic accessible to a large audience. Not only is the book clear and easy to understand but it is filled with many practical examples of how the psychodrama techniques can impact case development, investigation, witness preparation, and all parts of the trial itself. Such a book is long overdue.

Superbly written, with heartfelt and compassionate prose, Trial in Action is your ticket to a powerful journey that has no end. Along the way, you’ll find yourself becoming the kind of trial lawyer you never dared to dream you could become.

This book is perfect for practitioners confronting the challenge of representing unpopular defendants in court.

The three authors have one foot in the world of psychodrama and one foot in the world of trial practice. This book is the perfect integration of the two, and invaluable to trial attorneys. It is an essential handbook for our office shelves.

I am so impressed with this book! It takes what I’ve seen one of the authors do at training seminars and breaks it into easy steps. They’ve taken_x000B_ what we criminal defense lawyers do, and explained how to get to the true heart of the client and her case. Not only would I buy this book, I’d make_x000B_ it mandatory reading for trial practice students.

This book makes psychodrama techniques accessible. It makes solid suggestions as to how and why psychodrama can expand trial presentations beyond the dry factual approach you learned in law school. Move juries and make your cases come alive!