An opera based on a psychodrama group (sort of!)

Rebecca Walters, co-director of the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute, found mention of a contemporary opera  based on a psychodrama group. "Sort of," she says. 

The opera, titled Sylvia, is the creation of Julia Adolphe, and is about a young Jewish woman's affair with an older man. Julia discussed her idea with her college master's adviser, and he seized on the idea of psychodrama as the framework through which to tell the entire story.

 

"I began researching psychodrama extensively and found that there were fascinating parallels between the goals of psychodrama and the goals of opera. Both seek to open the creative mind, to provoke new thought patterns and solutions, and to evoke a collective memory. Both are larger than life and engage the wildest parts of our imaginations. With the psychodramatic format as my guide, the structure of the opera fell into place. I was able to move fluidly through past, present, and an imaginary future."

Here are the details.

Eating disorders & psychodrama book is out!

The book, Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury, has been birthed!

We -- Linda Ciotola and I -- show and tell how psychodrama and other action methods are especially helpful in the treatment of the classic eating disorders as well as dieting struggles, body dissatisfaction and associated issues of fear, sadness, silence and shame. This book provides clinicians with sound theoretical information, practical treatment guidelines and a wealth of clinically-tested action structures and interventions.
 
We tell how we have introduced action methods to work with a diverse range of clients, and suggest ways in which psychodrama practitioners, experiential therapists and others may integrate these methods into their practices.

The book offers fresh ideas for tailoring psychodramatic standards such as The Living Newspaper, Magic Shop and the social atom to eating disorder issues, with extensive examples of psychodrama interventions - classic and specially adapted for eating disorders - for experienced practitioners and those new to experiential therapies. We demonstrate how how psychodrama can be used in combination with other expressive, holistic and complementary approaches, including family constellations, music, art, imagery, ritual, Five Element Acupuncture, yoga, Reiki and other energy work.

Read the first two chapters of the book here.

We have been honored with wonderful endorsements not only from Zerka Moreno, the co-developer of psychodrama, and other respected practitioners and trainers in the psychodramatic community but also from other disciplines:

"Thanks for this creative way in which you both jointly have composed a book like this, on a very serious and little understood disease. A book on this disorder has been badly needed." -- Zerka Moreno, TEP, co-developer of psychodrama and most recently author of To Dream Again: A Memoir.

"Here is a creative and refreshing integration of action methods, and the use of other creative and expressive arts, well-grounded in current scientific research on what really works in therapy. There is a wealth of vivid clinical vignettes and the authors also offer variations, making this truly useful to practitioners. -- Adam Blatner, M.D., TEP,  blogger, author of Foundations of Psychodrama: History, Theory and Practice

"With a focus on action methods, neuroscience and trauma, this book gives experienced psychodramatists and clinicians new to the field effective and safe ways of using action to heal both women and men struggling with eating disorders, and help them transform their lives. A valuable addition to the library of anyone in the field." -- Rebecca Walters, LCAT, LMHC, TEP, co-director of the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute 

"This innovative book on eating disorders and safe action therapy is a seminal contribution to both fields of psychotherapy.  The authors, Carnabucci and Ciotola, share their experience as clinical practitioners of safe psychodrama, constellation work, and other body-based healing practices such as the Therapeutic Spiral Model, in eloquent stories of important healing work with people healing from eating disorders.  A must have for your library if you work with people that have eating disorders in themselves or their families." -- Kate Hudgins, Ph.D., TEP, developer of the Therapeutic Spiral Model

"The authors have managed to span the human experience, the science and the healing experience in  dramatic and intellectually challenging ways. They write not only from highly developed professional selves but also from deeply attuned experiential selves." -- Nancy Alexander, LCSW-C, psychotherapist and author, Columbia, Md.

"This book is a wonderful tool to the therapist who specializes in eating disorders and is looking for psychodrama techniques to assist with the healing. It is comprehensive in its approach to eating disorders, and issues with the body, trauma, and food. I know the authors who are dedicated healers. A welcomed addition to the psychodrama and eating disorder fields." -- Mary Bellofatto, MA, LMHC, NCC, charter member of International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and trainer, educator and practitioner of psychodrama, sociometry and group  psychotherapy.

"Karen and Linda bring both their skill as psychodramatists as well as their sensitivity as healing practitioners to their writing, creating a work that is long overdue in the field. It is thoughtful, practical, and eminently readable; a valuable resource for anyone working with this population." --  Mario Cossa, MA, RDT/MT, TEP, and author of Rebels with a Cause: Working with Adolescents with Action Techniques

 "This work represents a synthesis of tremendous knowledge and skill acquired over years of working with people with eating disorders. I highly encourage everyone to take advantage of the wisdom, creative ideas, and concrete techniques included. Linda and Karen bring a wealth of talent -- in psychodrama, yoga, bodywork, holistic health, spirituality, nutrition, Constellation work, and many other areas -- to their collaboration. The book is clearly written , well-organized and contains many ideas and techniques readers can readily apply to their practice settings." -- Catherine D. Nugent, LPC, TEP, psychotherapist, psychodramatist, Laurel, Md.
  
"Clear, graceful writing and terrific content." -- Joan Lewin, dance-movement psychotherapist and author of Dance Therapy Notebook

"I'm using your book for my eating disorder group -- beautifully written, user friendly and warm, plus great exercises and cases." -- Nancy Kirsner, Ph.D., OTR, TEP,  South Florida Center for Psychodrama, Miami, Fla.

"This book is perfectly compelling! I think it's a textbook for folks who are at the master's degree or better level. Yet it's written in such a way that even the layperson can read it with comprehension and be then inspired to seek help for themselves or a loved one!" — Antoinette Fiumos, M.Ac, DOM, AP, acupuncturist and nutritionist, Sarasota, Fla.

Tobi Klein shows the fun of psychodrama in new DVD

Psychodrama can be fun! That's the attitude of Tobi Klein, a psychodrama practitioner and trainer in Montreal, Canada.

Her new DVD, titled Psychodrama Unmasked: Essential Tools and Techniques, shows how psychodrama offers a wide array of action-oriented techniques that help clients get out of their heads and into their bodies, moving beyond what is possible in traditional talk therapy.

This DVD  is an excellent introduction to psychodrama for newcomers and offers a thorough introduction to its key concepts and methodology. It should be useful not only for those who facilitate actual psychodramas, but also for more traditional psychotherapists seeking tools and techniques to engage clients in new ways.

Watch excerpt from the DVD here.

Calling on teachings from psychodrama’s founder, J.L. Moreno, master psychodramatist Tobi Klein offers an enriching learning experience by directing three live psychodramas while simultaneously teaching viewers the how-to’s. Her demonstrations and explanations highlight how compelling, cathartic, and effective this approach can be when skillfully presented. As one participant in the video says, “In the psychodrama I cannot intellectualize away the emotions.”  

With Klein as the director, the group beautifully explores universal themes such as betrayal, loss, grief, guilt, and shame, and viewers get to see how Klein creates scenes that provide opportunities for full expression of each protagonist’s psyche. 

Tobi is the first Canadian certified as a psychodrama director by the Moreno Institute, is Director of the Canadian Institute of Psychodrama and Psychotherapy, a private practitioner treating interpersonal, sexual and divorce problems, and a certified Divorce Mediator. A lecturer and supervisor in the Creative Arts Therapies program at Concordia, Klein is affiliated with the Westmount Square Medical Clinic and the Institute Samara in Montreal.

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.

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.

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."




More psychodrama blogs are out there!

Friends, this isn't the only psychodrama blog.

Oh, yes, there's a number of other psychodramatists who write about the method of psychodrama and how to use it. Others write commentary about life and emotional well being.

Some bloggers are funny and some are erudite. Some give advice. All give an interesting take on their thoughts about society, psychodrama and how to use the method to make the word a better place.

• Lives In Progress, from Jude Treder-Wolff and Nick Wolff, the psychodramatic-creative arts therapy couple in Smithtown, N.Y., with always interesting articles about creativity and psychodrama.
• The Psychodrama Companion, from William Wysong, a a longtime TEP in Colorado and popular presenter at our annual conference. 
• Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner, from the author of so many books about psychodrama including the often-revised and popular Foundations of Psychodrama.
• Today's Drama, from Stan Smith, who writes about everything from group safety and ethics to Facebook and role theory.
• Ask The Therapist, an advice column from Daniel Tomasulo on Psychcentral, plus The Healing Crowd for Psychology Today.
• Psychodrama (just Psychodrama!) comes from Sue Daniel, one of the psychodrama pioneers  in Australia. A nice mix of pictures, poems, book reviews and more. 
• Psyberspace is the creation of Walter Logeman, Christchurch, New Zealand, who subtitles his blog "Exploring the psyche in cyberspace."
•  Krayna Castelbaum contains Krayna's thoughts on topics such as rest, love, joy and life, as well as the poem of the month and information about her practice in Oregon.
• Daily Affirmations from Linda is the blog offering of Linda Condon, a Florida psychodramatist.

You can subscribe to most by RSS feed, a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Read more here about RSS.

Am I missing any? Contact me and I'll write more in this future blog.

Psychodrama, on TV & on the web with Jean Campbell

Jean Campbell, a TEP who is the founder of the Action Institute of California, has been starring in a few videos as psychodrama director.

Here, she presents a psychodrama segment on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Although the site refers to Jean's work as "drama therapy," it really  is psychodrama. The snippet shows Jean requesting the protagonist reverse roles with his disease and then directing an anger release segment. The scene ends as Jean begins preparing the protagonist for a vignette. Let's watch:

Psychodrama scene on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

Jean also discusses the magic and process of psychodrama at a recent program for TEDxConejo, which explores the always fascinating and often inspiring interconnectedness of our world, produced in association with the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Let's watch:

These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx; the TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

Jean uses action methods in businesses, agencies, clinics, schools and hospitals to facilitate staff trainings, team building, strategic planning, crisis management and role training seminars. Her web site is here.

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.

A mini-dissertation about that empty chair.

Karen puts on her "schoolmarm" role - notice the pointy finger! -- and explains a bit about that Clint Eastwood empty chair thingy.

You'll also want to read Jonathan Moreno's excellent New York Times essay, What the Chair Could Have Told Clint.

And enjoy Adam Blatner's thought-provoking Pseudo-Psychodrama as Rhetoric.

Clint Eastwood's empty chair? He needs a director!

Photo with Clint and chair, borrowed from CBS News site.

Actor Clint Eastwood tried out the "empty chair" technique last night at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., talking to an invisible Barack Obama.

His drama was self directed -- we in psychodrama call that a monodrama -- and everyone from The Huffington Post to The Washington Post is talking about it this morning. Rachel Maddow called it weird, and a few others thought it was a joke. Obama got into the act by Tweeting a picture of himself, sitting in his presidential chair, saying, "This seat's taken."

Politics aside, the empty chair started out as a sociodramatic invention, when Dr. J.L. Moreno introduced it in 1921 in his famous theater presentation, asking for a leader to take the "throne" that he placed on a stage in Vienna, Austria. (No one stepped up.) In later years, Moreno's wife and collaborator Zerka Moreno expanded the technique for psychodramatic purposes, with the protagonist talking directly to a  significant person during a drama.

See my video here.

I don't think Clint would pass our practitioner's exam. He could have used a director to keep him on task and to encourage him to role reverse with the "other" in the chair. Role reversal -- feeling into the experience of the other -- creates empathy and understanding of the other's viewpoint.

...Something that politics needs more of.

Psychodramatist and musician offers her songs for healing

Kathy Amsden, musician, psychodramatist and clinical social worker is making her songs available.

The album is Awakening, which she recorded back in 2003, and until now has only been available at conferences and by directly contacting Kathy, who lives in Auburn Maine, and won the Collaborator's Award in 2007 from the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama for her work in combining psychodrama and music. 

"Writing and recording these songs has been a remarkable journey along a road to recovery for others, the world-at-large, and for myself. It has meant following a dream, choosing a path, taking a leap-of-faith, and reclaiming my voice. There IS a road to recovery; a pathway to joy and it begins with awakening the power of love."  

The songs, all original, are perfect for use in group and individual therapy. There is "Peace of Mind," "Wounds of the Warrior," "Road to Recovery" and "I've Found My Voice Again," among others. As for my unsolicited testimonial: I use them and they are always well received.

The album is here, where you may listen to short samples, purchase and download. Kathy, says that the individual songs will also be able to be downloaded  very soon.

Psychodrama: truly a global movement!

If anyone has ever doubted it, psychodrama is truly a global movement. Here's a photo from the recent congress of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes in July in Cartagena, Colombia.

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.

Good news -- you can pass the psychodrama exam

 

In just about 60 days, candidates for psychodrama certification will have the opportunity to take the written exam.

Good news -- the written exam CAN be passed and can be passed without a lot of agony and anxiety. If you have had good trainers and have read the basic books while in the training process (before and after watching and participating in psychodramas), and take time to read, outline and answer past questions on the test and get assistance with a coach and/or study group, you should be all right.

Some basic books:

The Essential Moreno edited by Jonathan Fox

Foundations of Psychodrama by Adam Blatner

Psychodrama Since Moreno by Marcia Karp, etc.

ActingIn: Theory and Practice by Adam Blatner
The Living Stage by Tian Dayton

And yes, the Moreno psychodrama volumes, plus Zerka’s books, plus her very new memoirs will give history and basics.

My e-book, The Psychodrama Notebook, as a good study guide for candidates. It’s contains my passing essays for my CP and TEP tests along with other essays that are designed to be user-friendly. I am in the process of revising to self publish online, but in the meanwhile, folks can order the e-book directly from me as they wish. Click here for details or contact me directly.

In addition, those with test anxiety may find it useful to read an earlier blog post Getting Ready for the Psychodrama Exam? Some Tips.

I also tell my supervisees: if you have writing anxiety, start writing now. Write online for Grouptalk. Offer an article to Psychodrama Network News, the organization’s newsletter. Write a short article (including a bit of research) for our journal.

New book coming on supervision and psychodrama

When I work with in clinical supervision with my supervisees, a good portion of the supervision experience is based on "experiencing." Just like action creates deeper learning and change within clinical, educational and business settings, action is invaluable for teaching and supervising those who want to gain skills in psychodrama and sociometry.

A new book focusing on the art of supervision for psychodrama is coming in September and I am eager to see it. It's anthology of mostly European authors from various countries and it’s titled Supervision in Psychodrama: Experiential Learning, edited by Hannes Krall, Jutta Fürst and Pierre Fontaine and published by Springer Verlag in Germany. 

Many experienced psychodrama trainers and supervisors contributed to this book, which is written in English. It gives an interesting overview of supervision in psychodrama training in various countries. The full price of the book is 34,95 in Euros and $42.83 for us in the United States.

Bruce Springsteen knows warm up (and more)

 

I like what Bruce Springsteen says in the New Yorker's massive profile of his life and work, just published in the July 30 issue. Actually, he says a lot of great stuff in the interview with David Remnick, but fair disclosure: I am a big fan. This good quote  is all about what we psychodramatists know as "warm up," and I think that's what makes him such a commanding and exceptional performer. He talks much about performing and how he gets ready for a show that unites the audience.

Here's one of many great quotes:

“The top of the show, see, is a kind of welcoming, and you are getting everyone comfortable and challenging them at the same time,” he says. “You’re setting out your themes. You’re getting them comfortable, because, remember, people haven’t seen this band. There are absences that are hanging there. That’s what we’re about right now, the communication between the living and the gone. Those currents even run through the dream world of pop music!”

Then he speaks of what he wants to achieve in a session, er, preformance:

"You are isolated, yet you desire to talk to somebody. You are very disempowered, so you seek impact, recognition that you are alive and that you exist. We hope to send people out of the building we play in with a slightly more enhanced sense of what their options might be, emotionally, maybe communally. You empower them a little bit, they empower you. It’s all a battle against the futility and the existential loneliness! It may be that we are all huddled together around the fire and trying to fight off that sense of the inevitable. That’s what we do for one another."

Springsteen also discusses his family, with his grandparents constantly mourning their young deceased daughter; his father coming home as a World War II veteran plagued with drinking and verbally abusing Bruce -- as well as his own depression.

Read more here.