ABSTRACT:

In the aftermath of the fallen communist regimes at the end of the XX century, these societies are far from reaching a homeostasis.The history of conflicts and lost beliefs has not only created collective trauma and polarization, but these societies have been continuously re-traumatized by the communicated „post-truths“ (Oxford Languages, 2016) and „gaslighting“ (Merriam-Webster, 2022).

The hypothesis is that when individuals fall victim to the societal post-truths and gaslighting, they are inclined to form certain sub-groups with similar mental, emotional and somatic experiencing, corresponding to the fight-flight-or-freeze states: 1) nationalists (angry, agitated, ready to “protect” the nation and fight with the perceived enemy), 2) the nostalgic (fleeing to idealisation of the past, grieving for the communist „paradise lost“), or the numb (those that freeze, shut down or even die, unable to cope with the changed circumstances).
The workshop will include a sociometrical exercise with three groups, a sociodramatic exploration by making use of role reversal and deepening double techniques, with deroling and a sociatric intervention as closure.

After this 90-min workshop, the participants will be able to:
1) explore ways of collective re-traumatisation in dismantled societies and how individuals respond to it,
2) identify how different social sub-groups are formed, depending on the individual autonomous nervous system response,
3) consider some viable social healing techniques.

References:

Oxford Languages Word of the Year (2016): post-truth – “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief“.
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year (2022): gaslighting: „the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage“.
Billmer, G. E. (2020): Homeostasis: The Underappreciated and Far Too Often Ignored Central Organizing Principle of Physiology, Front. Physiol., 10 March 2020, Sec. Integrative Physiology
Volume 11 – 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00200
Damjanov, J. And Westberg, M., eds. (2023) Discovering the Languages of Peace – A Handbook of Sociopsychodrama
Hübl, T. (2023): Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma—and Our World, Kindle Edition
Kellerman, P. F. (2007): Sociodrama and Collective Trauma, Jessica Kingsley Publishers – London and Philadelphia
Mass, P. (1997): Love Thy Neighbour: The Story of War, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Porges, S. W. (2020): The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation, Audiobook – Unabridged, Tantor Audio
Williams, J. M. and Tygielski, S. (2023): How We Ended Racism: Realizing a New Possibility in One, Kindle Edition

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

Sociodrama is an action method created by Dr. J.L. Moreno, Group members spontaneously enact a social situation, assuming assigned roles to study and address problems in collective relationships or social issues. Theatre of the Oppressed is a method created by the Brazilian practitioner Augusto Boal. It encompasses theatrical forms Boal first developed in the 1960s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe and North America. Boal’s techniques use theatre as a means of promoting social and political change. How can Sociodrama and Theatre of the Oppressed collaborate to promote, explore, understand, and advance human rights, fostering dignity worldwide? How can international practitioners use these two methods together to address the global purpose of humanity? This workshop will provide a methodology for understanding and initiating change.

After attending this session, the participants will be able to:

1. Apply Sociodrama and Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to enact and analyze real-world human rights scenarios, fostering a deeper understanding of these issues.
2. Identify cross-cultural competence and skills to apply these action methods across diverse cultural contexts, considering nuances and sensitivities in addressing human rights issues globally.
3. Examine creative techniques, facilitated by Sociodrama and Theatre of the Oppressed, as a catalyst for social and political change in the realm of human rights.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

A comprehensive perspective on social cultures can foster innovative approaches to exploring and reorganizing collective roles. The enchantment of surplus reality resides in the utilization of imagination and play in this pursuit; it enables us to explore and manifest our needs, and goals on how to live and coexist in the collective realm of the future. From the philosophy of Dr. Moreno, we know that through our creative genius, we cultivate new ways of being, co-creating, and connecting. Surplus reality in sociodrama addresses our goal to explore collective creative potential by bringing the future into the present and expressing hopes, readiness, and willingness for change, creating a better world for all.

This workshop will explore pathways on how to turn our visions for the future into present actions and pursuits. Dr. Moreno left us a message that if we can imagine something, we can pursue and accomplish it, reaching out to new “invisible dimensions’ for connection, inclusion, and a collective future in a healed global society.

“Surplus Reality is … an enrichment of reality by the investment and extensive use of imagination” (Moreno, J.L. (1965). Therapeutic vehicles and the concept of surplus reality. Group Psychotherapy, 18, p. 211

The following learning objectives aim to provide participants with a rich and transformative experience in envisioning and realizing a healed and united global community through the applications of surplus reality in sociodrama. After attending this session, the participants will be able to:

• Recognize the concept of surplus reality and its utilization in sociodrama in exploring and manifesting needs, goals, and aspirations for collective living in the future.
• Describe the session’s goal of exploring collective creative potential by bringing future visions into the present, fostering hopes, readiness, and willingness for positive change.
• Define pathways and strategies to turn envisioned futures into tangible present actions and pursuits, in alignment with Dr. Moreno’s belief that imagination can be pursued and accomplished.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: