Review on Psychodrama therapy and depression workshop 心理劇體驗工作坊- 心演抑鬱情 (II)

PSYCHO-Drama therapy has been my dream course for ages. I didn't expect my first 'serious' experience on it was in English. What an experience it was!

The course was organised by Christian Family Service Centre and HK Centre for Psychodrama and Drama Therapy.

Anna, our trainer from LONDON Centre for Psychodrama

Although the two-day short course ( 17,18 December, 2013) on drama-therapy came to an end, the scenes of our dramas in real life, the messages and reflections are still storming in my brain and will go on for a long time for sure. Anna's soft, sweet, warm but affirmative voice showed me that confident voice doesn't mean to be loud but be heard with convincing, impressive power from our mind.

In Chris Howard NLP, Stage Speaking course and Dreams Possible, I gave high credit on drama therapy, which could bring to audience with huge impact on their subconscious mind, strong clinical effect on emotion issues. One of the most important things learnt from Anna was asking questions, powerful questions that the protagonist ( the coachee) can full answered by themselves after they see through their issues and reflect from what consequences they have been suffering and continuously to suffer if not making a new choice.  

Through this course, I discovered some basic elements that makes dramatherapy so powerful -

1

To identify issues, the big advantage of dramatheray is that it can fully apply "Voice/audio/kinetic" factors to stage. The three factors are the most essential to build memory in subconscious system of human being, producing vivid ACTIONS OF HOW EMOTION ISSUES LIKE DEPRESSION HAPPENING.

2

Besides real roles in the issue, like a family issue with each member in the scene, abstract feelings can be expressed in physical form - expectation, curiosity, anger, courage, hurt, excitement can carried out by auxiliary roles via talking and acting themselves. I was chosen to be "tears" in a scene although we didn't know each other, which let me feel much different from just being an outsider of issues. Most importantly, transformation and sublimation magically happens when the positive and negative are fighting each other, and usually positive feelings prevail as it is the only way out. 

3

When different roles plus abstract concepts, feelings vividly come to the stage by role reversal process, protagonists start to detach from the issue and listen to their heart talk, their inner feelings, inner child's voice and desires; they can see the issues from different people's point of views and get a multi-dimensions about a case. When people can see issues from other people's view, things are much easier to resolve, compassion, forgiving, understanding are gradually built as a warm melting agents to the iceberg. 

4

The big difference between traditional emotion clinic and psychodrama probably is at here -emotional issues turns to tangible feelings (by roles in VAK), and then turns to spiritual transformation.   (physical is spiritual) 
5
Keeping asking questions and let the protagonist to answer, and use their own words to teaching back by themselves.

I also did a short role play to express my thanks and appreciation to my husband when a classmate to play as him. That was a touching moment, I even moved by my own words. I can't take happiness and love I have had for granted when I saw people who are suffering from depression.

How to deal with depression?

The course gave me many insights on this topic:

1

depression comes in different forms:

·         Problems with sleep

·         Irritability

·         Anxiety

·         Tiredness

·         A lack of energy

·         Problems with concentrating or making decisions

·         Talking about feeling hopeless or helpless

·         Talking about feeling guilty or unworthy

·         Talking about death or suicide

·         Engaging in reckless behavior

·         Not taking care of her personal appearance or her home

·         Withdrawing from friends and family

·         Missing work or school

2

Depression can kill as it causes serious chronic diseases from heart attacks to cancer!

But depression can be cured as we are human, human is vulnerable and depression is only a reflection of our dark shadow to an extreme situations. So if we can shine with positive beams from physical exercises to positive ideas, activities, we can stand up and bounce back.

My favorite activities to prevent depression are dance, hypnosis practice (stories listening), volunteering, writing, sharing in group...

One of the best ways to tackle depression is to walk out of home, to meet people and sharing...Never keep to self. When we see others are more suffering from ours, when we see depressed people are living at presence eventually, we see life is a choice.

3

POSITIVE Self hypnosis and affirmation is most practical ( anytime, anywhere) for people to listen to their heart, to listen to their inner child voice and health need. Semantic need! To find own available resources, wisdom and creativity to resolve our own issues.  The only way out is to face own shadow and clean it. That is because all coach is eventually self coach, psycho-drama and hypnosis is parts of coaching processes. 

What drama therapy means for a clinical hypnotherapist?

As a clinical hypnotherapist, I am thinking how to apply the themes, principles learnt from the course in hypnotherapy.  
First, by asking questions, the protagonist answers with reflection, and they use their own words to teaching back by themselves.

Second, emphasizing on expressing feelings, and asking feeling to talk -by voice and props - let them talk and perform in clinical hypnotherapy. That is my main learning from the of drama-therapy - turn abstract feelings ( feeling in head) to physical ( feeling in heart) and spiritual transformation from darkness  to sunshine, from depression mood to health, bright mood will take place.