role reversal

Mon May 14 14:12:01 CDT 2007

Yes, well, given these comments by Bud on "resistance" in psychodrama and by Jorg on how sometimes that resistance may be used in a form of psychological ju-jitsu--- all of which I'm generally okay with---, those had little to do with my point. 

Rather,  my point is more aimed at ordinary one-to-one therapists who don't use much psychodrama, much less classical psychodrama; and my point is that while some times it is not only not necessary to role reverse the client, but it might be contra-indicated, because what's important is that the client own the depths and dimensions of his or her own "truth' and experience (e.g., especially if a trauma is involved).

Having said that, there are often phases in therapy when the client has worked through those issues and the therapy is more in the "how do I adapt now to the realities of the world" phase, that it might be appropriate to invite the client to consider really understanding others who may have been difficult in the life. The judgment whether and when to do this is the therapist's, and I'm not suggesting this or any other technique be used routinely. 

Some clients are hardly able to marshal the ego strength to advance to this point, but that doesn't diminish the validity that role reversing for understanding is a useful later goal. With some situations, it's an intermediate goal.

Role reversing that's more role taking, just to show how the other is remembered to have behaved, so as to warm the auxiliary up to their role--- is a different kind of role reversal, done for a slightly different purpose, and may be used earlier in the process. The goal here is to show how the antagonist behaved, not to understand the antagonist.

     Just clarifying my earlier point. Warmly, Adam

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bulmonte21 at bluewin.ch 
  To: budweiss at verizon.net ; ASGPP grouptalknew 
  Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 1:30 PM
  Subject: AW: Political and non political role reversal solutions

  Dear Bud,

  thank you very much for this important remark on how to respond to resistance to role revearsal! I also adore and eventually use some of the techniques Augosto Boal has created (especially in sociodrama or comunitarian work with big audiences) even if he himself was always very doubtful about "therapy". And I am teaching the same technique that you have mentioned when I give courses on clinical group psychotherapy and the different techniques to manage group situations and role play (especially with more handicapped persons like chronic schizophrenic clients or cases of dementia)

  But you have stimulated me to share also one of the "mythic" stories of JL because it is so close to what you say. It was told to me by Grete Leutz, my dear teacher of psychodrama, and I think it hopefully fit`s well here.

  When JL came to Europe to re-introduce Psychodrama and related techniques he was once invited to conduct a "clinical session" in the aula magna of the university of Tubinga / Germany. The head of the psychiatric department had chosen a real difficult client in order to challenge JL and PD with a real "baptism of fire". The person chosen had not talked for more than a year and was now presented to JL and his staff on the lowest level of the hall while almost 1000 students and doctors were watching at them from above. JL asked her about her name - no answer. She even did not look at him. So he asked the acompanying profesors about her history. She was from a farm in the mountains nearby and due to family conflicts she developped a very strong depression with emotional stupor from which she did not recover yet. JL shortly instructed his staff and then they started to "invent" the scene of the client`s coming home after being finally discharged from the hospital. At the moment when the role taker of her met the role taker of her mother and the "mother" said: Oh how nice to see you finally here again the client suddenly yelled out saying: no, this will never happen. And after that starting to advice the actors/Auxiliaries how to perform the scene following her own "truth". And of course from that point on therapy could become effective again.

  Sometimes it is really helpful to offer even more than role revearsal but a scene from our own intuition (like "scenic doubling") in order to pathway the action of the "real" protagonist. 

  All the best, regards

  Jorge

  ----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----
  Von: budweiss at verizon.net
  Datum: 14.05.2007 19:46
  An: "ASGPP grouptalknew"<list at grouptalkweb.org>
  Betreff: Political and non political role reversal solutions

  First of all, Augusto Boal, given very high recognition and an international award for his contributions by Zerka back in the last century at one of the International Congresses of Group Psychotherapy, has played with this for many years as have his students and those who are training people in his work like Mark Weinblatt of www.mandalaforchange.com  
  There is so much in Boal's work that is utilizable in many situtations where additional excess reality is needed and greater participation by those in attendance increases the warmup for better action and sharing on everyone's part.

  I would like to take a moment to address the issue of protagonist reluctance to take a role or role reverse in personal psychodramas.

  Regardeing Role reversal rejection by a protagonist who has volunteered initially. Can be done also in hospital with a patient who is somewhat reluctant to getting into action when you have some details of their lives and some of the situations that are critical. This is also where constellation work is so powerful as it does not require the protagonist to do much other than give some specifics and not the whole story with all their judgements that maintain the story and their stuckness. 

  In instances where people refuse to role reverse, various versions of the mirror technique are quite effective. I have the protagonist sit with me saying that" I understand and do not want you to have to push yourself at this time. That isn't necessary. (note that I am laying the groundwork presupositional phrase "at this time" for possibly pushing them in the future) This is clearly a very sensitive situtation that holds great promise for you if we can manage to work with it satisfactorily. So I am going to assign a person for you and someone for that role that you do not want at present to occupy and let us see what happens from here. would that be ok with you?" I have rarely had a no, and if I do, the next move is to have the protagonist have a conversation with a good double finding out what is missing that would allow them to proceed. A good double is asked to sit next to the protagonist and ask the protagonist to just mull over out loud what is happening now. Again if they refuse all attempts in this direction, they can be congratulated for going this far with something that is obviously very very painful and laden with great energy. I would stop the session and conduct a brief sharing session about being in that kind of position where you want to go ahead and at the same time want to stop. That will bring them back to the community and would probably bring forward someone who is really now warmed up to a similar issue.   

  If you are able to proceed with the mirror, at that moment, if you have a well trained auxiliary to play the other role and a good one for the person, you have gold.  You can either exaggerate the situation or attempt to get into the story that the protagonist carries around with them by having the protagonist assist in correcting whatever is not being done right by either of the people just as if the protagonist was a director directing this new play that he knows so well. 
  This type of response is following the protagonist. Gives them a sense of being totally heard and supported as well as remaining in control. 

  At least that is what I do in such cases where a protagonist is either refusing to take the reverse role or having a really difficult time remaining in role and not talking about the role while remaining in their own role while standing or sitting in the other role for reversal. 

  Blessings, Bud 

  Barnett J. Weiss, MA, LCSW
  7410 Ridge Blvd 2D 
  Brooklyn, NY 11209 
  E-Mail: Budweiss at verizon.net   
  Cell (917)-751-3395 
  web page: WWW.BURNLOUNGE.COM/BUDSLOUNGE

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