The book and its background
Published in 2026, Társas utazás – Kommentárok Xantus János Kiki a csoportban című pszichodráma-filmjéhez was written by Zsuzsa Mérei, András Vikár and Zsolt K. Horváth and issued by Budapest Metropolitan University in the METU Teória series. Its title recalls Ferenc Mérei’s image of a successful group experience as a shared journey.
Why does a film need a book?
Film acts directly through faces, movements, pauses and action. The book slows the experience down and places the film within the history of Hungarian psychodrama and its professional and cultural context. The two media therefore complement rather than compete with each other.
Several points of view
The volume combines conversations, professional and film-historical studies, personal memories and visual material. It brings together the viewpoints of participants, group leaders, filmmakers and later viewers instead of reducing the film to a single interpretation.
The ethics of visibility
Intimate and vulnerable personal material may emerge in a psychodrama group. The presence of a camera raises questions about observation, consent, dignity and responsibility. The film was made with a specially organised ten-session self-awareness group, within explicit boundaries designed to protect the process.
An intermediate space between reality and play
The psychodramatic stage can be understood as an intermediate space where real personal experiences are played with outside the direct rules of everyday reality. The film creates a similar duality: we see real people and genuine emotional processes, yet we are watching an edited work of cinema.
The Pszichodráma Labor perspective
The book’s central value is that psychodrama cannot be possessed from a single viewpoint. A situation begins to change when it becomes visible from several positions and when other experiences can stand alongside the familiar story. The volume therefore continues the dialogue initiated by the film.