77th psychodrama conference: psychodrama growing and innovative

By Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP

Perhaps the oldest association for creative arts therapies – the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama – will be convening for the 77th year in Manchester, N.H., in May.

The method of psychodrama continues its strong presence in the United States and around the world, and the organizers of this year’s conference have put together a program that looks to the future while giving a bow to the past.

The theme is “Discovering New Worlds: Transformational Advances in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy,” and there is much to notice that is new, fresh and innovative.

Dr. Nisha Sajnani

To begin, this is the first time this national conference is taking place in New England.

The chairpersons of the conference are Scott Giacomucci and Maria Mellano, both rising in visibility as younger leaders in this professional organization. Each represents the myriad of ways that psychodrama is being integrated into various fields for healing, education and personal growth.

• Scott, a licensed clinical social worker and director of experiential trauma services at Mirmont Treatment Center, an addiction treatment center in Media, Pa., and the recent winner of the 2019 Group Work Practice Award from Association of Specialists in Group Work.
• Maria, a licensed clinical social worker and coach in private practice in Boston, Mass., who uses psychodrama with people with grief, chronic pain, trauma, eating disorders and other concerns and integrates Internal Family Systems, energy healing and other modalities with psychodrama.

Keynote speaker is Dr. Nisha Sajnani, director of the Drama Therapy Program and Theatre and Health Lab at New York University. She is a visiting faculty member with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and editor of Drama Therapy Review. Her artistic and written scholarship reflects an interest in the role of improvisation and performance in stimulating discovery and addressing concerns related to identity, difference, migration, and place.

The 90-plus workshops and events further showcase the many ways that psychodrama is being used in today’s treatment centers, hospitals, private practices, schools and non-profit organizations. Presenters, many of them board-certified master trainers in psychodrama known as TEPs, come from throughout the United States and around the world, including Australia, Canada, China, England, Israel, Taiwan and Turkey.

For instance:

• Carol Feldman Bass, J.D., and Jonathan Bass, M.D., will introduce how psychodrama and improvisational play can assist people with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder; she has a chapter in the new book “

• Joel Gluck, M.Ed., will demonstrate his “psolodrama,” a melding of authentic movement, psychodrama, improvisation, drama therapy and meditation.
• Rebecca Walters, LMHC, will present on shame, how it contributes to depression, addiction, eating disorders, aggression and suicide, and how psychodrama can alleviate guilt and shame. 
• Jenny Salimbene, LCSW-R, and Regina Sewell, Ph.D., will present how clinicians can increase engagement with Motivational Interviewing in action.
• Kate Hudgins, Ph.D., will present spiritual components in trauma treatment, focusing on the Therapeutic Spiral Model, which she has taken to 30 countries in the past 30 years.
• Saphira Linden, RDT-BCT, will honor and integrate diverse and gifted practitioners from sister fields during a panel discussion of how creative arts therapists can work together. 

Additional workshops spotlight topics such as Internal Family Systems, Positive Psychology, diversity, neurobiology, expressive arts, trans-generational trauma, gender identities, Somatic Experiencing, Bibliodrama, mythology, drama therapy, music, sociatry and sociodrama and how each relates to and complements psychodrama and its sister method of sociometry.

I’m honored to be part of this event, as a pre-conference presenter of the all-day workshop titled “The Immigrant Within and Without: Finding Your True Home,” which combines psychodrama and Family Constellations and explores a current and controversial topic.

There will also be the conference debut of the film “A Cinematic History of Psychodrama: From Moreno to Modern,” a project which was conceived and directed by Robert Siroka, founder and director of The Sociometric Institute of New York City.

In bow to the past, the psychodrama association has added a new annual award that recognizes the late William L. Moreno, the younger brother of J.L. Moreno, the co-developer of psychodrama with his third wife Zerka T. Moreno. The name of William is hardly known, even within psychodrama circles, yet William was highly instrumental in keeping psychodrama alive and healthy by his financial support so that psychodrama might thrive. William is the first recipient of the award, and the association looks to receive nominations of people or organizations who have given outstanding organizational, educational, promotional, financial, or other significant support to ASGPP and to the field and research of psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy and in other ways.

Joining in the celebration of this new award will be William Moreno’s son Joseph Moreno, who is the author of the book Acting Your Inner Music: Music Therapy and Psychodrama and will present a workshop on the same name at the conference.

Also attending will be Regina Moreno, the daughter of J.L. Moreno and Florence Bridge Moreno. A longtime teacher who recently conducted workshops in Suzhou, China, Regina is in the process of writing her long-awaited memoirs.

The conference is scheduled May 2-5 in Manchester, N.H., and offers continuing education credits for licensure and psychodrama hours for board certification. For a complete schedule of the conference program and other conference details and discounts, visit www.asgpp.org. An early registration discount is available until March 22.

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