16 passengers of the Lufthansa airliners 'Landshut', which had been hijacked in October 1977, underwent psychotherapy commissioned by the German Ministry of Labour and Social Order. This therapy took the form of four sessions of one week duration, each session including a daily minimum of eight hours of group psychotherapy. The method used was psychodrama therapy based on depth therapy
... [Show full abstract] principles. Among the symptoms observed were phobias, acute timidity, sleep disturbances including anxiety dreams, obsessional memories of the hijacking, as well as reactive developments. The uniqueness of this therapy is discussed with respect to the mode of traumatization, the resulting group dynamics in the therapeutic setting, the therapeutic technique as well as the therapeutic group process and, finally, the position of the therapist and co-therapist in the group. In addition, the prevailing pattern of disturbances in the individual's coming to terms with these particular traumatic experiences is presented. The paper concludes with a discussion pertaining to the applicability of and treatment with depth psychology-oriented psychodrama therapy when dealing with patients exposed to this form of acute psycho-traumatic stress.