Theatre of Life: Psychodrama on the Acute Inpatient Unit

[Sue Daniel]

Dear Adam

Lorraine Michael, Psychodramatist, conducts the Theatre of Life:  
Psychodrama on the Acute Inpatient Unit at a major hospital here in  
Melbourne, Australia.  From August 2003 until present time this  
ongoing weekly group (entitled "The Stage is Mine") has been a  
feature of the program at the hospital.  Lorraine and the staff,  
including psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, occupational  
therapists, psychologists, students on placement, pastoral care  
workers and the nurse unit manager have established a collaborative  
relationship, and patients are referred to the group regularly.  The  
group composition includes both patients in an acute stage as well as  
a recovery stage, and staff.  Sessions are debriefed and evaluated by  
Lorraine (any co-leader) and staff after the group disperses, using  
pre-established criteria; aspects of the work on the unit are also  
brought forward in the formal training program and in supervision  
with a psychodramatist trainer and supervisor from the Psychodrama  
Institute of Melbourne.  Lorraine has written two papers on her work  
and maybe at least one of these may be published in the near future.

Lorraine says, "The group is held for an hour and provides an  
opportunity for participants to enact scenarios from their own lives  
and thus experience various aspects of their issues as well as a  
range of emotions, spontaneously and creatively, in larger-than-life  
dimensions.  This is done through the use of psychodramatic  
production techniques such as mirroring, self-presentation, role- 
playing and role reversal where under the direction of the therapist  
(director), the 'protagonist' may choose to use props (cushions,  
scarves, chairs and puppets), and auxiliary egos (group members) to  
concretise and serve the 'warm-up' and flow of expression.  In the  
process and in an added sharing phase, participants gain an  
(increased) awareness of themselves and others, and in that, their  
relationships with themselves and others, as well as an awareness of  
the roles they assume in life."

With best wishes,
Sue Daniel




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://grouptalkweb.org/pipermail/list_grouptalkweb.org/attachments/20070913/3169e0ea/attachment.html