Right Adam, but feeling that your point 4 misleading. In WSS Moreno finds the root of Sociatry in WSS in Socius - the other fellow and iatreia - healing; <div><br></div><div>All of Moreno's ideas tried to fight the doctor-patient model, and I don't think that sociatry relate to that at all, although I can see your point. But I admit this is a matter of taste, like your dislike about tele. For me Sociatry calls for a higher level of intervention in society, a inter/ trans disciplinary approach to the socius with a fundamental emphasis to treat it. Quoting Moreno. "The art and
skill of the sociatrist will depend upon a synthesis of knowledge toward which
all social and psychiatric sciences will have made their contribution." And that doesn't exist yet as such, but we have all the ingredients...we have to cook them!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></div><div>
<br></div><div><span style="mso-spacerun:yes">Of course we can always question: If that is so what is the difference between sociatry and politics. It should be none but it is not the case at this moment. What sociatry could bring to politics is a type of knowledge (e.g. sociometry, group dynamics, all the invisible structures, cultural bias, etc,) that seems to escape most of politicians today. </span></div>
<div><br></div><div><span style="mso-spacerun:yes">In the future Sociatry could well be the real political action.. why not as sociatry could not exist as such (if it aims a large scale social intervention) without politics? </span></div>
<div><br></div><div><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>Best,</div><div>Ivo<br><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"></span></p><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Times New Roman'" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><br>
</span></font></div><div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:
EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:PT;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">"The term derives from a Latin
and Greek root, the one is socius, the “other fellow”, the other iatreia,
healing." </span><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Adam Blatner <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ablatner@verizon.net">ablatner@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div style="word-wrap:break-word" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Okay, let's see. The world is in trouble in
thousands of different ways at many levels. What can "sociatry" do? Which
methods are useful with groups beyond the sick role? (i.e., beyond
psychotherapy). </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 1. Starting small:
Consider the feminist notion that the personal is political and reverse it. In
the 1970s the institution of the happy nuclear family was questioned. Might it
for some be a prison? Questioning social arrangements is one example.
Could therapy include social action? Groups whose task is to change more than
the consciousness of its own members generate new types of group dynamics,
concerning as how best to accomplish its chosen tasks.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 2. Recognize that
sociometry and psychodramatic methods constitute at most only 23.2% of the many
different kinds of skills and knowledge involved in social
action. Things like composing an effective letter, lobbying, etc. --- there
are hundreds or thousands of such components that transcend any
particular discipline--- including the skill bases of rhetoric, advertising,
spin-doctoring, propaganda, all the elements of politics, lobbying, newsletter
editing, community organizing, etc. etc.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 3. In a larger sense, much
of politics through<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">out history (including
some military efforts) have been rationalized as promoting what was for the time
viewed as an improvement on the previous system. For example, feudalism, as
prone to tyrrany as at was, was nevertheless believed to be an improvement of
some degree of order and predictability, better than what had been happening in
the earlier "dark ages" in which people felt far too vulnerable to robbers,
invaders, and pure barbarism. In other words:</font></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 4. The problem with sociatry is the
problem with fascism: The doctor-patient model of the 1940s (relating to the
-iatros Greek root meaning physician) involved a wise knower-how-to-diagnose and
treat and a submissive patient. This does not apply well to large social
groupings. It is not at all clear that anyone knows how to fix it all and can
garner adequate consensus for "I'll just tell you what to do and then you take
this medicine and follow my 'orders.' type of management. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
I'm just noting that the word may be misleading. The spirit Moreno advocated is
something I share: Let's apply what we're learning in psychology, sociology, and
every other field to efforts in every institution---political, educational,
economic, clubs, recreation, medicine, etc. I saw his idea as an
interdisciplinary vision during an era in which fields were more
compartmentalized. Ed's advocacy of social action has merit, but awaiting
specifics, I'm not sure that our field has more to offer than other fields. It
certainly has some to offer, though!</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 5. I'm continuing to do adult
education classes and weaving in principles from role theory, the idea of
externalization and personification of defenses (i.e., imagining that they can
be played, given voice, imagined to be little seductive con-men, little Bernie
Madoffs or whoever). , and other Morenian ideas along with the contributions of
others--- all part of the aforementioned idea of "psychological literacy" or
promoting the continued integration of the insights of psychology in
life.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> (In a
larger sense, I think sociatry refers in large part to this cultural trend
towards bringing psychology into the mainstream of culture rather than
its having operated at the periphery as a semi-irrelevant procedure
for folks at the margins of society)</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"></font></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"> 6. Writing,
publishing, presenting at other conferences, and talking about how
psychodramatic and sociometric methods might have applications beyond its own
field... I think these are small but not meaningless efforts. A measure of
humility is okay. </font></font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 7. Continuing efforts (and modeling)
in integrating good ideas from other fields will also help to break down
perceptions of psychodrama as somewhat insular. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Those are a few things perhaps that
can advance the idea of our field's relevance to social activism. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
The targets include not only global warming (as Ed noted), but thousands of
other worthy causes.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Some of
these, interestingly, are complex: The question regarding health care for me,
for example, is to what degree I support the present kluged-together bill or
exert myself for the cause of a single-payer system (as supported by the
Physicians for a National Health Plan)? It could be argued that in the
present climate, a compromise is necessary and that single-payer has zero
chance. On the other hand, the present bill is so fraught with compromises that
it will be unsatisfactory in many ways, the problem will "heat up" further, and
more radical surgery will be frustrated because "we already tried socialized
medicine" (when in fact we only put our toe in the water, so to
speak). So political decision-making is a problem in weighing which
tactic to use in the interim. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Warmly,
Adam </font></div></div>
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