Q&A for Karen's newest psychodrama book

 

Thanks to the Racine Journal Times, which interviewed me about my newest book Show and Tell Psychodrama: Skills for Therapists, Coaches,Teachers, Leaders. I'm always happy to talk about psychodrama and action methods. Read the Q&A here.

Expecting the arrival of Show & Tell Psychodrama soon!

About to be birthed -- my new book Show and Tell Psychodrama: Skills for Therapists, Coaches, Teachers, Leaders. We're in the final process of book preparation, with publication scheduled for May 2014. Order here. 

Take a peek. Here's the front cover:

And the back cover:

Our eating disorders & psychodrama book is on its way!

I'm thrilled to report my new book with psychodramatist Linda Ciotola, M.Ed., TEP, titled “Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury,” has just been accepted for publication by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

We don’t yet know the publication schedule but we're excited and want to share the good news. We think it is the first book to address the topic of eating disorders and psychodrama and in addition to clinical applications, we will be including some great new info about incorporating education, yoga, movement, nutrition, Reiki, family constellation work, mindfulness and more.

We are both psychodramatists and psychodrama trainers, and representative of the many fields  -- mental health, education, law, business and consulting -- that use the valuable method of psychodrama.  I am a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and personal growth coach and Linda is an educator, fitness trainer and yoga instructor and the founder of Healing Bridges in Maryland.

We'll keep you posted as details arrive from the publisher. In the meanwhile, join our Facebook page and see an earlier blog post which includes a training handout here.

Psychodrama has powerful results with eating disorders

Linda Ciotola and "body book," an awareness activity.

With today marking the start of National Eating Disorders Week, today is a good time to spotlight the use of action methods for the treatment of eating disorders.

The use of psychodrama is especially helpful with the treatment of  traditional eating disorders as well as “dieting disorders” and a range of difficulties with body image. As I put together my next book with co-author and sister psychodramatist Linda Ciotola, I'm reminded again about the complexity of eating disorders and the amazing power of psychodrama.

Our book, titled "Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury," has just been accepted for publication by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and you will see it soon. In the meanwhile, you may enjoy my sample eating disorder training handout for trainees here.

To read about Linda Ciotola's innovative work with eating disorders and several articles about psychodrama, see her web site here.

A number of practitioners and psychodramatists, including Kim Burden, Monica Callahan, Kathy Metcalf, Colleen Baratka, Mary Bellofatto and Linda Ciotola have devoted some or all of their professional work to eating disorders. Listen to Mary Bellofatto, a psychodramatist who is a member of the board of directors for the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, talk about the value of psychodrama here. You may also find one of Mary's handouts here. 

Both the sociometric and the experiential nature of the modality help eating disorder patients in a number of ways. Sociometrically, the understanding of roles the patient plays — including the self-destructive roles — is a first step in enhancing new roles that are healthy and self-caring.

With psychodrama, the client is able to experience her relationship with the eating disorder as well learn more about its role in her life. The psychodramatic group is another plus, as people with eating disorders are often isolated from others and tend to use food or the misuse of food to avoid relationships with people.

Here's a short video about psychodrama with Angelina Gonzalez, therapist at the Oliver  Pyatt Centers, talking about the basics of psychodrama: