sociatry ideas

[Adam Blatner]

Okay, let's see. The world is in trouble in thousands of different ways at many levels. What can "sociatry" do? Which methods are useful with groups beyond the sick role? (i.e., beyond psychotherapy). 
      1. Starting small: Consider the feminist notion that the personal is political and reverse it. In the 1970s the institution of the happy nuclear family was questioned. Might it for some be a prison?  Questioning social arrangements is one example. Could therapy include social action? Groups whose task is to change more than the consciousness of its own members generate new types of group dynamics, concerning as how best to accomplish its chosen tasks.

     2. Recognize that sociometry and psychodramatic methods constitute at most only 23.2% of the many different kinds of skills and knowledge involved in social action. Things like composing an effective letter, lobbying, etc. --- there are hundreds or thousands of such components that transcend any particular discipline--- including the skill bases of rhetoric, advertising, spin-doctoring, propaganda, all the elements of politics, lobbying, newsletter editing, community organizing, etc. etc.

     3. In a larger sense, much of politics throughout history (including some military efforts) have been rationalized as promoting what was for the time viewed as an improvement on the previous system. For example, feudalism, as prone to tyrrany as at was, was nevertheless believed to be an improvement of some degree of order and predictability, better than what had been happening in the earlier "dark ages" in which people felt far too vulnerable to robbers, invaders, and pure barbarism.  In other words:

   4. The problem with sociatry is the problem with fascism: The doctor-patient model of the 1940s (relating to the -iatros Greek root meaning physician) involved a wise knower-how-to-diagnose and treat and a submissive patient. This does not apply well to large social groupings. It is not at all clear that anyone knows how to fix it all and can garner adequate consensus for "I'll just tell you what to do and then you take this medicine and follow my 'orders.' type of management. 
         I'm just noting that the word may be misleading. The spirit Moreno advocated is something I share: Let's apply what we're learning in psychology, sociology, and every other field to efforts in every institution---political, educational, economic, clubs, recreation, medicine, etc. I saw his idea as an interdisciplinary vision during an era in which fields were more compartmentalized. Ed's advocacy of social action has merit, but awaiting specifics, I'm not sure that our field has more to offer than other fields. It certainly has some to offer, though!

   5. I'm continuing to do adult education classes and weaving in principles from role theory, the idea of externalization and personification of defenses (i.e., imagining that they can be played, given voice, imagined to be little seductive con-men, little Bernie Madoffs or whoever). , and other Morenian ideas along with the contributions of others--- all part of the aforementioned idea of "psychological literacy" or promoting the continued integration of the insights of psychology in life.
           (In a larger sense, I think sociatry refers in large part to this cultural trend towards bringing psychology into the mainstream of culture rather than its having operated at the periphery as a semi-irrelevant procedure for folks at the margins of society)

  6. Writing, publishing, presenting at other conferences, and talking about how psychodramatic and sociometric methods might have applications beyond its own field... I think these are small but not meaningless efforts. A measure of humility is okay. 

   7. Continuing efforts (and modeling) in integrating good ideas from other fields will also help to break down perceptions of psychodrama as somewhat insular. 

   Those are a few things perhaps that can advance the idea of our field's relevance to social activism. 
            The targets include not only global warming (as Ed noted), but thousands of other worthy causes.

        Some of these, interestingly, are complex: The question regarding health care for me, for example, is to what degree I support the present kluged-together bill or exert myself for the cause of a single-payer system (as supported by the Physicians for a National Health Plan)?  It could be argued that in the present climate, a compromise is necessary and that single-payer has zero chance. On the other hand, the present bill is so fraught with compromises that it will be unsatisfactory in many ways, the problem will "heat up" further, and more radical surgery will be frustrated because "we already tried socialized medicine"  (when in fact we only put our toe in the water, so to speak).   So political decision-making is a problem in weighing which tactic to use in the interim. 

        Warmly, Adam 
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