10 takeaways from the 80th annual psychodrama conference
Professional conferences offer opportunities to connect with colleagues, learn what’s new in the field and inspire participants to move forward with fresh ideas when returning back to daily life of the work week.
During the 80th annual conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, which ended Sunday, April 3, all that happened — and more.
My 10 takeaways from the 2022 conference
The pandemic filled the proverbial empty chair. COVID-19 certainly permeated the virtual air that we shared, breathing in and breathing out. Like last year, the conference took place online, with participants calling in on Zoom from their living rooms, home offices and kitchens. Organizers put together a five-day conference that included keynote and plenary speakers, pre-conference institute intensives, workshops, lunches, an awards ceremony, a Playback Theatre performance and the traditional Saturday night party. Several workshops addressed the emotional impact of COVID-19.
Research is growing and showing significant evidence-based success with psychodrama psychotherapy. Multiple reports are proving that psychodrama is highly effective in treating anxiety, panic disorder, trauma and depression. A panel of seven international researchers including Scott Giacomucci, Erica Hollander, Hod Orkibi, Rob Pramann, Galabina Tarashoeva, Tom Treadwell and Michael Wieser offered samples of rigorous research studies that showed definitive change for the better due to the psychodramatic interventions of doubling and role reversing. Even one research study that surveyed people in a treatment center offered high-level results, despite the fact that their faces were covered by masks and they were social distancing during groups.
Cool stuff is happening with psychodrama around the globe. Attendees and presenters came from not only the United States but also Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, Israel, Portugal, Serbia and Turkey — and maybe a few more countries that I didn’t catch. Although this organization is the “American Society,” it’s always a pleasure to meet and become acquainted with international guests as well as a reminder how this method has spread around the globe because of its staying power and devoted trainers and their followers.
Online conferencing as an art. I’d like to think that ASGPP has been making real innovations here, making the online experience interesting and fun. This is the second year that ASGPP’s conference was put online, and each workshop was assigned an assistant that took care of technical needs like operating slide shows, monitoring chat boxes, posting handouts and links in the chat box in real time. Short GIFs of cakes with burning candles — to celebrate the organization’s 80th anniversary — and an applause track during the awards ceremony added to the fun. The Padlet app allowed participants to regularly post feedback online on topics of interest. Emojis added color during various events, both light-hearted and somber, like the memorial ceremony for several members in the psychodrama community who died in the past year.
Top trainers show how it’s done online. Trainers also offered their growing mastery of leading groups and teaching online, giving good examples for directing dramas, offering online consultation and supervision, training and performance using the Zoom platform. Adaptions of common sociometric tests of spectrograms, locograms, hands-on choice making as well as psychodramatic techniques and ways of working with toys and other experiential modalities proved innovative and varied, giving attendees loads of inspiration and role modeling.
A strong focus on social justice themes. Eleven workshops listed themes of inclusion, colorism, racism, environmental issues, white supremacy, class and financial privilege, ageism, LGBTQ and gender, and multicultural issues. The annual Diversity Forum gave voice to a spirited discussion of how to support members in the organization and visitors to the conference to feel more included as well as how psychodrama training and the conference can become more available to greater numbers of people.
How much do we charge. In the spirit of social justice, conversations took place that explored how we can make our organization and its events, especially the annual conference, more financially accessible to a greater number of people. Session leaders Jennie Kristel, REAT, RMT APTT, and Michael Watson, Ph.D., introduced the Green Bottle, a tool that allows for a product or service to be obtained at multiple fees based on the circumstances of the purchaser. Developed by community healing practitioner Alexis J. Cunningfolk, it has grown as a respectful way of giving freedom to people to name a reasonable fee for services. It represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access services or care.
Intense interest in how to support healing of offenders and other marginalized populations. Plenary speaker Sammy Rangel — a former gang member and incarcerated person who earned a master’s degree in social work— shared his story and how he has been working to address more effective non-punishing programs for offenders that build relationship, empathy and authenticity. Rangel also talked about the growth of Formers Anonymous, a support group that he founded 10 years ago in Racine, Wis., for people involved in violence, criminality and street life. The program is based on the Twelve-Step philosophy but it makes some significant adaptions based on medical and scientific research, trauma-informed care and inclusivity.
Poetry, song and other creative arts soothed our nervous systems. Workshops showcased how art therapy, movement therapy and Toy Theatre could be integrated into psychodrama. More brought song and poetry, including Pablo Neruda’s Dance Our Clumsy Dance prose-poem-writing in Cindy Levy’s workshop on “Spotting the Sociodynamic Effect: Creating Equity and Inclusion,” plus the spontaneous addition of the show tune I Won’t Dance, Don’t Ask Me,” when alert technical assistant Vanessa Lee quickly found online when one of the participants said she admired Ginger Rogers and started singing. Letitia Nieto, TEP, offered the keynote “Timing and Joy in Skillful Liberation” reading a free-form poem that she had written after teaching the pre-conference institute the day before. Letitica, the author of Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment: A Developmental Strategy to Liberate Everyone, sang a poem by Lu Aya of The Peace Poets in English and Spanish to complement her talk. The poem is below:
Current events shadowed and echoed the conference experience. Early in conference introductions, we were reminded that the psychodrama membership organization originated in 1942, during a time of war. Now, in 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine quietly filtered into the protected conference space. Attendees told their fears about the state of the world during workshop action and sharing, and our European colleagues shared how they and their work has been impacted by the war. The Saturday night party paused festivities to give space to Alexandr Usov, a psychodramatist and social worker who emigrated to New York from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, and a colleague who emigrated from Ukraine. We were treated to a beautifully passionate Ukrainian song as part of the program.
About the author
Karen Carnabucci, MSS, LCSW, TEP, is a licensed clinical social worker in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and is a nationally board-certified trainer, educator and practitioner in psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy. She is the founder of the Lancaster School of Psychodrama and Experiential Psychotherapies in Lancaster, Pa., and the author of several books and articles about psychodrama, Family and Systemic Constellations, and other embodied and healing modalities. Subscribe to her free e-letter for helping and healing professionals here.
