Psychodrama conference catalog is out!

Right now! Check out the conference catalog of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, happening April 9-12, 2015 in Philadelphia. A slew of presenters (I'm proud to be on the list!), plus keynotes, awards ceremony, silent auction and more. Details here.

Scenes from the 2014 psychodrama conference

Scenes from the 2014 annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama in Oakland, Calif. Watch for more blog postings about the conference in the next several days.

What's in your warm up (basket)?

I'm having fun putting together my donations for the silent auction fundraiser, which is a special feature of the annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, coming up next month April 3-7 in Oakland, Calif.

All baskets have themes -- and this one is "Eye on Images For Warm Ups," with a focus on using cards and other images for warm up activities.  I love using commercial card decks for to begin groups and individual sessions as they are evocative ways to stirring stories, feelings, memories and ideas. At the beginning of a session, they can be placed on the floor, right side up, for people to look at and select, or in a basket in a part of the room or passed by hand from one group member to another.

In this basket, I've included Loving Our Earth cards, Disney princess cards, animal magnets, framed and matted animal prints, vintage post cards, animal notepads and animal book marks, greeting cards and a set of "cards" that I made from CD envelopes and pictures cut from magazines and other places.

Here's how I made my picture envelopes (see photo, with sample at left) and how you can make them:

• CD envelopes with cellophane window
• Magazines, greeting cards, brochures, photos and other items with interesting pictures
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil

Then:

• Make template with card stock, cutting your card stock 1/8 inch less on each side.
• Place template over most interesting graphic part of picture from magazines, cards, brochures or whatever else you have collected.
• Use pencil to mark lines lightly on picture.
• Insert picture into envelope.
• Close envelope by folding flap inside or tape.

There's still time to come to the conference. Details here.

Psychodrama, all over Facebook

Psychodrama is about groups and social networks, and you can find psychodrama on Facebook. Just for fun, I took a quick tour around Facebook to find out where psychodrama has landed. Here's what I found:

American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama is the U.S. membership organization, and this is its official Facebook page. You'll find news from ASGPP, with special emphasis on its annual conference. Link here.

Midwest Psychodrama especially welcomes members from the Midwest states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,  Minnesota, Wisconsin and nearby. Link here.

The British Psychodrama Association  is the accrediting body for psychodrama psychotherapy and sociodrama in Britain. Link here.

The International Psychodrama Group has one of  the larger memberships on Facebook, at 1,072 members. Link here.

U.S. Psychodrama & Sociometry Journal focuses on research with about psychodrama, sociometry and related topics and encourages interest in and writing for the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy, published by the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. Link here.

Open Psychodrama Study Group by Students, for Students and Practitioners is one of the newer Facebook groups, started by Adam Barcroft and focuses on studying for the U.S. certification exam. Link here.

Toronto Center of Psychodrama and Sociometry is related to the center in Toronto which has provided quality training in psychodrama, not only for residents of southern Ontario, but also for an international community of students. Link here.

Oxford School of Psychodrama and Integrative Psychotherapy is a psychotherapy training organization, originally called Oxford Psychodrama Group, and offers psychodrama workshops in Oxford and an online book shop. Link here.

Young Friends of Psychodrama focuses on younger people interested in psychodrama, but the truth is -- anyone can join! Link here.

Moreno Psychodrama Society comes from the "down under" country of Australia and is moderated by psychodramatist Sue Daniel. Link here.

Psychodrama Morocco, for anyone interested in what's happening in the psychodrama scene in Morocco. Link here.

Oh, yes, there's even more groups -- in Egypt, Russia and other places with alphabets and language that I can't read. Have fun touring and spreading  the word about psychodrama!

Meet you in Oakland, Calif., for our psychodrama conference

This year we'll have people who love psychodrama to gather, learn, play, talk, share -- and psychodramatize!

It's the annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. The dates are April 3-7 in Oakland, Calif. Today, Feb. 7, is the last day to get the discount for conference attendance.

Catalog of workshops and registration details here.

I've been invited to present, and my workshop  Eating Disorders and the Ancestors Connection on Saturday, April 5. Psychotherapy for eating disorders traditionally looks at the immediate life of the person seeking help. As we widen our perspective – that many of our problems may have roots in intergenerational family trauma - the integration of psychodrama and constellation work offers new tools to understand and heal. In this workshop, we identify hidden intergenerational issues relating to eating disorders and how to select interventions that honor suffering, promote strength and allow love to flow.

If you're going, watch for our book signing evening and look for me and my coauthor Linda Ciotola signing our book, Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury. I also hope to have my newest book, Modern Psychodrama, available, which is in press right now.

 How about you? Will I see you there?

Adam Blatner talks about "Beyond Psychodrama"

Adam Blatner, M.D., TEP,  is one of the biggest voices to assert that psychodrama is more than therapy -- and of the great need to contribute this method to education, law, personal growth, theater improvisation and coaching and the like.

In this video, he discusses "Beyond Psychodrama: The Global Reach of Moreno's Ideas and How They Merge with  Other Trends" as the opening plenary session of the 71st annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama in April 2013.

Warming up for ASGPP's conference in April

 

Come to the conference! The 71st Annual Conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama has the details ready.

The date is April 11-15, 2013 in Arlington, Va., with more than 100 workshops and presentations by many leaders in the field from the United States and around the globe, showcasing their work and the wide reach of psychodrama and sociometry in a variety of applications to clinical and non-clinical settings.

I'll be there with my colleague and friend Linda Ciotola and we'll offer "Healing Circles for Eating Disorders," from our new book Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury.

Find details and conference catalog here.   

The conference is open to those who have an interest in psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy for personal growth or professional development -- or both -- and includes presentations by  keynote speaker is Tara Brach, Ph.D., an internationally renowned clinical psychologist, author and teacher of meditation and mindfulness. who will also lead an experiential workshop. 

The plenary will be led by Adam Blatner, MD, TEP, and Allee Baltner. Both will highlight the global reach of psychodrama. Adam is really one of psychodrama's stars, and he and Allee are the authors of The Art of Play, one of the first books to recognize the healing elements of play.

There will also be the group's annual awards event -- where I'm proud to receive the David Kipper's Scholar Award this year -- plus regular events like the newcomers' gathering, Adam Blatner's Songfest with Lorelei Goldman and the traditional Saturday night party.

 Hope to see you there!

Chris Stamp: from rock and roll to role play and addictions

 

Chris Stamp, the star-making co-manager of The Who – who became a psychotherapist and brought psychodrama and experiential therapy to many organizations that served the addicted and the homeless – died of cancer on Nov. 24 in New York City at the age of 70. 

Never far from theater, he began his career as a young man as a prop handler in his hometown of London. He co-discovered the rock band The Who in 1963 and created Track Records, the first independent record label in England. He later served as executive producer of Ken Russell's 1975 film adaptation of The Who's rock  opera "Tommy." 

Chris went to rehab for serious drug and alcohol problems in 1987 and later returned to school, obtaining credentials as a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and a credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselor (CASAC) and a certified experiential therapist (CET).

He worked in the addictions field since 1995. I met Chris when I worked at the Caron Treatment Centers in Pennsylvania and he was associated with Caron's New York City office. I imagine that he must have brought the same considerable energy, talent and creativity to treatment that he had brought to the music business, initiating and innovating experiential groups at Gracie Square Hospital and at Arms Acres and  work with the homeless population for two years at the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter.

He worked for a decade as a consultant at the Freedom Institute in New York, bringing psychodrama to expand its addiction treatment programs. He maintained a private practice in New York and East Hampton, Long Island -- where he became a kind of guru to many recovering alcoholics and addicts -- with his wife Calixte Stamp, a certified experiential psychotherapist.

He was active in the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama as a member of its executive council and its international committee.

In addition to pursuing training in psychodrama, he became a certified auricular acupuncturist and a Reiki Master. At the time of his death, he had been the subject of a documentary film titled “The Stamp and Lambert Story,” based on his business relationship with drug-using Kit Lambert, who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1981; he was reportedly  writing his autobiography.

Pete Townshend remembered Stamp with a touching essay on The Who's web site, calling him "loved and respected" by hundreds of people who he met in his work as a counselor. News of his death has appeared around the world, including Rolling Stone and The New York Times, no doubt introducing many more readers to the presence of psychodrama and experiential therapies.

His  funeral service is scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Old Whaler's Church, Sag Harbor, N.Y.

ASGPP has a sparkling new web site!

 

The American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama has a brand new web site, with lots more information, photos and history, plus free books to download, classic articles and updated guidelines for making submissions to the journal. Take a look.

2013 psychodrama conference in Virginia

Save the date!

The American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama is planning its 2013 conference April 11-15 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va., just minutes from Washington, D.C. The theme for the 71st annual conference is "Psychodrama; Being, Seeing and Acting that Connects Our Global Community."




Tian Dayton's new book on adult children of alcoholics

Tian Dayton's newest book, The ACOA Trauma Syndrome: The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult Relationships, takes a look at what it means to be an adult who grew up in an alcoholic home, the childhood pain that results from this experience and the way to find happiness in adult relationships.

Tian, who has a Ph.D. in psychology and is a sister psychodramatist, writes not from ivory tower research -- although she does offer plenty of research to back up her information about neurobiology -- but also from a very personal perspective:

"My father had two very distinct personalities. The same father who tenderly gave me café au lait on a spoon and fresh-squeezed orange juice in a baby glass, who listened to my childish sentences with such pride and pleasure, who dreamed impossible dreams for my future and worked all of his life to give me the best of everything—that same beloved father had a monster living inside of him. And that monster was as frightening to me as the other side of him was beautiful. And that monster grew stronger with each drink he took. At different times of the month, the week, and eventually the day, the monster would take over my father, and I would have no idea where my 'real' dad had gone."

Tian, who has been awarded the Scholar's Award from  the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, is the executive editor of the organization's journal. She has written a number of books about psychodrama and experiential therapy including The Living Stage and  The Drama Within, and has also documented much about pain and trauma associated with dysfunctional families, including Heartwounds, Emotional Sobriety and Trauma and Addiction.

Here she talks about emotional sobriety and growing up in a family that hurts:

A psychodrama rhyme!

What's your favorite psychodrama song?

(Wait a minute. Does psychodrama have songs?)

Well, kind of. This one comes from the Saturday night celebratory dance at the 2012 conference at the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama -- with a group of slightly revised lyrics -- popular since the founding the ASGPP in 1942.

This is my personal favorite, sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things":

High chair and low chair and concretization

Doubles and mirrors and showing creation.

Stand in the doorway and share your issue, 

then one of the members will give you a tissue.

When the protagonist cries

and the director replies

Role reverse right now.

we simply remember our favorite techniques and then

we can be in the  now.

Watch for our next conference April 11-15 in Arlington, Va.

What about research about psychodrama?

 

 Here's a topic for conversation with psychodrama students, practitioners and trainers. 

Actually there are several topics:

• Why don't more people write for the U.S. journal known as the Journal for Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy?

•  Do we need research? 

• And what kind of publishing venue should be research and other writings be circulated?

That last question is a topic that I've heard discussed as a consulting editor for the U.S. journal, published by the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. Do we need a print journal? Or should we go for an online presence? We're still talking and thinking about it, and it's a topic that's bandied about in academia as well, with this article titled Why Do We Need Academic Journals in the First Place?

Research helps us define our work and its value. Although it is probably accurate to say that it is never really possible to quantify the amazing human spirit, we can also say that research studies offer a beginning point to observe the value of the action method and how it can be applied in the world at large. However, the journal is more than research -- it also includes case studies, examples of action processes by practitioners, book reviews and creative contributions such as poems and pictures. 

If you are interested in writing for the journal on a topic related to psychodrama, sociodrama, sociometry or group psychotherapy, here are the guidelines.

If you're a Facebook denizen, join the page for U.S. Psychodrama and Sociometry Journal.

New Ritual Theatre book includes a chapter on psychodrama

New book out: 

"Ritual Theatre - The Power of Dramatic Ritual in Personal Development Groups and Clinical Practice." It's published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and available through Amazon.

The book is a collaboration of different styles of work with ritual theater, including a chapter on psychodrama by Sylvia Israel and Elizabeth Plummer,  both psychodramatists in California -- and  edited by Claire Schrader in London. 

See a preview of their chapter Psychodrama and Ritual Theatre here.

Here's a link to Claire's blog where she talks more about the book and her own influences from different aspects of Ritual Theatre including African shaman Malidoma Somé.

Go to Indonesia with Connie Miller & Souldrama

Souldrama group in Greece in 2009.

Connie Miller, the New Jersey psychodramatist who has developed Souldrama, an action-oriented process for spiritual growth, is looking for volunteers to accompany her on her next trip to Indonesia to  teach psychodrama, Souldrama and group therapy using action methods and sociometry. She and her group are scheduled to teach at the University of Jakarta and then visit Java, Sulawesi and Bali.

 

Connie describes her creation as a new approach combining psychology, spirituality and the creative arts and has taken it to Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Holland, Greece and England. Her book, Starve the Ego, Feed the Soul: Ignite Your Spiritual Intelligence! is available online. 

The trip is planned for August 2012. Contact Connie at the International Institute for Souldrama if you would like more details.