asgpp ideas

[Adam Blatner]

Dear Steve Gordon, 
    Good that your mind works this way. Such questions reflect the workings of a fertile mind. Please consider running for the executive council, and in the interim, volunteering to be part of the membership committee. 
       Guess at the numbers and go further, imagine what you'd do with the results. If the number for the first question was 10, 100, or 1000, what difference would it make with how we should respond? What are very specific suggestions?

     So metrics sounds good, but needs to be paired with at least a warming-up of differential response. Data becomes information only when it fits Gregory Bateson's definition: Information is a difference that makes a difference.

     e.g.2, How much outreach?  What kind of answer would make a difference?
    Instead, what incentives might we build in?  Some "training hours credit" for CPs or PATs who present at other conferences?
 
    Warmly, Adam
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Hug4abear at aol.com 
  To: list at grouptalkweb.org 
  Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:58 PM
  Subject: Long term viability of the ASGPP and the psychodrama community


  To all:

  I appreciate watching the dialogue about how we can make the ASGPP a stronger organization and increasing the size of the psychodrama community, including the view that we need to do a better job of drawing in a certain segment of the population that is seriously under represented in our community; namely, post-baby-boomers (people born after the early 1960s).  Perhaps two additional metrics for measuring the success of the annual conference (and the psychodrama community) could be:  (1) how many first time attendees we have attracted; and (2) are we increasing the demographic diversity of the community.  Does the ASGPP track these data points?

  I have several thoughts on these issues.  First, it seems to me that the issue of ensuring the long term viability of the ASGPP and the psychodrama community may involve numerous issue, not merely bringing the cost of the annual conference down.  Has there ever been a formal study that looked at the issue of long-term planning for our community?  Some questions that could be addressed:  What are the typical points of entry to the psychodrama community?  (Based upon anecdotal evidence, I do not think that most people’s first exposure to psychodrama is the ASGPP annual conference.)  Do we know how first time attendee have heard about the annual conference?  Are there segments of the population that we are not reaching, such as current students who are studying to be mental health professionals or professionals in other allied fields that could use psychodrama?  What are the ASGPP and the psychodrama community doing well when it comes to drawing in new people?  What is not working?  If it has not already been done, does it make sense for the organization to draft a formal plan that would help to raise everyone’s consciousness on the steps that we can take individually and collectively to attract new people to the organization and the psychodrama community?

  Some things that come to mind that may be factors in our inability to attract post-baby boomers from joining our community, include:

  (1) Lack of knowledge of psychodrama – how much outreach is being done?  Is there someway that we can better utilize the Internet to publicize the ASGPP and the psychodrama community?  For example, is there some way that we could have a link to our organization’s web site on the web sites of other organizations that are populated by people who would be interested in psychodrama, such as the American Group Psychotherapy Association.  Do psychodramatist and trainers who have web sites include a link to the ASGPP and our conference?  Post-Baby-Boomers tend to be very computer savvy and this seems like a necessary form of out-reach.

  (2) Attending the full conference involves being willing to invest a lot of time and money.  For someone who has little or no exposure to psychodrama, reviewing the brochure and figuring out that you can stick your toe in the water rather than attending the full conference is difficult to learn.  This information is generally nestled in the sign-up form at the end of the workshop listing.  The conference brochure and the organization do not heavily publicize that an attendee may attend only a portion of the conference, such as a pre-conference workshop or just one day of the conference.  Is there some way that we can better publicize (perhaps on the front of the brochure) this option and publicize that someone who likes what they see may sign up for more workshops?

  (3) Are there additional things that our organizations can do to ensure that newcomers feel welcome?  I know that we have a special event for first time attendees.  Does it may make sense for there to be recommended workshops for first time attendees?

  Steve Gordon
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