ABSTRACT:

The trauma of war has stirred up in Ukrainians the mechanisms of struggle for life that were not manifested in peaceful conditions. During March-April 2022, two phenomena could be observed in Ukrainian society that clearly reflected the social and cultural nature of the survival mechanism of a nation threatened with extinction:

1. Consolidation. It is the process of the mass emergence of groups based on the criteria of “one turns to another” and “action for resistance”. People are uniting to purchase supplies and equipment for the army, to help the wounded, victims, evacuees, to weave protective nets, etc;
2. The creative explosion of an artistic product. It is seen as a folk heritage passed down by ancestors and awakened by descendants. Nowadays, we hear a lot of folk songs, fairy tales, myths in our everyday life, and our clothes are enriched with forgotten ornaments.
   Contemporary art is also rapidly gaining momentum, leaving a memory of the sensual experience of this struggle.

We believe that these phenomena are universal, and in situations of threat, every nation and ethnic group relies on its deepest culture, narratives and myths.

The power of life and the power of unity lies in having an effective contact with the origins of one’s culture and seeing the strength of other nations and ethnic groups at any time. In the sociodrama, we will explore the origins of the cultures of different nations, looking for points of contact and unity through the language of creativity.

In the workshop art-therapeutic tools will be used. Participants will be able to identify the cultural characteristics of their own ethnic group, see similarities and differences in other groups.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

During the trying wartime period, Ukrainian psychologists and psychotherapists encountered many challenges in their work. We found ourselves in a new reality we could neither have predicted nor prepared for in advance.

Just like our clients, we, the professionals providing psychological assistance, felt the need for emotional processing, support and connection as well as for professional communication that would enable us to explore the new issues we faced in our work.

Thus, we formed a sociodrama group led by Ron Wiener and Diane Adderley.

The members of the group found the strength to meet during the long months of war and related the reality of traumatic events – manifested by different roles and voices – to the group. We did our best to examine the terrible occurrences and to understand and analyse the processes taking place within ourselves, within our personal and professional relationships, within society at large and the international community. We also observed how these processes were reproduced in the group.

We had to learn on the go and managed to achieve a lot.

During the workshop we will:

• reveal what lies behind the curtain and invite you to take a look at the work done by a group that met during the interminable war months while abiding by the principle of confidentiality;
• tell you how we moved from the declared goal to the needs that arose during our work;
• share the insights the group received due to their work together;
• affirm the importance and effectiveness of the sociodrama method as demonstrated by our experience;
• invite you to the action and the encounter.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: