Hi Rebecca, Bernard and others.
The desire for short term work may not be due only to a "fear" or "threat" of emotionality. It's too easy to presume to know the motivations of others. While that might conceivably be valid, other possibilities also present themselves. (I feel like one of those detectives in a mystery novel.) Foremost is the simple question: What is the yield of this or that therapy. Can you demonstrate that as much as you think you're not re-traumatizing patients, that taking them into greater states of emotionality is really helping more in the long run as simply working on developing the strengths and coping skills that will re-stabilize? The problem is that it's not easy to make such a case. Yet when faced with two approaches, one significantly more expensive than another, it is not irrational to choose the less expensive one.
In a related way, there may be a point to Rebecca's noting the training of newer therapists, especially as it deals with the follow-up. In surgery, the pre-care and follow-up care to the operation may be as important or more important than the surgery itself. So what is the follow-up treatment, the post-sharing, post-leaving-the-group room ideal follow-up for a protagonist or even someone who's been moved by the enactment? In the olden days there used to be psychiatrists who would talk with patients, do real psychotherapy! (Yes! Can you believe it?)
Ah, well. Warmly, Adam
----- Original Message -----
From: HV Psychodrama
To: list at grouptalkweb.org
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 5:55 AM
Subject: Re: involuntary psychiatry
Dear Bernard and others,
I have worked a total of twenty five years in inpatient psychiatric hospitals as a psychodramatist and expressive arts therapist. Mostly the former. For the last 21 years I have been at Four Winds Hospital, where I currently work with children and teenagers. It is owned by an MD who trained with Eugene Eliasoph in the 70's, and psychodrama has been a valued treatment modality for years. Recently, on one of the adolescent units, I was told to stop doing trauma work because their goal is to contain and help kids seal over. The other units want me to take kids as deep as they are willing to go.
I think that there is some validity to this with hospital stays sometimes less then a week. But I also think it is due to newer therapists, being trained primarily in short term, solution focused methods, are extremely uncomfortable with affect.
What do others think?
Rebecca
----- Original Message -----
From: bernard widlake
To: list at grouptalkweb.org
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 6:07 AM
Subject: Re: involuntary psychiatry
I have spent twelve ears working as manager/therapist in a home for those recovering from mental helth problems. We did what psychodrama we cold, given my dual role. But we livd the drama every day. I am now seeking to set up a psyhodrama group in a local in-patient facility. So I am very interested. Also the person sho founded the organisation I worked for was Eli Jansen, who worked with R.D.Lang, Thoms Satz and others.The model of the therapeutic community we used was based upon work done at the Tavistock Institute. It helped form self help community, which brought out peoples ability to help each other, even though they had quite severe problems of there own. But it took time, sometimes the whole twelve years, for some people to be ready to r eturn to the communitiy. In the end it was cost effective, because the alternative of break-down and return to psychiatric hospital would be much more expensive, as well as t ragic for the individual.
So here is a first contact.
Best wishes,
Bernard.
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