Blog features psychodrama topics on LinkedIn

I've just begin to post business-related articles on LinkedIn, the rapidly growing business social media site. These articles focus on topics related ideas for small business, alternative practices and keeping healthy as a business person. 

Some topics related to psychodrama and sociometry include:

• Be a rock star with role play, discussing best practices for  role play in a variety of settings here.
• Creativity will make your conference memorable, giving examples of how the American Society of Psychodrama and Group Psychotherapy has used creativity to spur engagement with participants here.
• Getting to know you: networking from a holistic viewpoint, making suggestions about easy networking from a sociometric viewpoint here.

If this interests you and you are subscribed on Linked In, please feel free to follow, share and comment.

Knowledge or experience? Love this!

Love today's post from George Takei's Facebook page. It's so psychodramatic, so sociometric! We see that knowledge separates us, and sharing experience connects us. It reminds me about the value of sharing at the end of a psychodramatic session. What about you?

How Rudolph became a sociometric star

Rudolph, the reindeer with the red nose, is the classic character of Christmas lore. You know, the lonely reindeer bullied by other reindeer because of his unusual difference.

Rory Remer, a TEP and professor of educational, school and counseling psychologist the University of Kentucky, reminds us that this story is a lesson in the effect of changing the sociometric criterion of choice and the impact of aristotele.

Sociometry is the science of surveying preferences in relationships in groups of people -- or reindeer! -- and  aristotele is [x]. The reindeer bullied poor Rudolph until he was selected by highly respected Santa for his special talent -- which had been seen as a defect. Yet Rudolph was the perfect choice to guide the sleigh on a Foggy Christmas night because he fit the role that was needed.

Truly, Rudolph has guided our values in cartoon and song. since the 1940s and beyond. Originally created as an advertising gimmick to lure customers to the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago, he has become the protagonist in a charming often-told story.  

For more on Rudolph lore and legend, see Snopes.

As Ronald Lankford noted in his cultural history of American Christmas songs, Rudolph's story was a classic reflection of American values during the 1940s and beyond:

Much like the modern Santa Claus song, Rudolph's story is for children; more specifically, it is a children's story about overcoming adversity and earning, by personal effort, respect in the adult world. As a young deer (child) with a handicap that turns out to be an unrecognized asset, Rudolph comes to the rescue of an adult (Santa) at the last minute (on Christmas Eve). When Rudolph saves the day, he gains respect from both his peers (the reindeer who refused to include him in games) and the adult world. The story of Rudolph, then, is the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for his or her individuality and/or special qualities. Rudolph's story embodies the American Dream for the child, written large because of the cultural significance of Christmas.

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/rudolph.asp#gQhjgBp3bDRsaj1J.99

Ann Hale speaks on fine points of sociometry

I like to call Ann Hale the grand mistress of sociometry, the science of evaluating the social relationships in our lives.While most of us divide our skills between sociometry and psychodrama, sociometry is Ann's true love and she is very, very good at it. She's the go-to person when most of us have a sociometric question.

After J.L. Moreno died in 1974, the training program at the Moreno Institute in Beacon, N.Y., was re-established by Dr. Moreno's widow and collaborator Zerka Moreno. Zerka was the main trainer  and enrolled Ann Hale and John Nolte as additional trainers.

Ann's site is the International Sociometry Training Network, which is rich with content on social relationships. Recently she posted an essay on Grouptalk, the psychodrama community's discussion list, that I snagged to offer to the larger audience.

She writes about sociometry as it relates to spontaniety, action, tele, role theory and more. 

Read on:

As anxiety increases, spontaneity decreases. Taking time to create an environment where participants find ways to become receptive to one another, their differences and similarities, helps decrease the anxiety related to belonging, fitting in and the creation of a "mistakes allowed" atmosphere. This is often referred to as group building. group building can occur with a sequence of psychodramas. However, if you do not take time to look at patterns of choice making for roles, people get lost and their needs for roles unexamined.

If your energy is tied up with hiding your authentic self you have less energy for action.  Being playful is a great energizer.  Being happily connected to others is a springboard to more and more spontaneity. It is important to remember that "play" for some people was fraught with cruelty and humiliation. The action increases opportunities for integration rather than repeating old patterns which once promised safety and which now keep you stuck.

Sociometric exercises may be useful; however, they can be quite hurtful if leaders and group members have inadequate training and haven't the skill to slow the process down to connect choices people make with their personal story.  This is one reason why I do not separate sociometry from psychodrama.  Once the story is explored in action (even short sequences of action), there is a greater awareness of what prevents authentic connection.

I see tele and empathy as a result of having integrated life events; and transference as a result of an internal push within a person to attain completion of a life event in order to reach true integration. The transference is projected onto a likely auxiliary ego who may or may not choose to assist the person's integration.

The cultural conserve where the role perception and role expectation reside,  once challenged,  begins a process of warming up to something new and leaving the role taking position.  Internal or interpersonal supports help a person in their warmup to role playing the options that occur to him or her.  Role creating results from an energetic state where the momentum received from interpersonal connection and enthusiasm generates an "over the top" experience of novelty and usefulness.  Throughout the connections necessary to engage in this process is enhanced by being connected with positive sociometric relationships.

She notes that she has always liked Jonathan Fox's definition of spontaneity:  "Knowing what is happening, and when to articulate it and to act on it. And, when not to articulate it and act on it."  Sociometry is walking that path.

Ann Hale talks about the consciousness cycle

 

Ann Hale is the mistress of sociometry, and she consistently puts out great information about sociometry and groups. If you haven't seen her web site, you should check it out -- it's brimming with great resources and links  that relate to groups and other good stuff -- plus her original art work.

She also puts out books every so often. They are always sterling representations of how sociometry fits with other aspects of psychodrama.

If you want to know more about sociometry and her latest publication, check our her new monograph, "Three Cyclical Models which Enhance Consciousness of Interpersonal Connection."  The 57-page monograph  includes the origins, design and ways each cycle may be used in action. The three cycles are: The sociometric cycle, the harmonic-conflictual cycle and the interpersonal neurobiology cycle. 

Appendices include signage of each cycle for use in action explorations; a section on the three cycles and Moreno's Canon of Creativity; a section on the holographic nature of the cycles, and an update on consciousness related to brain research.

Find ordering info here.

Moreno & sociometry get mention from Facebook watcher

An enterprising writer just posted the article The Future Of Facebook Was Born In 1932, commenting on the origins of social networking -- our very own  J.L. Moreno, physician, mystic and social scientist.

As we all know, Moreno was a genius of social systems, developing sociometry, sociodrama and sociatry in addition to the more well-known psychodrama. Moreno has been so long relegated to the footnotes of psychology books that it's great to see him get some recognition.

We blogged about this Facebook and sociometry connection back in 2009; revisit here.

The current online article links to a journal article Network Analysis in the Social Sciences. More serious readers can find the scholarly article here. The graphic below accompanies the article.

'Freedom Writers' takes a stand with sociometry

In the movie, Freedom Writers, a young teacher inspires her high school class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.

How does she do it?

Sheer  determination, plus a good dose of the creative arts, including writing journals about their lives. The teacher Erin Gruwell (portrayed by Hilary Swank) also uses sociometry when she introduces the "stand on the line" exercise with masking tape to show common relationships to dilute the oppositional behavior and anger of her students and dramatically show them how much they have in common.

In sociometric terms, it's a kind of a locogram and kind of a spectrogram.

She says:

"Stand on the line if you've lost a friend to gang violence."
"Stand on the line if you've lost more than one friend..."
"Three...
"Four or more..."

Finally, she challenges them to change the roles that they have played to survive their violent neighborhoods and find new roles that gives promise and power to their lives. That's what we do with psychodrama -- identifying connections with sociometric warm ups and begin to change the story and the roles that are acted out.

Find a teacher's guide for The Line Game here.

See a brief clip here:

Social media is really about networking, and networking is about sociometry

I just discovered David Armano who is tuned in to the connections that people make. He says -- and I agree -- that it's not about Twitter or Facebook or whatever. It's about people. Take a look at his slide show, below, and notice how many diagrams are related to the social atom, a basic unit in the study of sociometry and shows the value of visual thinking.

The Micro-Sociology of Networks

View more documents from David Armano.

Facebook, networking and psychodrama

Networking refers to the connections that you have to people in your professional and personal worlds. The larger your network, then the more opportunities that you will have to share your work and beliefs, talk about your businesses and practices and find referrals, resources, information and encouragement. (Actually, this is what Facebook is all about!)

In the world of psychodrama, there is a related field known as sociometry, which refers to the measurement of social connections in any given group. Knowledge of sociometric measurement and the ability to apply sociometric skills to expand your network will ease those times when you enter events such as mixers, open houses, club meetings, awards events and community functions where we know very few or no people.

Although these getting-to-know-you events are good ways of meeting new people and enlarging our circles of friends and colleagues, they also test our abilities to be creative and relaxed in situations where we may experience pressure, confusion or shyness. Many professionals work on carefully crafting a two-minute "elevator speech" — the mini-introduction that explains what they do in the time it takes an elevator to travel a few floors. Others avoid large crowds and prefer to do their networking one at a time over lunch, breakfast or a cup of coffee.

However, to make best use of special events, here are a few simple suggestions that are helpful and fit a large variety of situations:

Notice who you are drawn to. These connections are "telic" connections, relating to the "tele" that Dr. J.L. Moreno named as an invisible level of energy between people. Trust your instincts regarding what people you notice and who seems to catch your eye in the crowd. The way someone dresses, his or her level of energy, even the expression on his or her face may draw you to learn more about that person. You may not know why you are drawn to this person, but make time to learn what is attracting your attention.

Develop the role of the "interviewer." Identify a range of questions that are related to your business or occupation. Perhaps you are experiencing a small problem in your work; the networking event is an ideal time to seek out solutions or resources. Are you looking for a new long distance phone company? Trying to decide where to advertise? Or seeking good accountant, graphic designer or coach? Begin your question with, "Do you know someone who…" and this may help you meet more people — in addition to getting actual help in solving your problem.

Be creative and spontaneous. If you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to a lot or people, practice varying your "spiel" with each person so that you don't say the same thing twice. Your words will stay fresh, you will feel more energy and you may find new connections and topics to talk about — even among people whom you have met before. It is a good alternative to going on "remote control," which you will forget to listen to yourself.

Play the role of listener. Our energy ebbs and flows, and it's all right to take a break from talking to just listen, breathe and pause. If you notice a twosome or cluster of people talking with animation, stroll over to check out what's so interesting. Listen and ponder. You may be surprised to know what you can learn by listening.

Expand your repertoire of roles. You can also easily meet people by volunteering to fill a particular role or task for an organization or club where you are a member. The task — such as greeter, survey taker or chairperson of a committee —will give you specific reasons to meet new people while you are also making yourself valuable to the organization.

Oh, yes, Facebook. Facebook, like LinkedIn and the new Social Networking for Therapists, offers the opportunity to adapt these skills and build networks online. See this link for a group of psychodramatists and sociometrists who have joined Facebook and are creating a growing Global Sociometric Encounter.

This article is adapted from Karen's "Whole Person Marketing" e-book which offers friendly ideas on creative marketing for holistic professionals, including tips for brochures, press releases, contact with various media, mailing lists, Internet visibility, community presentations, health fairs, conferences, handouts, plus marketing and advertising resources. 90+ pages. Available in PDF format on CD for sale price of $15, with $5 extra for postage and handling. See Lake House Health & Learning Center to order and use this sale code: Blog0302.