tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55218612283929342622024-03-20T04:18:52.938-06:00The Psychodrama CompanionBill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-23829947241741777612021-12-13T15:15:00.001-07:002021-12-13T15:15:44.809-07:00ResistanceThe following comments are related to any group, individual,
couple, or family session. <div><br /></div><div><b>Too much resistance will destroy any counseling session and will prevent positive actions. </b><b>You have probably heard that:<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Resistance is due to an improper warm-up.</span></b> </div><div><br /></div><div>In most cases, I
agree. But there are times when I think that may not be true. Some situations that cause
resistance can be difficult or impossible to overcome, such as: </div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span><b>The sponsoring
organization, paying your fee, requires each person in the group
to work on an issue. </b></span><b>This causes the protagonists to select issues in which
they will not be involved.</b></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Tell the group that they can work on anything from
inability to keep a budget to anything else in their life that causes an issue. Generally, giving people the freedom to select a "simple" issue leads to deeper issues. </i></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span><b>The group selects a protagonist who is not warmed-up. </b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Once it is realized
that the protagonist is not and cannot be warmed-up, let that person take a
seat and have the group work on selecting a new protagonist. A poor choice for protagonist indicates your group members don't know each other and are not warmed-up enough to properly choose a protagonist. It is best to do a group warm-up rather than immediately finding another protagonist. </i></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span>The protagonist gets involved with the issue but is unwilling to
confront their antagonist. And nothing you can do will generate the protagonist's spontaneity.</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Ask the protagonist if this has happened</i><i> somewhere else </i><i>in their
life. With a positive reply, go to that scene. If there is a
negative response, end the psychodrama and share. </i></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span><b>The protagonist believes that what they do in a
psychodrama must be repeated with their antagonist. </b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>In the many psychodramas
I’ve seen and directed, I have never heard the director (myself included) say
that what the protagonist explores in a psychodrama does not have to be done outside
the group. I intend on changing that. </i></p></blockquote></blockquote><p><b>The clear message is: </b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>“What you explore in your psychodrama is for learning. It is for you to experience old situations and replace old behaviors with new behaviors. It is your choice to try the new behaviors outside of this group."</b></span><span style="color: #073763;"> </span></p><p><b><span>Hopefully, those statements will reduce resistance.</span><span> I believe there will always be some resistance; that it can never be totally eliminated. </span></b></p><p><i><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(166, 77, 121);"> </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">(It’s hard for our ego to believe that we cannot warm-up everyone.)</span></b></i></p><p><b><span>When there is too much resistance, do another warm-up where group members interact with each other and share in-depth personal information. Do not do what could promote transference or anything that could be considered a "game".</span></b></p><p>And, of course, you can say that all of the above examples are the
result of an improper warm-up.</p><p>More about resistance, next time, somewhere around the holidays.</p>Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-87904482072921047662020-11-30T16:41:00.000-07:002020-11-30T16:41:30.959-07:00Distant SocializingMy wife, Joann, heard a radio commentator say, “'Social distancing' is an incorrect term, it should be called 'distant socializing'”. A thoughtful comment and a clear definition. <div><br /><div><div><b>Isolation and the Isolate</b> </div><div>As we are learning to stay away from people to protect others and ourselves from the virus, some say we are isolating ourselves. "Isolation" is becoming a catchword. </div><div><br /></div><div>J.L. Moreno wrote a lot about our connections with others and explored that well with principles he named, <b>Sociometry</b>. He defined an <b>isolate</b> as someone who neither chooses nor is chosen by others. I would add that if we believe we are an isolate, then we are. There have been a few times in my life when I experienced that and it was miserable and depressing. Since learning Sociometry, I’ve been conscious to avoid being an isolate. </div><div><br /></div><div>The state of isolation may not be related to being an isolate as indicated by Moreno's definition. Perhaps distancing is a better word than isolation. </div><div><br /></div><div>As many of you, I miss communicating with others. The number and length of my calls are increasing. So is my email writing. We need to contact others to prevent them from becoming isolates. In so doing, we prevent ourselves from becoming isolates. We can call, write emails and letters, or use video communication for our acquaintances, friends, relatives, shut-ins, and clients. </div><div><br /></div><div>A while back, I received the following complete with string from Paul Lesnik that he says is an “unabashed infomercial”. I call it a gift.
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</div></div></div>Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-22584550725817250352019-09-17T18:16:00.000-06:002019-09-17T18:16:10.573-06:00Who Selects the Protagonist (or Group Focus)?Structured or natural warm-ups are essential to generate potential protagonists (or, when not a psychodrama group, a person for the group's focus.) Group members need to hear all volunteers' issues in order to make an appropriate selection. If someone is not clear in expressing what he/she wants to work on, the director helps clarify the issue.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">The psychodrama is not for the director. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #990000;">The psychodrama is for the group.</span></span><span style="color: #741b47; text-align: start;"> </span></div>
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The person most-selected is the protagonist and represents the group theme, I'm opposed to the director selecting a protagonist who may not embody the group's needs.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">I believe the director must generate personal</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">spontaneity to be able to work with anyone.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"> </span> There are exceptions to the group's choosing, especially when the director has asked for, and received, permission from the group to make the selection. The director's request should be made well in advance, before the warm-up for the psychodrama (or other group activity).<br />
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Be aware that the director has a position of power and the group may be afraid to go against what the director wants. An additional problem is that the director may select someone who has no warm-up and will never get one because of his/her anxiety when selected in this manner.<br />
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In another situation, when addressing the group, the director can state that people can volunteer to have a psychodrama (or be the focus of the group); on a first-come, first-served basis. This is an excellent test of the director's spontaneity. The director must activate his/her warm-up, have the skills to interview and find an issue, move into action, complete the action, and conduct the sharing. I have great respect for those willing to direct.<br />
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Avoid creating a group norm wherein every group member must have a psychodrama (or is the group focus). Often people learn more by watching psychodramas than by being protagonists. Some group members may not have an issue to work on or lack a warm-up due to high anxiety. Trying to force these people to work will likely result in a poor psychodrama. It is very important for everyone to share, especially those who have not had a psychodrama, otherwise they may be isolated or rejected.<br />
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The inverse is also a problem. There are psychodrama "hogs". These people are always volunteering to work. They may be psychodrama wise and know just what to say to be selected as protagonist. My wife said, "The first person who cries gets selected as protagonist." And there are people who can turn on the tears in an instant. They are over-selected to the detriment of others in the group. The director must be able to circumvent such behavior so that the group process belongs to all of its members.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Commercial: </span><span style="color: #990000;">To order copies of my book, <i><b>The Psychodrama Companion</b></i>, refer to five posts below. To order 10 or more copies at a discount price, contact me at iqwysong@gmail.com. </span><br />
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(153, 0, 0); color: #990000;">In countries other than the U.S.: </span><span style="color: #990000;">Contact me if you want to order the two-volume edition. The single-volume edition has the same content but weighs almost four and a half pounds (2 kg).</span><br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-57013701984320539602019-03-01T13:36:00.000-07:002019-03-07T17:14:03.179-07:00Role Training<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">At the 2018 ASGPP Conference, I attended a workshop where the presenter said that role training consisted of three parts in the following order: role taking, role playing, and role creating. In my training with Carl and Sharon [now Beekman] Hollander, I was taught the order was role playing, role taking, and role creating. I contacted Sharon and she said that my understanding of the order was the order in which she taught role training.</span><br />
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So why the confusion? I think it relates to the three concepts of role theory:<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Sociology </b>says that a role is prescribed and doesn’t include characteristics of people. A particular position is called a role. If a person occupies that position then he/she has that role.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Social psychology </b>talks about people and their position that composes the role. This concept expects a person to exhibit certain qualities while occupying a particular position.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The <b>historical concept </b>was proposed by Moreno and says roles begin at birth, continue to evolve thereafter, and are directly related to tasks. We become who we are based on a certain number of tasks we have. Roles such as mother, teacher, brother, soldier, doctor, etc., are not considered as titles. The role is defined by a grouping of tasks and behaviors that fit within the tasks. For instance, the stereotypical househusband role has tasks of cooking, washing, cleaning, and raising children.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In the above, sociology and social psychology say that if you occupy a position, you automatically have that role. Social psychology also states you must meet certain qualities. Roles in both are titles; if you fill the position you "take" that role and I think this leads to the aforementioned confusion. <span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In opposition Moreno says to have a role, you have to work for it. You must meet certain tasks and have certain behaviors. It is impossible in Moreno’s historical definition for a person to take a role, fully formed, without first playing the role and learning the necessary tasks and behaviors required to fit into the role.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The whole of a psychodrama leads to role training. In almost all psychodramas (and maybe all), the protagonists are faced with situations where they are incapable of handling some aspect of their lives. Once the emotional problems are revealed, it shows that the protagonists do not have the skills to deal with similar issues. This is why role training is so important. We must help them find new ways of dealing with old and new situations. Does that sound like a partial definition of spontaneity? Protagonists cannot automatically take a role, they must role-play it.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The way a person role-plays a role is based on prior observation of others in that role, elements of personal experience, and learning in the psychodrama. After role playing has reached a certain level, role taking occurs, or if it does not fit the person, the role is rejected. Once role taking is done, the individual creates in that role, adding new elements and casting out elements that don’t work; making it fit the protagonist’s personality. If role creating does not occur, the role becomes stale and rigid, even dysfunctional. In some psychodramas, protagonists may only experience role playing and, briefly, role taking and role creating. Protagonists are left to complete the role training process in another psychodrama or outside the group.<span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Learning new ways in role training is necessary and can be a vital experience for the protagonist and the whole group. <span style="font-family: , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">If you are going to change (or have changed) your email address, please let me know at: iqwysong@gmail.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">From Ann Hale March 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2019<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My take, as in my book, is that role taking is the beginning, enacting the proscribed role from our culture. Moreno thought of this role taking as a "springboard" to action which comes from imagining the role as different from what has been given...when we begin to warmup to the role in new ways, i.e. role playing. Leaving the cultural conserve (role taking) we build momentum, more and more infusions of spontaneity, and either being thrust into role creating, or retreating to the cultural conserve, not able to play it forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I see the cultural conserve as left brain, and the role playing, role creating as right brain activity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My response to Ann, March 3rd, 2019<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Ann, I understand what you wrote. Our differences relate to the way I was trained by Carl and Sharon Hollander and the way I think about role training. For instance, suppose my culture says that my role is a doctor. There is no way I can just take that role. I must first play it and learn what it is about and perform the tasks associated with the role. That learning process leads to role taking, the cultural conserve. Once a significant number of tasks have been completed (I can’t know everything), I take the role. I must then create in it to avoid a rigid cultural conserve.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;">I want to stress that what I am writing about is a process, role training, and it is used to teach people how to assume and handle a role.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Suppose in a psychodrama, a woman has been tightly controlled by her husband for years and learns that in action. Now she must find a different way of dealing with him. She can’t immediately take the assertive wife role, she must learn about it. We set up a scene that allows her to practice assertiveness. To me that is role playing, not role taking. As the psychodrama progresses, she will learn what tasks are necessary for her to complete before she can take the role. When the tasks are completed she is able to take the role. And, again, to avoid rigidity, she must create within the role.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">One of my first self-directed roles was architect. All I knew about an architect was that an architect designed buildings. I couldn’t begin to perform in that role; I couldn’t take it, so I had to play it. I had completed some tasks, such as freehand and mechanical drawing, math, and English that helped me when I studied architecture. However, there were many tasks I knew nothing about: architectural drawing, functional planning, building aesthetics, construction contracts, and structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. I had to learn them. In the five-year educational process, I worked in an architectural office and learned about that—role playing. Upon graduating, I was still role playing as an architect. I was required to do an apprenticeship for three years and then pass a four-day exam. When I passed the damn thing, I was still role playing because I had no clients who wanted to build a building. A client eventually came and it was then that I took the role. Providing architectural services for a variety of buildings is an example of creating within the role.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">The way Carl and Sharon taught role training was acceptable to Moreno. Your definition of role taking seems to fit more with Social Psychology than with Moreno’s historical concept that must include completion of tasks (role playing) before the role is taken.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Your mention of role taking as a “springboard” fits with my explanation of changing a conserve in the section, “The Canon of Creativity Reconsidered”, p. 399-409 in my book. I even used the word, springboard, because Carl used it and I could not think of another word.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">You and I know that Moreno changed his thinking a lot and gave conflicting information but did he change to your understanding or to mine or did he accept both?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Shortly after responding to Ann, I received the following from Dale Buchannan: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Thoughts About Role Development by Dale Richard Buchanan, March 2019<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">My appreciation to Bill Wysong who posted a blog on his unique interpretation of role development that goes from role playing to role taking to role creating. His blog motivated and inspired me to write a posting about Moreno’s classical hypothesis that role development proceeds through the stages of role taking, role playing and role creating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">In my work with Nina Garcia we stress that the four cornerstones of psychodrama are: role theory, sociometry, the theory of spontaneity /creativity and psychodrama/sociodrama intervention constructs. While each can be used independently, Moreno envisioned them as interdependent parts of an organic whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">As such if we view the constructs of role development though these interdependent cornerstones for example it might look like: role development (role taking, role playing and role creating), social atom, the Canon Of Creativity, catharsis and psychodramatic or sociodramatic role training. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">I will not go though all the complexities of role theory and practice in this posting. However, first I would like to remind everyone that Thomas & Biddle (1966) considered Moreno to be the founder of role theory. He authored and created many of the terms and constructs of role theory long before other fields become aware of and interested in role theory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">As defined by Moreno, roles are the actual and tangible forms that the ego takes. In a functioning person there are always roles that are ascending and descending. There is a learning curve or stages of development for this process and Moreno believed that those stages were role taking/training, role playing and role creating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">There is a learning curve or stages of development for all roles and Moreno believed the arc of this pattern begins with role taking and proceeds to role playing and role creating. <i>Role taking</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>refers to an enactment of the role in a routinized, somewhat stilted way. It is the bare bones of the role and often performed with great anxiety and unease. The cultural conserve of the role is either experienced outside of the individual through instructions given by an employer, teacher, or peer group or internally through that individual’s perception of the role as dictated by family of origin, cultural influences and peers. <i>Role playing<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>is when the individual gains more confidence and ease in performing the role. As the individual plays with the role they will begin to have less anxiety in the new role and begin to embody the role with greater degrees of spontaneity and creativity. Finally, when they have mastered the rudiments of the role and have become comfortable enacting it, they are ready to move into the phase of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>role creating</i>.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Role creating is when<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>the individual infuses the role with such a high degree of spontaneity and creativity they have added new aspects to the role or transformed the role to such a degree that the role enactment becomes a model or cultural conserve for others. Individuals embrace the role creating stage when their peers or social atom acknowledge the role they created as something new or novel and becomes a new cultural conserve for that social atom. Very few people create a role that defines the role for the culture. Those that do are usually public figures often with just one name – Oprah, Obama, Cher and Pele.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">For Moreno role development was much broader than what happens in a psychodrama or sociodrama session. Let us look at an example of a new waitperson at an established restaurant. A new waitperson named Pat is told to follow a script when approaching customers, “Hello, Welcome to Mario’s Italian Restaurant. I’d like to tell you about our specials this evening, We have the line caught salmon, the Quacker Duck in Orange Sauce, and an aged Angus sirloin. May I get you a beverage while you look over the menu?” After dinner is served, the waitperson is instructed to ask if the customers would like to look at the dessert tray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">After working their a few weeks the manager tells Pat that they are doing a good job and to keep up the good work. By this time Pat is more confident and comfortable in the role of waiter and begins to add new elements to the role or transforms the role Pat now says, “Welcome to Mario’s Italian Restaurant. I’d like to tell you about our specials this evening. We have the line caught fresh salmon which is absolutely fabulous, and a Quacker Duck in Orange sauce that will leave you quacking for more, and finally our house favorite is an aged Angus sirloin cooked to your specification.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">Not all waitpersons progress from role playing to role creating, but any excellent restaurant will have more than one role creating waitperson. After a few months, customers who come into the restaurant are asking to be seated in Pat’s section. Pat has added a few more changes. After giving the daily specials Pat adds, “for those of who are vegan or might enjoy a non meat/diary option we have a spectacular field mushroom medley over home made vegan pasta.” At the end of the meal Pat says “I took the liberty to take over our dessert tray – all of these desserts are homemade fresh daily and our cheesecake is legendary. If you are too full to enjoy a desert by yourself may I suggest you get one or two to share with the table.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">At last the manager notices that PAT is a “star” among other waitpersons. More customers ask for PAT and PAT has the highest average sales of all the waitpersons. New waitpersons are assigned to shadow Pat as Pat instructs and serves as a model for the new waitpersons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">While only the exceptional person may create a new role for our cultural (i.e. Moreno created the roles of psychodrama director and psychodrama auxiliary) each of us has an opportunity to transform or add to existing roles so that they become cultural conserves for our social atom. Your partner may be the “ideal” mate for you, your friend Sally may be the funniest person you know and Sid may make the best-grilled fish that you have ever eaten. In highly functional social atoms it is entirely possible to have many individuals rather than none or just one who excel in role creating the same “generic” role but do so in an exceptional way. In this highly functional social atom you too will be a role creator for others in your social atom. In highly dysfunctional social atoms it is also possible for no one to reach the stage of role creating as this social atom is based on scarcity, fear and anxiety. If this is true it’s time for you to create a new social atom. Psychodrama and sociodrama can help us transform or create new social atoms. These processes were created to help people dream new roles or new ways of being, to find new auxiliaries who will help us sustain and create these new roles, to help persons give birth to these new roles, to help persons nurture and support these new roles and help persons put some old roles to rest (e.g., the perfectionist, the warrior, the cynical and sarcastic doubter), or to transform or “retire” them (the martyr, the savior, Peter Pan, etc.). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "adobe caslon pro"; font-size: 11pt;">Some authoritarian systems or social atoms are steeped in scarcity, fear, and anxiety and there is only room for one role creator and few people advance beyond role taking. Moreno encouraged us to spread the sociometric wealth. We are fortunate and blessed that, for the most part, our psychodrama community is based upon abundance, love and light. Consequently each of us knows many role creators who have added to and transformed the roles of trainer, educator, clinician, scholar, director, and auxiliary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Moreno, J. L. (1961). The Role Concept: A Bridge between Psychiatry and Sociology. <u>American Journal of Psychiatry</u>.<u>118</u>, 518-522</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: xx-small;">One of the clearest articles that Moreno ever wrote. This article describes and discusses the psychiatric role concept; the history of the term role; the definition of role, the constructs of role and the function of role. The article defines and discusses the terms role playing, role perception, role enactment, and role pathology. He also elaborates on the co-unconscious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Moreno, J. L. (1964). Role Theory and Role Practice. In<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>Psychodrama: Volume I</u>. Beacon, NY: Beacon House, Inc., 153-160.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: xx-small;">In this chapter from Psychodrama: Volume I, Moreno discusses the relationship between roles, spontaneity, intelligence and self (ego), and offers several available methods for measuring roles. Two main components of roles, i.e. role perception and role enactment, are analyzed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: xx-small;">Thomas, E. J. & Biddle, B. J. (Eds.) (1966). <i>Role Theory: Concepts and Research. </i>NY: John Wiley & Sons<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-25779234895482894822018-09-10T17:56:00.000-06:002018-09-12T14:15:59.222-06:00Monodrama (Autodrama)<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Note: A number of people have blocked this email. If you, or people you know, have done this, and still want to receive my infrequent postings, please unblock.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47;">In my book, <i>The Psychodrama Companion</i>, I briefly described a <b>monodrama</b>, (also called an <b class="">autodrama)</b>. It is in the "Warm-up Expanded" chapter and suggests its use as a warm-up, which can lead to a psychodrama enactment. It can be done with an audience or alone.</span><br />
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In a monodrama, the protagonist plays all roles; self, the director, the double, and the auxiliary egos. No other person is used on stage. The protagonist calls for role reversals, uses props, does self-presentations, and speaks when in double and auxiliary roles. This is especially good to use in training sessions to test the spontaneity of the trainees.<br />
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While in training, I did a personal monodrama that examined how my father's death inhibited my moving forward in life. While soliloquizing I pulled a heavy duffel bag around the stage to indicate how his death impeded my progress.<br />
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A second personal monodrama dealt with my smoking habit. It explored the comforting, relaxing experience when smoking and also the harmful effects. In a final role reversal when I said I wanted to quit, my cigarettes told me to go to hell. That angered me enough to quit. It's strange how anger is so motivating.<br />
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I've had clients do monodramas in relation to how they fit into their family, workplace, and social situations; in short, their social atoms and sociometry.<br />
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This warm-up/intervention/enactment is quite versatile; provides psychodramatists with a lot of information; and can lead in many directions whether in a group, individual, couple, or family session.</div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><b>It's important for group members to share </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>with </b></span><b>people who have done a monodrama.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>For ordering information about <i>The Psychodrama Companion</i> see a blog several postings below or contact me: IQWysong@gmail.com</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">Discovering New Worlds: Transformational Advances in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy -</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">Please join us for our 77th Annual Conference, on <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_962211828" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">May 2-5, 2019</span></span> at the Manchester Downtown Hotel, Manchester, NH. Visit<span class="m_-6330254758915660554Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.asgpp.org/&source=gmail&ust=1532906284857000&usg=AFQjCNFdYh7ks26nDBwjNYyd_O17DdvCug" href="http://www.asgpp.org/" style="color: #954f72; font-family: Helvetica;" target="_blank">http://www.asgpp.org</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span class="m_-6330254758915660554Apple-converted-space"> </span>for more information.</span></blockquote>
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-44664817043202844692017-08-05T15:34:00.001-06:002017-08-05T15:34:36.347-06:00Hidden TwinsOlivia Lousada, a psychodrama friend of mine in London has created a website, <span style="color: #cc0000;">www.hiddentwins.com</span>. It includes a video of a modern dance choreographed by her. The dance represents and communicates the relationship between opposite sex twins. She has also written a book about that relationship.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">This presents a different form of a psychodrama. As creativity and spontaneity are explored, I am continually struck by the beauty, expansiveness, and wonderful differences of the modality.</span><br />
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You can use dance as a warm-up. Have group members use movement and "dance out" something from their life. To help those with no rhythm, have everyone dance at the same time, which gives the dance-challenged encouragement and helps them hide a little. The important element is for people to re-experience something from their lives.<br />
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The dance warm-up can be expanded. Ask for volunteers (protagonists) to dance out a part of their life. Auxiliary ego and double dancers can be added. Use role reversals and other psychodrama interventions. Direct it as with any psychodrama. You can do a director's interview to determine the gist of the dance; it's time, place, circumstance, and auxiliary egos. It's important to either dance in silence or with words and sounds.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"> I'm sure you will enjoy the video mentioned in the first paragraph. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Moreno would approve. </span><br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-52578122725496102332017-06-24T14:33:00.000-06:002017-06-24T14:33:12.322-06:00All Done By KindnessThe following poster was one used by David Devant, perhaps England's greatest 20th Century magician and one of the world's best.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDmcoYB1jZIFUiszZ4KiHYHrmp9a-v9sM70dACIRD1dga9mbhTZFuiHeR0z68QDuB6a8pvRoBaa-LICY6CUxfNTzDKdtRqDAjdQ8rfFWXPcOuYVJFB0w-OHAhfG3kuIKUxIfiNQ3eKt8I/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-06-24+at+11.51.23+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="780" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDmcoYB1jZIFUiszZ4KiHYHrmp9a-v9sM70dACIRD1dga9mbhTZFuiHeR0z68QDuB6a8pvRoBaa-LICY6CUxfNTzDKdtRqDAjdQ8rfFWXPcOuYVJFB0w-OHAhfG3kuIKUxIfiNQ3eKt8I/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-06-24+at+11.51.23+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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It may be hard to read but below Devant's name is a slogan, "All done by kindness."<br />
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That brought to mind what my primary psychodrama trainer, Carl Hollander, said: "Be kind and you will have a good psychodrama."<br />
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Carl was not talking about being soft. He knew the director must impel protagonists to expose their deepest issues, purge them, find understanding, integrate the experience, learn new ways of dealing with the issues, and move on in life.<br />
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We show kindness by being tough, not mean. That may require that we make the protagonists uncomfortable. A catharsis is not comfortable and many of our protagonists need to reach the catharsis of abreaction in order to break out of the morass of the past.<br />
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We fail our protagonists if we are not tough enough to help them through their psychodramatic process.<br />
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(A larger image of the Devant poster can be found online at www.nnmagic.com)<br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-85285526063629498992017-04-02T08:13:00.001-06:002021-03-21T09:32:29.600-06:00About Groups: Election Results<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 4.5px; margin-top: 22.5px;">
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>J.L. Moreno observed t</b><b>he following sociometric principles of groups. With this information you can determine why Donald Trump won the election and why Hillary Clinton lost. However, t</b></span><b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">his blog is not about politics, but is an analysis of groups. It is not meant to be a forum for political beliefs. These principles were included in my new textbook, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Psychodrama Companion,</i> </span>now available <span style="color: #cc0000;">(only in the U.S.)</span> at <a href="http://www.squareup.com/store/psychodrama">www.squareup.com/store/psychodrama</a>.</span></b><br />
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: normal;">S</span><span style="font-size: large;">ociodynamic Effect</span></span></b></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">People in power will find others to add to, or maintain, their power. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Essentially, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” Just observe the political process, corporate environment, or motorcycle gang. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Clinton attracted a certain constituency to add to her power but ignored others. Trump added those others to his power.</span></span><br />
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;">Law of Social Gravitation </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000;">People move toward others who generate their spontaneity. </span></b></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Those who generate our spontaneity have roles or counter-roles that we want. Think about people who attract you and analyze the situation based on this law. Your spontaneity will attract others but you must generate their spontaneity if you wish to keep them. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Trump generated the spontaneity of people who felt </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">disenfranchised.</span><br />
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Sociometric Cleavage </span></b></div>
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">A group out of power will disrupt a group in power.</span> </b></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When the Sociodynamic Effect reaches a certain point, people at the “bottom” will revolt if they are not heard, if the group is going in an undesirable direction, or if there are too many rules. The group will then split into factions and each will try to take over the leadership. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Not only did the people out of power disrupt those in power, they took the power.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">These principles can happen on a smaller scale, for instance, in your groups. That is why the knowledge of Sociometry is so important.</span></b></div>
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-51093608433067211442016-03-26T16:41:00.000-06:002016-04-28T15:02:47.728-06:00Thoughtful Thoughts To Think AboutPerhaps the empty chair should be called the "projection chair." We imagine someone in the chair and project that image upon the chair. The primary mechanism of transference is projection. Does that mean we in transference with a chair?<br />
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I recently finished reading John Nolte's book, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Philosophy, Theory and Methods of J.L. Moreno: the man who tried to become God</i>. </span>It is excellent and I can't recommend it highly enough. I believe it is the best book written about the subjects of the title.<br />
<br />Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-86304367319249708722016-03-08T08:47:00.000-07:002016-04-28T17:08:04.052-06:00The Cornerstone of All Forms of Group Psychotherapy<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Moreno wrote in <i>Who Shall Survive? </i>(1934, page xxx; revised edition 1953) the following that are divided into several parts for your contemplation:</b></span><br />
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"Four aspects of group psychotherapy struck me already then; they became later the cornerstones of all forms of group psychotherapy:</blockquote>
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1) the autonomy of the group;<br />
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2) that there is a group structure and the need for knowing more about it, group diagnosis as a preliminary to group psychotherapy;<br />
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3) the problem of collectivity; prostitution represents a collective order with patterns of behavior, roles and mores which colors the situation independent from the private participants and the local group;<br />
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4) the problem of the anonymity. When a client is treated within the framework of individual therapy, he is alone with the doctor, his ego is the only focus, he has a name, his psyche is highly valued private property. But in group psychotherapy there is a tendency towards anonymity of membership, the boundaries between the egos weaken, the group as a whole becomes the important thing."</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "\22 georgia\22 " , "\22 times new roman\22 " , serif;"><i>Who Shall Survive?</i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>is available on line at asgpp.org. Click on "RESOURCES". The following screen has a title, "Books". There you will find </span><i style="font-family: '"georgia"', '"times new roman"', serif;">Who Shall Survive?</i><span style="font-family: "\22 georgia\22 " , "\22 times new roman\22 " , serif;"> and many other titles.</span><br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-12741843928617483342015-03-28T14:08:00.003-06:002015-06-10T13:37:06.375-06:00I Screwed UpA few weeks ago I directed a psychodrama workshop for an alcohol and drug conference. The first woman, Flora, who presented herself as a protagonist said, "I'll do it if no one else wants to. But if someone else wants to do it, they can." Another woman Salli said that she would like to work. Flora said, "Well she can do it then." I encouraged her not to defer to another if she wanted to work. She said she was willing to defer to Salli.<br />
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Salli wanted to work on a friend who suffered extreme emotional problems and chose Flora to play that role. I carefully explained how role reversals were done. Flora could not understand what was required of her after several role reversals and additional explanations. The audience was making sounds of disbelief.<br />
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I screwed up. Flora should have replaced, but my concerns were that it would hurt her self esteem and that it would take too much time to bring in a new person. Bad decisions.<br />
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I screwed up. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>My first concern should have been for the protagonist and audience.</b></span> I could have told Flora that I wanted to try someone else in the role. Formulating the words in the moment would not have been easy for me. I have now found words to use in the future.<br />
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The psychodrama worked out well; the protagonist had good resolution and was happy as was the audience. But I had to feed Flora words to use and found other ways of circumventing her lack of understanding. It could have been much smoother and better with a different auxiliary.<br />
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A newspaper interview of Jonathan Moreno and his book about his father, J.L. Moreno, titled, <i>Rediscovering the Impromptu Man</i>, can be found at:<br />
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<br />Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-82166423436804841652014-11-28T09:58:00.000-07:002014-11-28T09:58:58.787-07:00Re—View<div style="color: #232323; font-family: Arial;">
John Nolte responded to a statement made on www.Grouptalkweb.org with the following quote. I think it needs to be brought to everyone's attention to review and refresh. The quote has been divided for easier reading on this blog.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>“5) The Sociometric Experiment</i>—The objective of <i>Who Shall Survive?</i> Was to describe a sociometric experiment and not merely to introduce a number of techniques. The first sentence in the book ‘A truly therapeutic procedure cannot have less an objective than the whole of mankind’ indicated my intention. It is disconcerting that this has been so completely misunderstood although in writing the book I have put this idea straight under the nose of the reader. It is stranger yet that this sentence is the most frequently quoted phrase of the book and that still its meaning has rarely been appreciated. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">To demonstrate the idea, the book analyzes and enfolds an entire community and tries to turn it from an untherapeutic community into a therapeutic one—within the limits of its setting—by means of various methods. It appears that for many this sentence has been taken at best as a poetic metaphor for an ailing society and gently pushed aside. As a consequence, the immediate meaning of the entire book has been overlooked.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">....The principle task of the experiment was to initiate a therapeutic process which involves then entire community, not only the so-called ‘inmates’, but the entire staff, from the superintendent down to every teacher, social worker, minister, clerical worker, farm worker, manual laborer, chauffeur, carpenter, electrician. The old adage ‘Physician heal thyself’ was replaced with a new one, ‘<i>Community, heal thyself</i>’.”</span></div>
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Moreno, J. L. (1956). THE SOCIOMETRIC SCHOOL AND THE<br />
SCIENCE OF MAN. <i>Sociometry A Journal of Inter-personal Relations </i><br />
<i> and Experimental </i><i>Design</i>, Vol. XVIII, December, 1955 No. 4 pp 23-24.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My trainer, Carl Hollander, stressed that the goal of sociometry was to find the criterion/criteria to bring people together. The purpose was to create an environment so that all could express their spontaneity and creativity.</span><br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-22412749653678811992014-06-17T09:10:00.000-06:002014-06-17T09:10:01.182-06:00Moreno History: Questions and Answers<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />1. Where was the first recorded Psychodrama and what year was it done?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Moreno interacted with children at a park in Vienna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a. What was the name of the park?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> b. What was the year in which he first did this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> c. What was the significance of this in Moreno history?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> d. What did this interaction with children lead to?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. What was the significance of Kömodienhaus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What is the date of the first edition of <i>Who Shall Survive?</i>, Moreno's seminal work.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answers to the questions above can be found in </span><i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who Shall Survive?</i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by J. L. Moreno and/or in Rene Marineau's </span><i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jacob Levy Moreno 1889-1974</i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the only unbiased, un-glorified, well-researched biography of Moreno.</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who Shall Survive? </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">can be found online at ASGPP.org, click on Library. Pages xiii through cviii contain a lot of historical information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Take some time to think about them and then scroll down to the answers below.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Answers</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /> 1. Many people believe that </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 1, 1921 marks </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the first psychodrama at the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Kömodienhaus, . </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was not.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Marineau wrote (pages 67-68) "In or around 1921, he met a patient who was instrumental in teaching him something about mental health.… He [the patient] wanted Moreno to help him die and asked him to be a partner in his suicide…" Moreno and Marianne, Moreno's love interest, helped the client act out various scenarios relating to the patient's desire for death. "Here, Moreno is giving psychodramatic treatment for the first time."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Moreno interacted with children at a park in Vienna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a. What was the name of the park?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The Augarten. (Moreno, p. xviii)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> b. What was the year in which he first did this?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1911</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> c. What was the significance of this in Moreno history?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Marineau wrote (p. 39), " Moreno not only told stories. He played games with the children, games that called upon children's spontaneity, but also challenged the values inherited from their parents and teachers." Too much is read into the Augarten anecdote. Answers given on some CP and TEP exams were that this was the beginning of psychodrama, the beginning of sociometry, or was were Moreno developed spontaneity theory. Neither Moreno nor Marineau make mention of these three items. </span></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Can we liken Moreno's position in front of or on the limb of the tree as being on a stage? Of course, but it was 10 years later before psychodrama came about. And where would you naturally stand if running a group for children in such a park? Moreno (</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">p. xviii) </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">does mention that his choosing the theater over religion was </span><i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">idée fixe. </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> d. What did this interaction with children lead to?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Marineau suggests (p. 39) that the insecurity of parents, the school administration, and the police may have been the reason that Moreno stopped the Augarten experience. At about this time Moreno had also created a theater for children to invent and improvise plays presented in the Augarten or in a small hall. This came to an end because of World War I. Moreno realized that he should enter the larger world of the adult while using children as models to, "...envision a new order of things or to create a new form."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. What was the significance of Kömodienhaus?</span></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Marineau (p.71), "From a historical standpoint, the evening of 1 April 1921 was the first demonstration of what Moreno called sociodrama."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What is the date of the first edition of <i>Who Shall Survive?</i>, Moreno's seminal work.</span></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The first edition was 1934. Many people use the 1953 date of the second edition. This is unfortunate because it does not acknowledge Moreno until almost twenty year later. This allows others to slip in and take credit for portions of his work.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a good amount of confusion in </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who Shall Survive?. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following headings he used will tax you. They are listed in the order found in the book. He did not list these and other headings in strict chronological order:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1910, Genesis of Psychodrama</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1911, Genesis of Spontaneity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1912, Genesis of Sociometry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1911, The Psychodrama of God, the Axiodrama</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1914, Definition of Psychodrama [Good for a laugh.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1913-1914, Genesis of Group Psychotherapy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The question to ask: Did he create these at the dates given above or did he apply later thinking to previous happenings? One heading that is accurate is the last. He was the first to do </span><i style="color: #cc0000;">true</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> group psychotherapy; where participants interacted from the start (pages xxviii-xxx.) There were groups of eight to ten prostitutes that met two or three times a week. It wasn't until 1932 that the term, "group psychotherapy" was used.</span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you know what happened during that year?</span></div>
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-51856261382473215932014-01-31T17:43:00.000-07:002014-06-21T16:46:57.524-06:00A Cultural Conserve For You<div style="text-align: left;">
A while ago, I wrote a paper on presenting psychodrama to psychology-related classes and various organizations. My purpose was to suggest ways to promote psychodrama (which we certainly need to do.) These presentations are meant to be voluntary endeavors, but may also result in getting psychodrama trainees and clients.</div>
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The paper is too long to be included here and is in a pdf format. <span style="color: #cc0000;">If you would like a copy, email me:</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> IQWysong@gmail.com</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">. In the subject line put, "PD Offer".</span><br />
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This cultural conserve will give you a platform to stimulate your warm-up, spark your spontaneity, lead to creativity, and result in your cultural conserve: a complete cycle of Moreno's Canon of Creativity. Let me know what you do.<br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-62148969664958804012013-11-26T16:37:00.000-07:002013-11-26T16:37:01.049-07:00Too Warmed-UpEarly in my Psychodrama training, I directed a woman who had an issue with her brother. Being a new director, I did a very thorough, elaborate scene setting. It took a long time because I was apprehensive about getting into action. I must have had the protagonist role reverse with everything in the scene; a picture on the wall, a rug on the floor, a pot on the mantel, a window...you get the idea.<br />
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Finally when there was nothing left with which to role reverse, I had her select someone to play her brother. She selected my trainer, Carl Hollander. I had her do a self-presentation of her brother, reversed her back into her role, and brought Carl (as the brother) into the scene.<br />
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My words were, "What would you like to say..." She screamed and jumped on Carl. Carl grabbed her wrists to protect himself. She tried to harm and cursed her brother. Carl turned to me and commanded, "Bill, do something!"<br />
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My less than functional brain had me loudly stutter, "R-r-r-reverse r-r-r-roles!" By sheer luck this happened to be the right thing to do. And it was only luck because I couldn't think of anything else. After calming down I managed to hobble through the enactment and brought it to a conclusion.<br />
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I dreaded the processing that was to follow. Some of our training-group processing sessions lasted two and a half hours and they were brutally hard on trying-to-be-perfect trainees like me. The worst part is that I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and stated that at the beginning of the processing. Carl replied that when you do a prolonged scene setting, the protagonist gets overly warmed-up and will <b><i>impulsively</i></b> jump into action when faced with an antagonist.<br />
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May you never experience what happened to me.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Do efficient scene settings covering the most important elements. Beware of very long scene settings (See above.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Directing a role reversal will get you out of a lot of trouble. It is a primary and major intervention for the director to use.</span><br />
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<br />Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-67289023724363117652013-11-05T17:22:00.001-07:002013-11-05T17:22:58.731-07:00Prevent Role ConfusionIn my training group, a trainee director finished a psychodrama and left the protagonist in an auxiliary ego role.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Don't do that. It leads to role confusion and may be detrimental for the protagonist and some group members. </span><br />
<br />
The protagonist may believe that you, the director, want him/her to be like the person the protagonist is playing in the auxiliary role.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">End the psychodrama with </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">the protagonist in his/her role</span>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-63947146066031969122013-08-17T10:02:00.001-06:002013-08-17T10:02:26.735-06:00Doubling Statements by the DirectorAs mentioned in the last post, Moreno opposed director doubling, except in an emergency, to avoid role confusion. Doubling statements by the director allows the director to interject suggestions to the protagonist to move the action.<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
A doubling statement is kin to a direction by the director. It is used to clarify, suggest actions and words, and call attention to affect, gestures, or body posture. It is expedient and used when the double has missed something, doesn’t understand, is unaware of what the director wants expressed, or when the double is not being used. Some of the following statements may be subtle and you may choose not to use them. It must be clear to the protagonist that the director is not also being the double. The director can make doubling statements as in: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> “Why don’t you and I go to that place and see what happens?” </span><div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span>Notice the wording to indicate a separation between the protagonist and director. That statement is different from what a double would say: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> “I want to go to that place to see what happens.” </span><br /><br />Other doubling statements by the director: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> “You seem very sad.”<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <br /></span> “That relationship didn’t work and you want to know why.” <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span> “Do you feel what your body is doing?”</span><div>
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-52799258974542272712013-06-17T17:39:00.000-06:002013-06-17T17:39:36.584-06:00Directing Tips from MorenoJ. L. Moreno gave some directing tips quoted here from <i>Psychodrama, Vol. I</i>, pages 257 and 258 (The reference to "subject" means the protagonist.):<br />
<br />
“The director should work with the minimum expenditure of emotional energy. Once a production has begun he should leave its development to the subject.” <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> [This indicates we should follow, rather then lead, the protagonist.] </span><br />
<br />
“When and where guidance is required he should leave this to the auxiliary ego co-acting in the scenes.” <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"> [Guidance is the operative word. The director can relax if the auxiliary egos (and double, a specialized auxiliary ego) are performing well. Of course the director must direct when necessary.] </span><br />
<br />
“He should take advantage of the fact that the auxiliary egos are extensions of his own self, permitting them to be subjectively involved but keeping himself at a distance, objective and uninvolved.” <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;">[“Uninvolved” could mean the director should place him/herself off the stage during the action. I don’t know how anyone can be emotionally uninvolved. </span><span style="color: #990000;">A director has to be involved but must maintain an objective position to allow for the necessary focus.}</span><br />
<br />
“This has the advantage that he is left out of transference and tele relations but he can watch and correct transference and tele relations which develop between the subject and auxiliary egos on this stage in the course of the action.” <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"> [The correction of transference and tele relations generally takes place in surplus reality. Here Moreno essentially says we should <b><i>not</i></b> double or play an auxiliary role and allow transference to occur with the co-therapists, not the director.] </span><br />
<br />
He continues with : "There are emergencies, however, when the director has to come to the rescue as a person but this is considered an exception." <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"> ["There are emergencies" does not mean that it's OK to do director doubling frequently. Also note that he didn't say how to "rescue as a person". As a double or some other auxiliary ego? Or just as yourself, the director? This action is considered an "exception."]</span><br />
<br />
<b>And I thought directing required imposing tight control, er... structure...and had to be tense with really hard work.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">So who taught that frequent director doubling was OK?</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-8985842567870522282013-04-02T09:45:00.002-06:002013-04-02T10:19:25.827-06:00An Expansion of the Previous Post<div>
These comments expand on my previous post. <span style="color: #cc0000;">I want to be clear that the typical person I described is in a therapy or personal growth group and never volunteers to be a protagonist.</span> However the director asks, "Who in this group needs a psychodrama?" and the group selects the person who has never volunteered. As I stated in my previous post,<br />
<br />
"I feel this method of selecting a protagonist is cruel."<br />
<br />
Sociometrically this is a horrible way to select a protagonist or a person to be the group's focus. It also indicates improper warm-ups that have failed to establish group trust to allow this person to express him/herself.<br />
<br />
Additional structured warm-ups are necessary to build sociometry to include this person. Even if this person wants to remain withdrawn or isolated, I believe we should not force him/her to have a psychodrama. Many people learn about themselves by watching others' psychodramas. I am most concerned that this person self-disclose in the sharing and will do all I can to assist in the process.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
If people are upset that the person does not want to have a psychodrama, that is grist for group process and may lead some to work on their feelings.<br />
<br />
<div>
The psychodrama is for the group and trusting the group to make choices is part of the group process. What does it say about the director/group leader who wants to manipulate the group to force a person to work?</div>
<br />
<br />
[Psychodrama training groups are an exception to the above because it is expected that all trainees work on personal issues. If in training the person's behavior must be confronted and processed.]<br />
<br /></div>
Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-996501265187899252013-02-18T14:19:00.000-07:002013-02-18T14:19:19.261-07:00You’re It<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Note: The following can be applied to a person </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">in a therapy group, training, or class <i style="font-weight: bold;">other than psychodrama</i> as can most of my posts.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The psychodrama director asks, “Who in this group needs a psychodrama.” The group then selects the sickest, weirdest, affectless, or most timid person. So that person generates exceptionally high anxiety, loses all aspects of spontaneity, and is dragged to the stage. No one knows the reluctant protagonist’s issue. The reluctant protagonist has no warm-up and may never get one because of the anxiety. It is no surprise if the psychodrama goes nowhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I feel this method of selecting a protagonist is cruel.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-87805194645315362342013-01-28T12:37:00.000-07:002013-01-28T12:37:58.128-07:00She Sells Sea Shells Down By the Sea Shore and More.<br />
Even though I have been in many groups, I'm always apprehensive when, at the start of a group, the leader says find a partner. Who do I select? Will I get to that person before they pair with another? Will I be rejected? If that lingers in me, how do people new to groups feel? The following ways of pairing people eliminates the selection process:<br />
<br />
Get two halves of a sea shell or two similar shells, enough shells for each person in the group, and put the shells in a bag. Let people draw one shell from the bag and instruct them to find the person with a matching shell. Instruct the pairs do introductions and find out about each other. Give additional instructions that fits the overall group. <br />
<br />
You can also use two each of nuts in the shell: hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, peanuts, pecans, soft shell pecans, Brazil nuts (What are they called in Brazil?), macadamia nuts, and pistachios. Two each of the following also work: <br />
<br />
Colors or different brands of cellophane-wrapped. or small bags, of candy. <br />
<br />
Rocks or marbles of different sizes, shapes, and colors. <br />
<br />
Post cards or pictures of different objects, animals, places, or people. <br />
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Zodiac signs. Was each person born under the sign that they selected? Is there an important person in his/her life that was born under that sign? Include a fortune with each sign that the pair can discuss.<br />
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Different sizes, shapes, and colors of buttons.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For groups with odd numbers of people, use an extra candy, marble, post card, button, etc. so that most of the group members will be in pairs with one three-person grouping.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Don't forget to collect all the items or be prepared to lose them and buy more.</div>
Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-61443120013766322562013-01-09T11:32:00.000-07:002013-01-09T11:32:49.977-07:00Missing the Protagonist<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I know of two times a psychodrama was done when the protagonist was not present and a substitute was used. Huh? Isn’t the protagonist supposed to be there? Isn’t that important? Isn’t the psychodrama about the protagonist’s issue, not about the substitute’s problems?<br />
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That would be like doing sit-and-talk therapy with a stand-in client.<br />
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This is difficult to explain. At the first instance a therapist portrayed her client (who was not there) as the protagonist in the psychodrama. The therapist was not the protagonist, her portrayal of her client was the protagonist. The second instance: a client portrayed another client as protagonist. Again the portrayed person was not present. How screwed up are these?<br />
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<b>In the first instance, if the therapist had problems with the client, then the therapist must be the protagonist. <br /></b><br />
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<b>In the second instance, if the client (A) had problems with another client (B) then (A) should be the protagonist and work on his/her issue when, preferably, (B) is present.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b>Both of the missing protagonist examples were dismal failures. These so-called psychodramas cannot be supported by any theory. Remember that the psychodrama is a learning experience for the group and the group could not get emotionally involved with these messes. Only frustration and anger were the results. I bet you don’t want those feelings in any group.<br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-29119445780247552362012-12-15T15:46:00.000-07:002019-02-08T18:16:42.278-07:00Group Questions #1-5 and All Answers #1-5. Finis Groups for Now.<br />
<b>I can only guess that my repetition of the questions have irritated some of you, but my object was to give new people joining the blog an opportunity to think about all of the questions. For you that have suffered, I'm giving the questions and answers in reverse order.</b><br />
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<b>Question #5</b>: Select the correct answer.<br />
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Moreno identified:<br />
1. Three group stages.<br />
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2. Four group stages.<br />
3. Five group stages.<br />
4. Seven group stages.<br />
5. No group stages.<br />
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(Justify your answer by telling where you found it. Did he name them? That question may be a trick if he named no group stages.)<br />
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<b>A gold star for the correct answer.</b><br />
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Scroll down for the answer.<br />
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<b>Answer #5</b>. Four stages.<br />
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When a psychodramatist thinks of a psychodrama, the phases of Warm-Up, Action, and Sharing come to mind. But Moreno defined group (called audience) stages in <i>Psychodrama First Volume</i> (<b>1946</b>: 327) as: </div>
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1. The amorphous stage.</div>
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2. The stage of acquaintance.</div>
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3. The action stage.</div>
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4. The stage of mutual relations. </div>
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These stages fit nicely into: Warm-Up (amorphous stage and stage of acquaintance), Action (action stage), and Sharing (the stage of mutual relations.) Sharing has always included the termination of the group.<br />
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Now compare the dates of publications of Moreno, Yalom, Tuckman and Jensen, and Corey. Moreno is the unaccredited forerunner by 29 years.<br />
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Everybody who writes a book on group counseling has to add stages and/or rename them, to avoid appearing as a plagiarist.<br />
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Many group counseling courses use both Yalom’s and Corey’s texts. And students suffer the confusion. Most have never heard of Sociometry.</div>
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<b>Question #4:</b> True or False:</div>
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Moreno said there must be at least five people to have a group. Where did you find this answer?</div>
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<b>Answer #4</b>. Five people make a group.<br />
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I apologize for not knowing where I got this answer. My notes indicate Moreno wrote that the minimum group size is five. Did that include the group leader? Where is this information found? Test yourself and try to find where the answers are. Your help will be greatly appreciated.<br />
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<b>Question #3:</b> True or False:</div>
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Tuckman and Jensen in Group and Organizational Studies (1977) named group stages using the following terms: forming, storming, norming, preforming, and adjourning. (Answer next time.)</div>
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<b>Answer #3</b>. True.<br />
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Originally Tuckman and Jensen named the first four stages and later revised their writing to five stages. (Bet you didn’t know who used those names for the stages. Neither did I.) Other authors’ usage dropped the adjourning stage. Many licensing and course exams do not include the fifth stage in their questions and most people have never heard of the adjourning stage. Many people attribute Tuckman and Jensen's naming of group stages to either Yalom or Corey.<br />
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<b>Question #2:</b> True or False:</div>
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Gerald Corey wrote a textbook used widely in group counseling, college courses. He defined four stages in Theory and Practice of Group Counseling (1981,1985,1990 and 1995.)</div>
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<b>Answer #2</b>. False, maybe True based on your interpretation.<br />
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Accidental semi-trick question. Corey didn’t call two elements, stages. A beginning element was called Pregroup Meeting or Initial Session, and the final element was called the Follow-Up Session. To me they are stages. Corey also named four stages:<br />
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1. Initial Stage—Orientation and Exploration.<br />
2. Transition Stage—Dealing with Resistance.<br />
3. Working Stage—Cohesion and Productivity.<br />
4. Final Stage—Consolidation and Termination.<br />
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It’s interesting that Corey named the stages and then indicated what was in each stage followed by an “m” dash (the long dash — ) like Yalom did.<br />
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<b>Question #1:</b> True or False:</div>
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Irvin D. Yalom in The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy (1975) said that there were four stages to a group’s process later named by others as forming, norming, storming, and preforming.<br />
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<b>Answer #</b>1: False<br />
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Yalom did research studies that resulted in an informative and well-read book. This led him to define “Three Formative Stages of Groups” as follow:<br />
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1. The Initial Stage—Orientation, Hesitant Participation, Search for<br />
Meaning.<br />
2. Second Stage—Conflict, Dominance, Rebellion.<br />
3. Development of Cohesiveness.<br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-64025049438218699072012-09-03T14:50:00.000-06:002012-09-03T14:50:15.467-06:00Canonize Ideas<br />
“Ideas are not something you have. Ideas are something you do.” —Hugh McLeod from his blog, <a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/">www.gapingvoid.com</a>. His blog is interesting and fun. And he is always trying to sell something. Maybe I should too.<br />
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Does this fit in J. L. Moreno’s Canon of Creativity*, a process that moves from warm-up to spontaneity, to creativity, to cultural conserve? Beginning with a warm-up, a point is reached where spontaneity occurs and the idea gels. An interaction between spontaneity and creativity takes place and the two work together to produce a cultural conserve. A conserve is something other people can experience with at least one of their five senses, such as, a book, art, music, poetry, software, new teaching method, child raising, culinary delight, a new perfume, and the like.<br />
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You have probably met people who were going to write the world's great novel or paint a work of art. They may have had an idea, but the novel or painting was never produced. What good is an idea if it does not become a thing done? If you consider Moreno’s theory, McLeod has short-cut the process. Even though we can understand what McLeod was thinking in his statements, an idea is just that, a thought; it does not produce anything. According to Moreno, an idea is not something you do.<br />
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*Found in Who Shall Survive?, page 46. This, Moreno's greatest cultural conserve, can be found online at: www.ASGPP.org Click on [Library] and it will appear as the first listing on the next page.<br />
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5521861228392934262.post-35408075861504991842012-08-27T21:40:00.000-06:002012-08-27T21:40:32.354-06:00La-La Land: Groups Automatically Form and Move to a Deep Level<br />If you don’t know sociometry, you don’t know groups. Insulting isn’t it? The short test for group knowledge is to ask, “Can you specifically explain how individuals, unknown to each other and from different walks of life are formed into a group?” How's that for a challenge?<br /><br />Can you find that information in any group counseling textbook?<br /><br />Near the end of a recent workshop, a trainee said, "No wonder it was a good group, several members knew each other."<br /><br />What was not understood was that: Members may know each other, but don't disclose very personal information unless all in the group have reached a certain trust level. "...all in the group" includes people who knew each other <i><b>and</b></i> those who knew no one. <div>
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<b>Bringing any group to a trusting level is done because of attention to sociometry.</b><div>
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Bill Wysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898801229110487012noreply@blogger.com0