Blog 2: thoughts on psychodrama

I'm using this blog facility to think aloud and to record my research into psychodrama - I would normally take notes and put them into a document to refer to privately, but in this new world of global sharing, I'll store them here instead.....

1. We have a lecture this week about the ExcelL program addressing the issue of inter-cultural relations especially for immigrants. I've had a look at the assigned reading (Mak and Barker, 2004) and noticed that the program involves role-play which seems to be particularly successful in this context - there is the opportunity to "show" as well as "tell". I may incorporate some of this into my blog on psychodrama.

2. I've found an interesting site about a technique called Playback which is essentially role-play. I initially came across this when looking into art therapies which interested me personally - I'm taking Creative Writing as another major in my double degree (psych/arts). The Playback website ( http://playbacknet.org/interplay/Previousissues/ ) has some interesting articles on places where the Playback practitioners have performed: Africa (between Tutsis and Hutus), Auschwitz (including people who were part of that horror), Macedonia (as the Balkan conflict began), New York (after 9/11), and more.

3. I've found a journal article on how role-play can be effectively used to improve relationships in the school classroom context. It mentions sociometry, sociodrama and the benefits of role-reversal. Article: Finding My Place: The Use of Sociometric Choice and Sociodrama for Building Community in the School Classroom.Authors: Zachariah, Miriam; Moreno, Regina
Source: Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama, & Sociometry; Winter2006

As I find the topic interesting personally, I risk reading, reading, reading and reading, and not actually writing......