The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a technique, called' the spectrogram, in the psychodramatic approach to group therapy. The spectrogram is both diagnostic and therapeutic. It clarifies issues, makes abstract issues concrete, and forces the participation and commitment of usually nonverbal members. It is particularly useful as one method of warming up a psychodrama group.
Everything you know is wrong - Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.
Freakonomics author Steven Levitt presents new data on the finances of drug dealing. Contrary to popular myth, he says, being a street-corner crack dealer isnt lucrative: It pays below minimum wage. And your boss can kill you. Freakenomics is meant to examine the 'hidden side of everything' which to me sounds familiar to the concept of sociometry - the measuring of relationships. However, Levitt is an economist and was thinking simply about unconsdiered elements in any system.
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn't happen or remember them differently from the way they really were. It's more common than you might think, and Loftus shares some startling stories and statistics, and raises some important ethical questions we should all remember to consider.
More than 20 years ago, researchers proposed that individual differences in performance in such domains as music, sports, and games largely reflect individual differences in amount of deliberate practice, which was defined as engagement in structured activities created specifically to improve performance in a domain. This view is a frequent topic of popularscience writing—but is it supported by empirical evidence? To answer this question, we conducted a meta-analysis covering all major domains in which deliberate practice has been investigated. We found that deliberate practice explained 26% of the variance in performance for games, 21% for music, 18% for sports, 4% for education, and less than 1% for professions. We conclude that deliberate practice is important, but not as important as has been argued.
The following are 20 blurbs for self-development groups that I have run over the last 4 years. They are presented here as examples of how a group can be themed - that is having a particular focus, or un-themed, with a general self-development the focus. I have generally found that a theme warms people up in a particular way, as does a group without a theme. There are no general rules as regards these blurbs except that I, as the group leader, need to feel they are written in such a way that they are true for me, or represent what I am planning to get up to with any participants. Having said that, the general rule is that people are more likely to come if they know me, or if they know someone who knows and recommends me. Less often someone comes because they have been referred by a friend or colleague to ‘check out the local psychodrama groups’ or call the Institute. So these are designed to be read to lighten anyone’s thinking about this area and what the limitations might be – as I believe there are no limitations except being careful with what I promise.
Of great benefit is to have a website up your sleeve to which people can be directed - and this website has material about psychodrama - such as the Psychodrama Australia website has a Frequently Asked Questions section and often I had a special page setting out what usually happens in a self-development psychodrama group. The AANZPA regional website is another place to do this - find referable web pages with psychodrama material.
Warm-up is something not discussed but is used in all sorts of ways. Here is a great example of what might be called leading questions but may also be seen as warm-up.
Sir Humphrey Appleby demonstrates the use of leading questions to skew an opinion survey to support or oppose National Service (Military Conscription). Taken from the 1st Season of Yes Prime Minister - Episode 2, The Ministerial Broadcast. Yes Prime Minister is a British political satire/ comedy that was aired in the 1980s. The original copyright belongs to BBC. Usage of this clip constitutes fair use for the purpose of education.
Sir Humphrey Appleby demonstrates the use of leading questions to skew an opinion survey to support or oppose National Service (Military Conscription).
Taken from the 1st Season of Yes Prime Minister - Episode 2, The Ministerial Broadcast.
Yes Prime Minister is a British political satire/ comedy that was aired in the 1980s. The original copyright belongs to BBC.
Usage of this clip constitutes fair use for the purpose of education.
Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists — that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is.
I've added this video because it highlights that working with a person’s pre-conscious, non-conscious, and sub-conscious mind, with their automatic responses, and reactions, in such a manner to as to give authenticity to subjective experience, is important. The concept of warm-up, if used by Paul Bloom in his talk, would make absolute sense to anyone trained in Morenian methods. We warm-up to an original painting in one way and to a reproduction in another way.
