Looking forward, looking back: 9 takeaways from 2019 psychodrama conference in New Hampshire

By Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP

The 77th psychodrama conference is history. A team of enthusiastic organizers are all in as it plans for the 78th conference of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama in April 2020 in Schaumberg, Ill.

But first, it might be important to assess where psychodrama is and what is happening in the field as its member organization moves toward the next year of its conference and many more years as a method that focuses in improvisational dramatization of problems in search of solutions.

Conferences typically build and strengthen community among the expressive therapies practitioners and introduce interested newcomers to the modality. They also can be good indicators of the health of an organization, give a quick snapshot of what’s trending in the field, and inspire attendees to return home with new ideas.

Here are my top eight takeaways at this moment in 2019, particularly with the recent conference that took place on May 2-5, plus some other notes:

1. A new generation of psychodramatists is emerging. The American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy, which evaluates candidates for certification, reports that a record number of people are scheduled to take the certification examinations for certified practitioner or certified trainer later this year. 
   
2. Lots of first-time attendees showed up at the 77th conference, which garnered big, long and loud rounds of applause in just about every workshop, panel and venue.
   
3. Young people are interested in psychodrama, a cheerful observation for the graying heads who have been working in the field for decades. Workshops and hallways were full of younger faces who were excited these alternative ways of working with and teaching people.
4. Social justice themes were present on multiple levels, starting with the annual Diversity Forum on Thursday with Joshua Lee, a social worker and psychodrama trainee, and Jennie Kristal, a creative arts therapist, who was joined by Shirley Barclay, who offered a native American ceremony from her lineage. “Think globally, act locally,” was a prevalent phrase.
5. Social justice themes also showed up during workshops, particularly in the “Living Newspaper” facilitated by Daniel Weiner and Saphira Linden. The group settled on the sociodramatic themes of the migrant children who are detained at the U.S. border.
6. The film “A Cinematic History of Psychodrama,” debuted at the conference. It was conceived and directed by Robert Siroka, founder and director of The Sociometric Institute of New York. It is designed to educate both clinicians and the general public about psychodrama.
7. Creative arts therapists from many disciplines came together to offer their specialties and expertise. Keynote speaker Nisha Sajnani, director of the Drama Therapy Program and Teacher and Health Lab at New York University, offered simple tapping activities to demonstrate the element of surprise, during her presentation. On the final day of the gathering, several creative arts therapists demonstrated how music, movement, psychodrama and poetry could be combined, based on the poem “The Guest House” by Jalaluddin Rumi.
8. New books made their debut, including Experiential Group Therapy Interventions with DBT by Mary Bellofatto and Allan Katz and  The Way Home: Discovering the Path to your Truth, Nature, and Inner Treasures by Vlada Zapesotsky. Another volume, Autobiography of a Genius, the edited autobiography of J.L. Moreno, the developer of psychodrama, gives a wild and detailed presentation of his life, vision and life's work.
9. The awards luncheon recognized the late William Moreno, the younger brother of Dr. J.L. Moreno. William Moreno was instrumental in funding his brother’s various enterprises, including the original psychodrama theater, the publishing house and the second theater in Manhattan. His son Joseph, well known for teaching how to combine psychodrama and music for years, accepted the award. He talks about his father here.

Missed the conference? Next year’s conference, titled “Here and Now: The Power and Effectiveness of Group Psychotherapy, Psychodrama and Sociometry,” takes place April 1-4, 2020 in Schaumburg, Ill., just north of Chicago. Find more information here.