psychodrama's mission

Tue Oct 23 09:40:20 CDT 2007

Dear Peter and Adam and all, 
Regarding this theme of presenting ideas, thoughts about psychodrama to anyone, and the question, what role am I playing when I do that? 
----When I am in the role of Thinker--that is, if I feel that I have to explain something, to convince someone of something I do this:  My thinking head jutts forward, I squint my eyes, my shoulders hunch up a bit, I look down or I look up (note I am already Lost)-- I am no longer with the preson, I am in my head, I am a head with a worried expression trying to squeeze something out of my brain. I am no longer in my body, the body vitality is gone and, disconnected from my body, I am also disconnected from myself and from the other person. I am a talking head and out in space. Now I realize that this is not a good expression of spontaneity--it is not adequate--as it is not connective. Staying in the body would be more fun. Being in the here and now, more fun. Being real with whatever is before us, more fun. And what about thinking, or explaing something? What does the person before us, or the group want to know? Couldn't it be more interactive?  I know thinking has to happen, and I want to learn to think from my body, not just my head. I want to be filled with the spirit of psychodrama and have that spirit manifest and speak for itself. A life long task, but worth the effort. Blessings, Marianne----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Adam Blatner 
  To: Peter Howie ; list at grouptalkweb.org 
  Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 9:37 PM
  Subject: Re: psychodrama's mission

  Dear Peter, not sure if I'm clear, but if my answer is off, give me some cues and clues and I'll try to understand better.
        PH  However the aspect I want to focus on is whether or not I am creating a negative response in another person by my own fear/angst/worry about the term. The idea being that another person is responding not to any words that I may be using per se, but more they are responding to the role I might be in. Perhaps I warm up to being a worried and tentative proselytiser - sort of like an unconfident Florence Nightingale - Imagine if Flowrence Nightingale had been tentative? Others respond as wary critics perhaps. Maybe a TA person would suggest I warm up to a child role and that can warm others up to a parent role - not that great on TA.

       AB: I hear your slight emphasis in the above on "worry ABOUT THE TERM."   So here, too, getting more clear with friendly and supportive people, rehearsing and enjoying your presentation, getting more warmed up to why you like the process and what it is about it you most believe in... then integrating that more into your depth.

      On the other hand, your other comments either are a bit more deferential than is realistic or they are accurate: i.e., your saying, "...my ridiculous need to have others immediately and completely accept me, my ideas and my worldview as the one and only, etc, etc."  Yeah, well, check it out with some good tele friends and see how accurate this is. If you mean "immediate"  and "completely"   and whatever the word "accept" means, this will really inhibit your empowerment as a proselytizer. The skin needs to thicken from 15% to optimal 20%. 

      So I'm not sure where to focus. But try it this way: (Again, witnessing to my own beliefs.) The world as a whole is around age 10 -12 in maturity, on average. Many of the other therapies offer excellent tools. But they don't have a number of tools that Morenean work alone offers: 
       1. The great value of role theory as a relatively user-friendly language.
        2. The vitalizing and empowering emphasis on creativity as a core value. Folks love that; kids need it, especially in our postmodern era. 
       3. The profound value of drama as a vehicle for learning skills of empathy via doubling and role reversal. 
       4. The mind-expanding power of spontaneity training and role expansion...
       5. etc. (Don't get me started... well, you did, but it's getting late...)

        I get so thrilled with these tools I feel like a salesman of electric power tools going into a region that has electricity, but so far carpenters still use non-power tools. I feel I want to say with great enthusiasm, these are great tools. You gotta learn to use em right, but if you do, it can really make your work better.

        I don't push psychodrama as the be-all or end-all, but just as great tools and concepts. And this excitement strengthens my confidence enough so that I can mess up, make mistakes, get it wrong, and still feel my foundation is lively and solid.    Warmly, Adam

  As I write this I wonder how much of this negative response I have actually had from other people. I mean I really wonder. I mean imagine having to talk about gestalt or RET or systems theory - everything is weird. I guess I am working out that it is more about my role than it is about the content. However I am still learning to appreciate the content - i.e. the word psychodrama and the other we use. 

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Peter Howie 
    To: list at grouptalkweb.org 
    Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 10:32 PM
    Subject: Re: psychodrama's mission

    Hi again Adam,

    This is great. I look forward to reading your articles as well. Thanks for doing the work and putting it out there. One area that I am not sure you got me is the role response one.

         PH  And sometimes I notice, though less and less at the moment, a cringe factor in me - to the word psychodrama - so I wonder whether I have been creating a role response in others rather than them having the response to start with.
             AB: Still, it might be instructive to bring that cringe factor to the surface and examine its components. Some might be more rationally or politically valid and some might involve more personal issues.

    Yes it would be worthwhile to examine the cringe factor - that would be good for me and at the moment I imagine it would reveal things about my self-esteem, my confidence in my ideas, my reluctance to join a group, my ridiculous need to have others immediately and completely accept me, my ideas and my worldview as the one and only, etc, etc. Damn - a few psychodramas there. 

    However the aspect I want to focus on is whether or not I am creating a negative response in another person by my own fear/angst/worry about the term. The idea being that another person is responding not to any words that I may be using per se, but more they are responding to the role I might be in. Perhaps I warm up to being a worried and tentative proselytiser - sort of like an unconfident Florence Nightingale - Imagine if Flowrence Nightingale had been tentative? Others respond as wary critics perhaps. Maybe a TA person would suggest I warm up to a child role and that can warm others up to a parent role - not that great on TA.

    As I write this I wonder how much of this negative response I have actually had from other people. I mean I really wonder. I mean imagine having to talk about gestalt or RET or systems theory - everything is weird. I guess I am working out that it is more about my role than it is about the content. However I am still learning to appreciate the content - i.e. the word psychodrama and the other we use. 

    Cheers again

    Peter Howie
    Brisbane, Australia

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