Moreno's sociometry: a wake up call

[Peter Howie]

Dear Ann,

Whooee!

This is great. Well done and expressed.

I've been wondering if when Moreno got cracking that psychotherapy and  
psychiatry was one of the leader edge areas of life early and mid last  
century. It was an exciting area. A bit like the neuro-stuff is so  
exciting and new for people now. I also wonder if perhaps JL would be  
interested in other areas that are more leading edge or have the  
potential to impact more people. In my case I have begun to explore  
some of the vibrant areas of activism around here. One mob, the  
Students of Sustainability - SOS, have an annual conference details  
are here: http://www.studentsofsustainability.org/ Clearly they are a  
grass roots mob. Being a mature age student, I have offered three  
workshops - two of which are sociodrama and sociometry. Mainly becasue  
I want to develop my links with these young, energetic, socially  
motivated students. I've attached the outlines after your email. I was  
effected by hearing some of the organisers on the radio. I was drawn  
to them. I contacted them. They responded. I will be going the week  
after next. The students that are activists and nascent social  
activists are from my point of view primed to appreciate Moreno's work  
on sociometry and sociodrama. Your timing is rather excellent from my  
point of view and I intend to send your email around to folks on our  
email lists.

Thanks again Ann

Peter in Brisbane suffering yet another cold bleak winter's day -  
temperature at about 70 degrees (called 20 here) at midday - down to  
50 (called 10 here) overnight - light breeze blowing and plenty of  
sun. Its tough in this here part of the world:)




Peter Howie B.Sc, TEP
Managing Director
The Moreno Collegium for Human Centred Learning, Research and  
Development
0411 873 851
www.morenocollegium.com.au




On 24/06/2009, at 11:21 PM, Ann Hale wrote:

> On June 20, 2009 the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham  
> Clinton, reported the U.S. is committed to helping the world's 34  
> million refugees (my italics) build safe and fulfilling lives,  
> calling their struggle a "humanitarian emergency."  (Associated  
> Press, June 20, 2009, 09:19am EDT) What Clinton is describing is the  
> need for a qualitative and a quantitative response. What is needed  
> are methods with deeply humanitarian belief systems capable of  
> examining and resolving a crisis of this magnitude, and capable of  
> assisting one person at a time find "Where do I fit on this planet?  
> and "Will I be able to practice my religion, support my family, feel  
> safe and connected when I arrive?"  (If you will remember Moreno got  
> his start resettling refugees in Mitterndorf in 1915-1917. It is  
> here he discovered the connection between preference and lessening  
> of conflict.)
>
> At a time when psychodramatists in the US are complaining about  
> decreasing interest, enrollment and membership, etc. the need for  
> our methods is escalating.  For years it has been documented that  
> the sociometry section of the American Board exams has the highest  
> borderline and failing grades.  Students don't seem to know more  
> than how to do "step into the circle if you like pizza"  or "put you  
> hand on someone who appears to be similar to you in some way".   
> There is a huge methodology awaiting our membership and trainees,  
> and a huge need.  Learning to use sociometric methods is not a  
> comfortable learning. You have to face your personal deficits, your  
> value system, your needs, and what rejection feels like, when  
> receiving it, or giving it.  The payoff is the restoration of hope  
> and the managability of complex, intersecting lives.
>
> No, psychodrama, is disappearing from texts and journals. Whole  
> books such as the popular "Social Intelligence (Goleman) can appear  
> without one reference to Moreno.  It is past time that we examine  
> ourselves for choosing to retreat to the safety of private practice  
> and align ourselves with mental health when we could have been  
> preparing large numbers of students to intervene and strategize and  
> resolve some of the sociodynamics which lead to devestating social  
> and political problems. I am not just pointing fingers. I know  
> myself to be underutilized and not involved to the level of my  
> capability.
>
> Playback Theater has risen to the challenge, and a scattering of  
> psychodramatists are looking at the big picture.  I am grateful for  
> every one of you who takes the method to points of crisis.  If we  
> want our methods to be more available to those who need them we need  
> to make sociometry more available on a global scale.
>
> The Obama administration opened the Office of Public Engagement in  
> February, 2009.  Their Core Priniciples (7) are listed on the  
> website of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation.  If  
> you want to you can go to www.sociometry.net and get linked to  
> this.  Our current government is open to our methodology.  Let's  
> respond!
> Grouptalk mailing list
> List at grouptalkweb.org
> http://grouptalkweb.org/mailman/listinfo/list_grouptalkweb.org

Name of Program Proposal: Exploring systems and how to work with them:  
Why is it so hard to get things through?

Proposed Content & Basic Plan: The purpose of this workshop is to look  
at how organisations (federal, state and local public sectors, private  
industry, political parties, unions, community groups, politicians,  
banks and other corporate identities) and the various systems that  
they are a part of (eco systems, human resource systems, natural    
resource systems, financial systems, industrial systems, commercial  
systems, political and other systems) interact and rarely if ever work  
in either a logical, reasonable or easily understandable manner.

Participants will be invited to consider the various systems, which  
they are a part of. One of these will be chosen to look at in some  
detail. The purpose of looking at the systems will be to see the whole  
systems from the perspective of its many elements. Given that we are  
only ever one or maybe two elements in any complex system we can tend  
to get locked into one way of seeing things. This is also the problem  
with the people we may be trying to influence.

I have a tried and true method for working creatively with groups that  
utilises the group participant’s own personal and community interests  
and concerns. This method is called sociodrama and it is designed for  
considering and working with our deepest community concerns. In this  
case we will use dramatic methods to bring the various elements to  
life and work with both the stereotypical level and some of the deeper  
levels available to us. Amongst other things, participants will be  
able to examine moving between elements in a complex system.  We will  
examine the rational and non-rational elements that operate in any  
system and how these are perceived by other elements in the system;  
the blind spots that different parts of systems develop to other  
areas; the proposition that “what we don’t know we make up”; the  
difficulty of changing a system we don’t perceive let alone  
understand; how a system is defined by the criteria we use such as  
“relationships”, “money”, “energy” and other criteria. The specifics  
of the session will unfold in a unique and individual manner.

Aims of Proposal: This workshop is designed to:

1.     To expand participants appreciation of the systems they are  
working with

2.     To develop some lightness and flexibility when considering  
interacting with some complex human systems that are both dependent  
and independent of the natural systems

3.     To develop some spontaneity when considering being a change  
agent in some human systems

4.     To develop compassion for those likely to be effected by  
changes I am trying to make

5.     To have participants appreciate better some of the forces and  
resistances that operate in groups

6.     To have participants appreciate that a system is coloured by  
the criteria that are used to view it

7.     To have participants develop an awareness of some of the  
fulcrum points operating in systems

Name of Program Proposal: Becoming effective when dealing with the  
evil empire! (The challenge of building sustainable relationships for  
social sustainability)

Proposed Content & Basic Plan: This workshop will examine some of the  
community values around the struggle for sustainability. The values we  
will look at will be the ones that come from the group of participants  
in the workshop but the following are likely to be present in some  
form: the valuing of all life on earth; the valuing of relationships;  
the valuing of learning; the valuing of struggle for change; the  
valuing of holding out against some changes; the valuing of  
transcendent values; the valuing of making space for difference; the  
valuing of valuing and celebrating difference. As the group begins to  
crystallise working values in the group, we can then consider what are  
some of the competitive or opposing values and some of the groups that  
have them.

We will also consider the interactions between the various value  
systems. Sometimes what seem to be opposing value systems are quite  
close in purpose. Sometimes what appear to be very close value systems  
are in fact miles apart. Participants will be able to join in one or  
other of the various values sub-groups or stay as part of the  
observing audience.

I have a tried and true method for working creatively with groups that  
utilises the group participant’s own personal and community interests  
and concerns. This method is called sociodrama and it is designed for  
considering and working with our deepest community concerns.  When our  
values have been put out and interactions between these value systems  
developed we will add in asides. These are ways of bringing out some  
of the unsaid elements of the situation. After a time people in the  
various sub-groups will be asked to reverse roles with another sub- 
group.  This is a process where participants try on the world-views of  
the groups or people with seemingly opposite or vastly different value  
systems. This process will be most useful for subgroups that are  
opposition to one another. For instance if the sub-groups of  
“Development is essential for a good world and must be unencumbered  
and encouraged” were in a verbal tussle with “Development needs to be  
regulated for the good of all” they could get quite heated and then  
reverse roles. This process is extremely potent for enlarging  
individuals and group’s appreciation of one another.

After the main enactments there will be a time for small groups to  
debrief their experiences. Then there will be time in the whole group  
for people to raise areas of their learning or insight that they wish  
others to hear about or think will be of value.

Following this there will be a very short teaching session of less  
than 5 minutes (if appropriate) where the proposition of the value of  
being able to see the world through the other person’s eyes is  
presented.

Aims of Proposal:

1.    A greater appreciation of difference between and amongst people  
that are similar to me and those that are different to me.

2.    The importance of understanding people with different values to  
us and:

3.    Seeing the world through the eyes of those with different values  
to us.

4.    Appreciating the depth of stereotyping going on in all aspects  
of community discourse and how this narrows us down as it narrows our  
capacity to appreciate and work with people we are in conflict with.

5.    Either: Finding ways to work with very different values to me  
or; making plans to develop the capacity to do so.

6.    Making sense of “those on the other side” in order to make  
myself more effective as a social change agent.

7.    Appreciation of the value of using a dramatic group method to  
work with complex value systems, inter-group and inter-relational issues

  
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