robocounseling

[Peter Howie]

Dear Regina,

Thanks for this link.

What a remarkable world we live in and what enormous creativity some  
people put out. I cruised through the site and thought it had great  
potential for some people. It reminds me of a range of tools I have  
that work strongly through the use of language and reflecting on  
language use. I think these types of methods can be enormously useful  
for some people. Probably very useful because they are done in  
isolation - that is a person can work on themselves. They don't  
require a group.

Of course it is not psychodrama as there is no group. Clearly this  
chap has been working for some time to bring ways of working deeply to  
a wider range of people. I think his work would suit pretty average  
people trying to make sense of some aspect of their life or  
functioning. I noticed that he has many levels of in-built safety. So  
much so that I got tired of reading about it. I am tempted to try it  
out but have no time to do so at present. I cannot imagine anyone ever  
being traumatised by this process, except maybe by the process of  
engaging with his web site as it is quite complex.

I am not sure, but I imagine that he would be open to modifying his  
language slightly. He is very passionate and by the looks of his  
testimonials he has had some good results.

I wonder why I reacted so strongly when I first saw it? I also wonder  
why I have begun to develop this idea of the wounded or sick person.  
The person needing healing. It is a very seductive idea that comes  
from the health community not the psychodrama community. It is  
seductive because it puts me in a one-up position. I have lived much  
of my life in a one up position and reject any help getting back to  
that position. Possibly why I read his site at more depth.

Cheers  and let us know if any one tries it out.


Peter in Brisbane




On 21/11/2009, at 4:39 AM, Regina Sewell wrote:

> What do I think of this.....
>
> On one hand, it's nice to see psychodrama out there.  On the  
> other.... I am worried that it is dangerous.  There is a reason we  
> have to have so much training.  There is a reason we need to do a  
> practicum.  All the studies show that the most curative aspect of  
> counseling is relationship between counselor and client.  The most  
> curative aspect of goup counseling is also relationships between  
> group members...   the notion of crashing through the sense of our  
> individual isolation and uniqueness into the bigger cosmic whole of  
> universal suffering...   about using transference between group  
> members to heal through relationships in the outside world.
>
> regina sewell ph.d. / m.ed. pc
>
>
> <Paul N. Adams announces that RoboCounsellor now offers the option  
> of tabletop psychodrama at www.robocounsellor.com, where  
> conventional counselling is available free of charge 24/7. Adams  
> started computer-delivered counselling and self-development in 2006.  
> He started working full-time with counselling and self-development  
> in 1972.
>
> Background: Jacob L. Moreno developed psychodrama in the 1930s and  
> 40s. There is a stage, often simply a table and chairs. There is a  
> director/therapist and a hero and villain, with a supporting cast  
> and an audience. The client would usually play the part of the hero,  
> the drama being some issue in her past, present or future life she  
> wishes to work on. Other people play the other roles. In this way,  
> hidden thoughts and feelings are brought to the surface and often  
> expressed, and catharsis — a release of feeling — can occur. Later  
> analysis can help bring about a change in thinking and feeling about  
> the issue explored.
>
> Tabletop Psychodrama is based on this, but modified for  
> RoboCounsellor use. The client sits at a table, or suitable flat  
> surface, with the computer and various small objects like tissue  
> boxes and tin cans. At RoboCounsellor's direction, the client writes  
> out an outline of this particular scene, then draws a represention  
> of herself in that scene on paper, which she then wraps around a  
> can, say. She would then position her character front and centre on  
> the stage, facing in to the action, not out to an audience. She  
> would create the other characters and place them in their correct  
> relative positions on the stage.
>
> When directed, she would then run through the scene. She would start  
> by inhabiting her own character on the stage, usually with her head  
> positioned directly above it, voicing each part herself, moving the  
> characters around on the stage as appropriate, breathing life into  
> the whole scene. She can whisper lovingly, yell and swear, nurture,  
> ignore, or even destroy a character as she chooses. RoboCounsellor  
> will then direct her to write a summary of anything new, any change  
> of viewpoint or feeling she has about the issue. She will then play  
> through the action, one scene or many, again and again until the  
> topic is no longer an issue. She can choose from seventeen  
> variations, including focusing on the emotions, another's viewpoint,  
> spiritual/cosmic aspects, what-if scenarios, and many more.
>
> Advantages of the RoboCounsellor approach include cost, convenience,  
> privacy, and the fact that the other players don't interject their  
> own pre-conceptions inappropriately into the client's memories or  
> imagination.
>
> RoboCounsellor now has three session modules, delivering Rogerian  
> Therapy, Transactional Analysis and Tabletop Psychodrama. Adams  
> plans to have the next one online by the end of November.
>
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Peter Howie B.Sc, TEP
Managing Director
The Moreno Collegium for Human Centred Learning, Research and  
Development
0411 873 851
www.morenocollegium.com.au