Year of publication: 2014 Authors - the TranSpace project partners: Fundación INTRAS (Spain) Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands e.V - CJD BBW Frechen. (Germany) Pro Mente Oberosterreich (Austria) Borgorete Società Cooperativa Sociale (Italy) University of Maribor (Slovenia) The MRS Consultancy Limited (UK) The Mental Health Center “Prof. N. Shipkovenski” Ltd (Bulgaria) Coordination: Fundación INTRAS (Spain) Edition and layout: The MRS Consultancy Limited (UK) This manual was written in English Translation from English to Spanish: Marcos Astorga Translation from English to German: Josef Stupp Translation from English to Italy: F. J. O’Brien Translation from English to Slovenian: Ajda Šoštarič s.p Translation from English to Bulgarian: Tatyana Markova Gutoranova © TranSpace Project Partners
This project has been funded with support from the Daphne Programme of the European Union. The content of this publication does not reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the publication lies entirely with the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Reproduction of the material contained in this publication is authorised only for non-commercial purposes and if you give a clear reference of this source. For more information about the project, we kindly invite you to visit our website
www.TranSpaceproject.eu
Index What is this booklet about
Page 02
Intoducing TranSpace Project
Page 03
And how to use it
A non-violent conflict resolution project based on Psychodrama
Victims and Violence
A study of Aggression Victimisation among Children and Youngsters with Special Needs
Theoretical Background -
Page 06
Page 12
Basics of Psychodrama, Role Theory, Sociometry, Sociodrama and Playback Theatre Psychodrama Page 14 The Three Basic Psychodrama Page 14 Techniques Five Basic Elements of Psychodrama
Page 17
Three Main Phases of Psychodrama
Page 17
Role theory
Page 18
Sociometry
Page 20
Sociodrama
Page 20
Page 21
Playback Theatre
Group Process and Group Dynamic -
Page 22
Psychodrama with Children/ Youth Victims of Agression -
Page 23
TranSpace Training Programme -
Page 27
Did it work?
Some adaptations to the classical approach
Page 49
In Spain
Page 49
In Germany
Page 51
In Austria
Page 53
In Italy
Page 55
In Bulgaria
Page 57
Creative works
Page 58
Reflections on a Learning Jouney -
Page 61
Individual stories which inspire
Martina
Page 61
Dennis
Page 62
Rona
Page 62
Fabio
Page 64
Tom
Page 65
What Participants Say About TranSpace? -
Page 66
Methodology Implementation - Evaluated
Page 69
Conclusions -
Page 71
Contact Details -
Page 74
Bibliography -
Page 75
Did TranSpace work for you?
Some thoughts to reflect upon
Some notes that may help
Session by session
Applying TranSpace Locally -
If you have any question..
To go into more detail‌
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What is this booklet about And how to use it
T
he following document is a booklet created by the TranSpace project partners and is based on the experiences of project participants and their trainers who work in countries across Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, UK and Spain) with young people from disadvantaged areas. The TranSpace initiative, funded by the Daphne III Programme of the European Commission, aims to combine the concept of the “Transitional Object” with the use of space in Psychodrama and create a new methodology. The project was established in response to a growing concern at the widespread and varied types of violence experienced by children and young people living with mental health difficulties. The subsequent sections are dedicated to the theory, workshops and the results we achieved using this novel methodology. Chapter 1: Provides a context for the TranSpace project and the importance of empowering young people, with mental health issues, to combat violence and discrimination. Chapter 2: A summary of the research conducted by the University of Maribor which describes the results of the analysis conducted on the needs of our target groups. Chapter 3: “The theoretical roots of the concept of “personal space”. In this chapter you will find an introduction to the theory of personal space and how it impacts on an individual´s ability to build relationships.
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Chapter 4: The activities carried out in each workshop are described in detail. Chapter 5: The results of the TranSpace project in each community. Chapter 6: Participants’ learning presented as case studies Chapter 7: This section contains personal statements from the participants regarding their experiences of the workshops and activities. Chapter 8: Each partner country writes a concluding statement about their overall involvement in the TranSpace project. We hope you enjoy reading this booklet and do not forget to visit the website: http://www.transpaceproject.eu/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Transpaceproject; and Twitter: https://twitter.com/transpace2013 of the TranSpace project. This booklet is designed to help readers to choose sections with which they can identify, or alternatively it can be read from start to finish like any other book. With this in mind, we attempted to simplify the layout for readers to find sections of interest with ease, be it theory, workshops or participants´ personal statements and experiences.
Introducing TranSpace Project A non-violent conflict resolution project based on Psychodrama
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ranSpace is a European partnership funded under the Daphne programme of the European Community Directorate – General Justice. It came into existence as a result of a growing concern at the widespread and varied types of violence experienced by children and young people who are living with mental health difficulties. The core aim of the TranSpace project is to equip its young people with the tools to effectively combat the violence perpetrated against them in their daily lives. The programme focuses on the use of space as a fluid and positive concept which will allow the young people to develop an intermediate space between their inner reality and the outside world. They can then use the space to engage with non-violent conflict
resolution, divergent thinking, social interaction, self-reflection and growth. The programme has been put together by listening to what some of the young people affected by this violence have shared about their experiences and worries. The programme also uses the various cross disciplinary skills and methodologies which are available from the each of the European partners. With the conclusion of TranSpace, the young people have been given an opportunity to accept for themselves that they should be proud of managing difficulties that other young people their age may not have to face. They will appreciate that it takes strength of character to ask for and receive support. They are aware of their behaviour and how they conduct themselves and now they will be equipped to positively deal with aggressive behaviour and bullying, and overcome it with a sense of assertiveness and empowerment.
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Previous research has shown that violence with regard to disabled children and youths is painfully present. The actual everyday reality is that children and youths with intellectual or mental health disabilities are still exposed to bullying, mocking, verbal and physical violence. In fact, mental illness remains a social stigma, so profound that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) have identified this problem as a priority issue which needs to be addressed. Often misunderstood, verbally abused, bullied, laughed at and stigmatised, our target groups are continuously forced to negotiate their difference to the environment, desperately trying to find their place, space and identity. There are three main actions:
Research: into local violence, using quantitative and qualitative tools to understand the issues and experiences of young people who are subjected to violence. These needs analyses were collected summarised and used to inform the development and application of the project methodology. Development of Methodology: This was a multidisciplinary approach to construct a completely innovative and highly transferable technique for self-protection. It is especially designed for the intended target groups (which according to research are most vulnerable). A new methodology was developed, informed by research and partner expertise. Application of Methodology: This is at the heart of the project, its “living tissue”. The project worked with over 200 young people. This phase
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not only saw the paradigms come to life through workshop activities, but also through activities using the violence-fighting methodology which was based on research results. The project ran from January 2013 until December 2014 in collaboration with 6 partners from across Europe: l Fundación INTRAS, Spain (Project Coordinator) l University of Maribor, Department of Psychology, Slovenia l ProMente Upper Austria, Austria l Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands e.v, Germany l Mental Health Center “Prof. Nikola Shipkovenski”, Bulgaria l BorgoRete Società Cooperativa Sociale, Italy l The MRS Consultancy, United Kingdom The vision of the TranSpace project is to give children and young people who have intellectual and mental health disabilities the understanding and tools necessary to combat psychological violence in their lives. It did so with an innovative use of skills sets and methodologies drawn from various disciplines but focused around the use of space as the tool to enable and empower their social interactions. The role of “Space” as a manipulative concept was introduced in two different working practices and contexts: Psychodrama combined with Theatre Technique worked as a practical tool for developing an appropriate violence-defending methodology.
‘Transitional Space’ (as introduced by Psychologist D.W Winnicott, 1971 under the original phrase of Transitional Object) provided a theoretical definition of a space, towards which this methodology strives. The TranSpace project is the context in which each practice notifies the other to develop a “tool for life” for the young person. “Space” as
a manipulative and fluid concept, is a practical framework of action which is used to increase reflective understanding and develop possibilities for a non-conflicting protective action. This promotes personal as well as social change with a healthy defence mechanism that can continue to be used by the young person in both psychological violence-inducing situations and in life in general.
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Victims and Violence A study of Aggression Victimisation among Children and Youngsters with Special Needs
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xperiences with aggression among youngsters with special needs: Why, how and good practice (evidence from the TranSpace Local Violence Study)
Why (Rationale) Violence in the educational schooling system and in the family home among children and adolescents is an extensive phenomenon in Europe as well as in the United States. Findings of a national survey in the United States revealed that approximately 30% of the school-age population has experienced bullying by a perpetrator, been a victim themselves or instigated bullying (Nansel et al., 2001). The estimated prevalence of bullying involvement among adolescents from a large cross-national study from 40 countries, for instance, was around 26% (Craig et al., 2009). Bullying may take different forms (e.g., name calling, kicking or ignoring) and may range from being bullied to bullying others, both of which have been found to be associated with many different factors such a gender, age, family, neighbourhood or socioeconomic status (e.g., Jansen et al., 2012). Since involvement in bullying is related to future detrimental outcomes in terms of physical health and psychiatric problems such as anxiety and depression (Jansen et al., 2012), continuous assessment of prevalence rates and detection of groups who are at risk is crucial. Findings from previous research have indicated that certain special needs, such as psychological disorders, may be related to a higher risk of being
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bullied (Cluvera, Bowesc, & Gardnera, 2010). The majority of studies of the victimisation of students with special needs document increased levels of verbal abuse, social exclusion and physical aggression when compared to other peers (Little, 2002; Marini, Fairbairn, & Zuber, 2001; Norwich & Kelly, 2004). Following the US Maternal and Child Health Bureau (McPherson et al., 1998), children and adolescents with special needs are defined as those who “have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioural, or emotional condition and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally� (p. 138). In the context of internal diversity of special needs, there are numerous studies addressing the prevalence of violence against those with special needs. Monchy, Pijl and Zanberg (2004) investigated social inclusion and bullying in a group of students with behavioural problems, pervasive developmental disorders; ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, Asperger syndrome, reactive attachment disorder and so on. Whitney, Smith and Thompson (1994) included students with learning difficulties and physical disability, as well as those with hearing and visual impairment. According to Whitney and colleagues (1994), just being noticeably different
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places a person at risk of victimisation. We could assume that, in the context of aggressive behaviour, “being noticeably different” is a more important factor than the type of disability. How (Procedure) Violence acts or school bullying constitute a phenomenon where a person is “exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons” and “when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways “(Olweus, 1993). Thus, in order to speak about aggressive acts, it is prolonged exposure and not one single event that are considered.
The aggression victimisation instrument (AVI), which was used at the beginning of the project, is designed for assessing the prevalence of aggressive acts or bullying against children and young adults with special needs and to detect situations in which aggressive acts occur against children and young adults with special needs. The instrument is based on a broad definition of aggression which encompasses acts of physical aggression
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(e.g., pushing, kicking), verbal aggression (e.g., insults, yelling), relational aggression (e.g., social isolation, manipulative acts), and cyber-bullying (aggression via personal computers or cell phones). The instrument has two parts. Part I is a questionnaire, applicable to all children and young adults (with the focus on children and young adults with special needs) aged between 11 and 25. It includes 21 statements addressing the prevalence of different aggressive acts from the perspective of the victim and 21 statements from the perspective of the offender, as well as 13 statements about violence in the family domain. When constructing the instrument, several wellestablished measures addressing aggression victimisation were inspected (ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool – Children’s Version (ICAST-CH); Zolotor et al., 2009; Olweus Bullying Questionnaire; Olweus, 1996). Several items were adapted from the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire and two sub-scales assessing aggressive acts in the family domain were adopted from the ICASTCH. However, a different response format (a 5-point Likert scale) was applied in our version, ranging from “never” to “every day”. We also added “not applicable” to the response option, in case the child or young adult has problems understanding the items or does not identify with the content of the item at all. A time frame of the past six months was included in the response format in order to reflect our definition of aggressive acts/bullying. Part 2 of the instrument is an interview that is focused on children who have actually identified themselves as victims of aggressive acts. It
includes 13 major open-ended questions, focusing on situations in which aggressive acts occur (school and family environment), the victims’ perceptions of such situations, and on victims’ self-esteem as well as general well-being. Thus, the interview with its open-ended questions seeks to gain in-depth understanding of the violence previously reported in the questionnaire, by exploring not only the reasons for violence to erupt, but also the subjective responses and emotional reactions to violence by the children and young adults. The interview was performed only with those children and young adults who have reported in the previous questions that violence has indeed been inflicted upon them, either in school or in their family contexts. Good practice (TranSpace Local Violence Study) The study in the TranSpace project strived to address these challenges. It was conducted in six European countries, within the consortium of TranSpace project partners, focusing on the empowerment of children and adolescents with special needs to protect themselves from community–based violence. The main objective of the study, including the quantitative and qualitative sections, was to assess the rate of aggressive acts among children and adolescents with special needs in various contexts, compare the participating countries as to prevalence, and to gain better understanding of the dynamic between aggressive acts and victim responses by conducting structured interviews. These were all necessary steps for further intervention planning within the agenda of the TranSpace project.
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The participants were 204 children and adolescents indicating some form of special needs; they came from the six participating countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Italy and Spain). The age of the participants ranged from 11 to 21 years, (M=15.69; SD=2.67); the four most prevalent special needs among these participants were as follows: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 24.7%), mood disorders, emotional problems (i.e., depression; 16.5%), learning difficulties (12.9%) and conduct disorders (i.e., violent and antisocial behaviour, 11.8%). Data was gathered using the AVI instrument, which assessed aggressive acts in school and family contexts. Further insights into emergent themes
were obtained using open-ended questions and by conducting qualitative analyses. In the quantitative part of the study, youngsters reported a relatively low incidence of aggressive acts; the prevalence was higher in the school context from the perspective of the victim. Generally, more overt and direct forms of aggressive behaviour were more frequent (verbal and partially relational aggression in the school context and psychological victimisation in the family context). A detailed understanding of specific aggressive acts can be obtained by looking at responses to specific items. Specific aggressive acts pertinent to relational and verbal
How many times in the past 6 months did school mates or other children/youngsters... Say bad things about you behind your back? 12.1 7 Yell at you or threatened you? 9.4 7.5 9.4
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21
20.8
Spread lies so that others wouldn’t like you? 6.9 6.9 9.4
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Call you mean names? 8.3 7 5.7
23.6
Take things away from you, hide them or damage them? 6.4 5.1 6.4
45.9
49.7
4A few times a week
55.4
29.3
make fun of youbeacause 7.5 2.5 6.9 22 of your nationlity, religion or appearance? 0% 20%
5Every Day
52.8
52.9
3A few times a month
61 40%
60%
80%
100%
Figure 1. Most prevalent items addressing aggression in the school context from the perspective of victims. 10
aggression were more frequent. Figure 1 further demonstrates these findings. Making negative remarks behind someone’s back or yelling at someone were the most frequent aggressive acts experienced by the victims. In contrast, physical aggression was not particularly prevalent. Children and youngsters reported only incidents where others hid their things or damaged them. Females seemed to be victims of relational aggression slightly more often than males; males were more frequently bullies than females. For early adolescents, the prevalence of aggressive acts was higher in the category of physical and verbal aggression in the school context, but lower in the family context. Considering the different groups of special needs, the lowest prevalence of aggressive acts was in the group of respondents with learning difficulties, but special attention should be directed in to the group of youngsters with mood disorders. For a detailed description of the results, see Musil, Tement, Bakracevic Vukman & Sostaric (2014).These results correspond with findings from previous research in the context of bullying and victimisation (e.g., Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Espelage, Low, & De La Rue, 2012; Monks, Smith, & Swettenham, 2005; Monks et al., 2009; Smith et al., 1999; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). From the qualitative part of the study, nine thematic frameworks appeared, with low selfesteem emerging as the most important issue, and one related to social context and coping strategies. The highlighted thematic frameworks
from the interviews are consistent with previous research. In a qualitative analysis of Dutch children with dyslexia and their reaction to school bullying, Singer (2005) emphasised low self-esteem, mostly accompanied with problems in relations with peers and feelings of being different. Victimised adolescents with ADHD reported lower levels of social support (Timmermanis & Weiner, 2014), as well as social exclusion (Shea & Weiner, 2003). From a practical viewpoint, the present study provides insights valuable for bullying/aggression prevention and intervention programmes. Based on our results, intervention and prevention programmes should encompass country specifics and target the most salient bullying/aggression aspect in each country. Second, gender may be a crucial variable to consider, especially when working with bullies. Third, an important target group for intervention is the early adolescents group. Based on the results of the qualitative part of the study, programmes such as social and interpersonal skills training should focus on the victims’ self-esteem. More precisely, to increase levels of self-esteem, or in other words, to ensure that the individual acquires the mental disposition of an active agent, any intervention should focus on enhancing a person’s social relations, while helping them to develop appropriate coping strategies. In that vein, talking about past violent episodes (via AVI) is a subtle (projective) means of affecting someone’s subjective (psychological) reality.
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Theoretical Background Basics of Psychodrama, Role Theory, Sociometry, Sociodrama and Playback Theatre
P
“
laying and Reality” is D.W Winnicott’s (F.Robert Rodman MD, 2005) last book. It contrasts the appreciation of creativity which makes life worth living with a sense of futurity which the individual associates with the idea that life is not worth living. According to D.W Winnicott, creativity is a healthy state of life, whereas compliance is a sick basis for life. We postulated the existence of a potential space between mother and baby, between individual and society, and the the imprtance of its role in building trust. Creative living is thought to originate from this space, which makes it sacred to the individual. This is the only space where play can commence and where transitional phenomena are created, hence the recognition of this space is vital for individual development.
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The essential feature in the concept of transitional objects and phenomena (as transitional space) is the paradox and the acceptance of the paradox: the baby creates the object, but the object was there waiting to be created. The potential space only occurs in relation to a feeling of confidence. The capacity to form images and to use these images constructively by recombination into new patterns is dependent on the individual’s ability to trust. Relationships begin to form when the transitional spaces of two individuals playing together overlap. Our approach is to be accepting of a paradox and to remain tolerant and respectful. “It is possible to resolve the paradox, but the price of this is the loss of the value of the paradox itself.” ( D.W Winnicott, 1971)
D.W Winnicott gives us a new awareness of personal factors in the creation of reality. He focuses on relationships that become ’of use.’ Individuals of importance survive the continuous backdrop of unconscious destructive fantasy that inevitably accompanies closeness. ”That other person, by surviving the hate that emerges as a response to his or her otherness, attains a special status as a contributor to life, one who nourishes with what is genuinely new.” (F. Robert Rodman MD, 2005) Definition of Transitional Space. Transitional Objective and Transitional Phenomena. The original concept of Transitional phenomena was used by D.W Winnicott to describe the intermediate area of human experience between inner reality and the outside world. The prototypical example is that of the Transitional object, the first not-me possession of the baby. Thus a real, usually soft object is found by the baby and used as a defence against anxiety. D.W Winnicott described the Transitional space as a space between a private space (the psychic space within), and a public space, which is clearly outside us. This is the space between reality and fantasy, the space of play and creativity — where our culture is created, where love can grow, where teaching and learning take place, where art is made, where the therapy could be done. In mirroring and holding the baby, the mother gives him/her the feeling he/she is safe and has the power to create something (good or pleasant).
This narcissistic illusion of omnipotence is essential to the infant’s development, because it corresponds to his/her perceived capacity to create. If the initial feelings of omnipotence of the child are supported he/she feels safe enough to experiment. In the initial stage, if the child feels safe, he/she is testing the reality through trial and error. The mother has to introduce frustration, gradually disillusioning the infant so that he/she might begin to understand and deal with reality. In order to manage with the fear and separation anxiety the child creates Transitional objects, like a toy or a blanket, enable the infant to orient toward outer reality by bridging the inner world of self and fantasy and the outer world of people and things while maintaining some understanding that the object also belongs to the world inhabited by other people (Elliott, 2002). In the space in which we feel safe, creativity and the potential and capacity to take action are increasing. If an infant is mirrored by the mother he/ she felt authentic sense of self, gain acceptance and learn to navigate the powerful needs and emotions. This child is able to develop a strong ego identity and the necessary trust in the world and in the people. He/she could develop and maintain a stable sense of self, he/she is capable of creative living, and spontaneous expression of his/her needs and feels, and make authentic connections that lead to valid interpersonal relationships.
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A person feels the welcome and readiness to connect when the transitional space is held open for him/her. And he/she feels the sadness when that space collapses. An infant’s interest in transitional objects gradually becomes decathected over time: the child loses interest in it and finally forgets it as his/her cultural development and interest in culture grows (D.W Winnicott, 1971). Psychotherapy is one way in our current culture that we attempt to link the discrepancy between inner and outer, to create that transitional space required to allow each individual to feel safe and to play. Thus, in a clinical sense, we manage to attempt, at least, to recreate that much-needed transitional realm which an infant requires for adequate ego-development (Elliott, 2002).
Psychodrama Psychodrama was founded by Jacob Levy Moreno, M.D., in 1921. The method, is based on the vital force of spontaneity and creativity. Moreno focused on psychotherapy not just in terms of the self, but also on the self in relation to others. Psychodrama offers participants a safe and supportive environment where they can analyse and practice new and more effective roles and behaviours. Using experiential methods, sociometry, role theory, and group dynamics, psychodrama facilitates insight, personal growth, and integration on cognitive, affective, and behavioural levels. It clarifies issues, increases physical and emotional well-being, enhances learning and development of new skills. The Three Basic Psychodrama Techniques J. L. Moreno created the three basic psychodrama techniques in correspondence with the stages of role development in early childhood. 1. Doubling l After his/her birth the baby perceives his/ her mother not as “You�, but as his/her own extension, serving its needs. l
The mother, on her part, ignores her personal needs and feelings and empathises with her baby in order to feel its needs and to satisfy them.
l As a result the baby has a feeling of omnipotence.
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l In the doubling, the Auxiliary Ego (AE) acts as a double, like a mother, ignores his needs, thoughts and feelings and does his best to enter the role of the protagonist (Pr), his situation, feelings, thoughts and experiences. l The AE sits, stands or moves like the Pr, speaks and looks around like him. l The AE becomes able to verbalise the feelings of the Pr, which the Pr cannot or does not dare to express. l The Pr accepts the correct Doubling as if it’s not from “You”, without any resistance. l Non-correct Doubling is foreign to the Pr and he refuses it. l
If in childhood there has been a split of the child’s world of reality and fantasy, or if the adult has suppressed his feelings and wishes, the process of doubling reconstructs
the integrity of the Pr’s first universe, which is called the pure emotional level of being.
2. Mirror l This technique corresponds to the stage of child development when he/she discovers and gets to know “You”- the child starts to separate himself/herself from the others and to develop an image of himself/herself. l
He/she grows to realise that this is his/her image in the mirror. At the beginning he/ she accepts it as another child, and then gradually he/she recognises himself/herself in the mirror.
l In this technique the AE reflects like a mirror with the Pr on the stage. l The Pr observes from outside himself/ herself and his/her experiences, presented by the AE, like in a mirror.
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l l
After a confrontation of the Pr with his/her mirror image, it is possible for him/her to get an insight of the results of his/her behaviour and to develop an idea of how to change it. The protagonist watches while the role he/ she portrayed is replayed by the AE. This is “live” video playback.
3. Role reversal l This technique corresponds to the next stage of the development of the child when he/she gradually becomes able to enter the role of somebody else and to look at himself/herself from outside. l Through Role reversal with his/her mother the child learns to speak his/her mother’s language. Imitation is the first form of role reversal. l Children practise different roles in games through role reversal (mother, father, doctor, teacher, driver, etc.), doing “rehearsals” for real life, enlarging the child’s role repertoire and allowing him/her to discover the world. l The Pr takes the role of a significant other person, the so called Antagonist (Ag), and the AE is placed in the role of the Pr. l The most important persons of the scene are presented by the Pr. through role reversal. This is important for demonstrating how the role is to be played to the auxiliaries’ ego. l It is also used to help the protagonist to empathise with the other person’s point of view.
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l This technique combines: n The doubling of the other – entering in the role of the Ag n Observing his own self as if through a mirror n With this technique the Pr not only objectifies himself as in the mirror technique, but he reacts towards “himself” in the way he thinks the person whose role he is playing would react. n With this technique the Pr extends his role repertoire and increases his role plasticity
Some other techniques Sculpture: The protagonist arranges group members in a physical representation of an aspect of his/her life. Role Playing: the goal of role playing is usually to work out alternative and more effective approaches to a general problem; often used in business, medicine and education. Five Basic Elements of Psychodrama 1. Director (Dir) - The trained psychodramatist who guides participants through each phase of the session and takes responsibility: n To create sufficient safety for the protagonist and the group n To ensure confidentiality and physical safety within the group n To direct psychodrama sessions according to the psychodrama theory n To follow the group dynamic and work on it if necessary. 2. Group/Audience (Gr) - The average size of a psychodrama group is between 8 and 12 people. They come together at a certain time and space to work together on the contractual tasks.
enactment, who works on his personal topic in this concrete session with the help of the Dir., AE and the group. 4. Auxiliary ego (AE) – A Group member or a professional who assumes the role of significant others in the drama and moves, speaks and reacts like them. He takes the role and acts as shown by the Pr. These roles can represent real scenes, or represent a part of the inner world of the Pr. The Pr chooses the AE and tells him which role to play. The auxiliary ego usually portrays someone in the protagonist’s life, the part of a fantasied figure, an inanimate object, an abstract concept or collective stereotype. Or he has the task of acting like a DOUBLE. 5. Stage – The physical space in which the drama is conducted, the area in which the enactment takes place. The part of the working room, where the Pr shows his problem. With the help of the director, the Pr “builds” the scene where the action happens. This is the so called Surplus reality where the Pr externalises his psychic experience. It could also act as a space, organised in a special way for group play.
The audience: Group members who witness the drama and represent the world at large.
Three Main Phases of Psychodrama Every psychodrama session has three main phases:
3. Protagonist (Pr) – Person(s) selected to “present the current theme” of the group in the Scene, the so called “drama“. This is the main hero, the person playing the principal role in an
1. Warm-up (W-up) - techniques and exercises used to develop group cohesion, prepare the group for working on its task, or create a special atmosphere to focus the members on a group
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theme. At the end of W-up the group theme is identified and a Pr is selected. 2. Action / Enactment: The problem is dramatised and the protagonist explores new methods of resolving it. Life situations are presented and dramatised on stage, the physical reenactment consists of encounters from the memories or fantasies of the Pr, therefore the re-enacted events belong to the past, present or future, or taken from dreams or fantasies. 3. Sharing: Group members are invited to express their connection with the Pr’s work. In this phase the group sits in a circle again and the group members and AEs give feedback and share feelings with the Pr. Topics shared include; l Their experience in role play, l Identification with any of the roles, l and/or from themselves. Sharing gives the participants (Pr, AEs and group members) the opportunity to “de-role” by sharing their experiences and distancing themselves from the role. Sharing is intended solely for feelings, not for comments,
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critics, questions and opinions. It also helps the Pr. to feel understood and integrated into the group after presenting a very personal and often difficult aspect of his/her life. Role Theory The role theory was developed in the 1920’s by JL Moreno. It focuses on the genuine encounter and the concept tele (the mutual emotional flow between two individuals). Role is the manifest expression of the Ego in an encounter with another person, the counter role. Every role has emotional, cognitive and behavioural aspects. Moreno distinguished between 3 kinds of roles: 1. Psychosomatic roles are expressions of body functions, many of which are genetically inherited and hence present from birth. For instance the roles of the sleeper, the eater, the breather, the lover. They dominate interaction in early life. Psychosomatic roles play an important role in psychological suffering as in disturbances of eating, sleeping, sexuality, pain
and of course psychosomatic diseases. If adequate body awareness is missing, psychosomatic roles are split off from the personality and seen as strange, threatening and painful symptoms.
l Overdeveloped roles are like a “psychological cancer”. Addictions, obsessive symptoms, hypochondria are examples of extremely overdeveloped roles.
2. The psychodramatic roles develop from birth through the interaction between the baby and his/her surrounding care takers. A healthy baby is genetically equipped with roles, fit to build an attachment with the care giver – generally the mother. The basic psychodramatic roles are established in a mainly implicit form early in life as part of the attachment process. New roles are created in the continuous development to meet the demands of life, especially in moments of crisis and conflicts. Adults can be described according to their available repertoire of roles.
Dalmiro Bustos describes three basic clusters of related roles: l the “mother”cluster with emphasis on love and dependency, l the “father” cluster with emphasis on assertiveness and autonomy l the “sibling” cluster with emphasis on sharing, playing, competing and rivalry.
a. A richness of roles is supposed to be a sign of health and capacity of survival. b. A sparse repertoire (or role atrophy) indicates insufficient capacity to handle new situations.
3. The social roles reflect the values of the society connected with culture, family, professions, social or political positions. Badly functioning roles can be described as underdeveloped or overdeveloped. l Difficulties to give or receive love and affection or to be adequately assertive are a reflection of underdeveloped roles.
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include social atoms, role diagrams, interpersonal relations, sociograms, and social networks. Sociometric exercises can be used as a method of measuring the interpersonal relationships in a group which is used as a warm-up for group interactions. Goals of Sociometry: l Facilitate constructive change in individuals and groups. l Increase awareness, empathy, reciprocity and social interactions. l Explore social choice patterns and reduce conflicts. l Clarify roles, interpersonal relations, and values. Sociometry Moreno investigated the structure of groups and society and developed the concept of Sociometry (SM). This method explores and understands the roles that individuals choose to play throughout their lives. He defined sociometry as “the inquiry into the evolution and organisation of groups and the position of individuals within them.” The scientific measurement of the attractions and repulsions of social interaction. Sociometric explorations measure, observe, and intervene in the natural attraction/rejection processes and evaluate networks of existing and preferred relationships. Specifically, sociometry is the study of interpersonal choices regarding criteria of interest to the investigator within a given group. These explorations may be action oriented and
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l Reveal overt and covert group dynamics. l Increase group cohesion and productivity. l Connect persons with similar opinions or positions Spectrogram: a method of action sociometry. The group members demonstrate how they feel about an issue in the group, or about a problematic statement, opinion, position or situation, by placing themselves on an invisible scaled line in the room. It helps in objectifying and clarifying individual positions concerning concrete problems and the exchange of these in the group. Sociodrama A form of psychodramatic enactment that aims at clarifying group themes rather than focusing on an individual’s issues. Sociodrama (SDr)
is focused on social roles and is the method of choice in work with social problems like group conflicts, racial prejudices etc. and in work with organisations. SDr is an action method in which individuals reenact an agreed upon social situation spontaneously. Goals of SDr: l to define a problem which the members would like to solve l to find a situation in which they would like to gain greater understanding. The participants volunteer or are assigned to roles by the director of the SDr. Every reenactment is followed by a group discussion where participants can share their solutions or ideas, and sometimes generate new materials for future sociodramatic clarifications. The discussion allows participants
time to process and integrate the events of the re-enactment. SDr, with its action/reflection components, is a kinesthetic, emotional, and cognitive educational method. Playback Theatre Playback Theatre (PbT) was founded in 1975 in the Mid-Hudson Valley in New York by Jonathan Fox and the original Playback Theatre Company, including Jo Salas and Judy Swallow. This is a form of improvisational theatre in which the spectators share their feelings and experiences, tell real stories from their lives, and watch them acted out on the stage by specially trained actors, musicians and a conductor. When a story or a past event is called to life and recreated on stage by the cast through various metaphors, mimics,
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movements, words or sounds, accompanied by music, it has the potential to give those who are watching a new point of view to the story or event. This could help them form a new approach to sharing and also reconstruct the present. The symbolic or realistic recreation of the story heard by the actors and the musician and then “played back” to the narrator in an atmosphere of openness and benevolence does not have a therapeutic purpose in the narrow sense of the word, but it does contain elements of therapeutic effects more tangible than those in traditional theatre. The experience of a performance, even if it does not achieve any therapeutic change, might trigger the motivation for such a change. The goal is to build community through shared stories. Group Process and Group Dynamic Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviours and psychological processes occurring within a group. Intragroup dynamics are the underlying processes that produce a set of norms, roles, relations, and common goals that characterise a particular group. Amongst the members of a group, there is a state of interdependence, group dynamics influence individual behaviour. Group formation starts with a psychological bond between individuals. Group cohesion refers to the processes that keep members of a social group connected. There are 5 stages in development of the group:
1. Forming – at the beginning of formation
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there is some confusion and uncertainty. Members get to know each other and share the expectations. The start of development of openness and trust.
2. Storming – high level of disagreement, criticism and conflicts, struggle for power and leadership.
3. Norming – members start recognising and respecting their individual differences, they begin to develop feelings of group identity and harmony. Establishment of roles and relationships. 4. Performing – maturity and harmony in relationships, mutual acceptance, rational decision making. The group work is constructive and fruitful. 5. Adjourning – sadness due to separation. Factors or elements of group process: l roles l relationships l patterns of dominations and submissions l characteristics cooperation
of
communication
and
l conflict management and conflict resolution l level of group effectiveness l team building and synergy Some of the roles in the group: l task leader l emotional leader l leader of resistance l the black sheep
Psychodrama with Children/Youth Victims of Aggression The classic psychodrama method cannot automatically be applied to the children because of neurodevelopment factors, it is especially unsuitable for children with mental health problems. It is possible to use both psychodrama and theatre technics in a playful way. As part of the proposed activities, the children will have the opportunity to experiment with new and different behaviours. The
psychological
and
relational
functions
activated by psychodramatic techniques are also therapeutic, because the children experience a wide range of emotional and behavioural methods of interaction. The director has a mirroring and doubling function for the children; he can play various roles (strong, fragile, childish, animal, bad, etc.) but he always remains an adult with the ability to assume adult roles (containment, normativeness, confidence, authority). The children experiment with feelings of being little and big, fragile and strong. By imitation and
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trying they learn how to come out of rigid roles and to explore new role possibilities. The theatre context allows dignifying the protagonist and his story. Through the ritual that alternates the observer role and the acting role, the child learns to take the risk of being a protagonist; and to observe and give value to other protagonists and take a supporting role. The dynamics omnipotence/ helplessness is experimented and integrated in the course of the action through the roles of actor and observer. The child has the chance for active experimentation of a wide range of roles and counter roles. A Counter Role is a product of reality that is independent and non-modifiable according to wishes. This is played out in a safe space, the child is put in the condition to devise a new response or a new role to a situation which cannot easily be avoided with old behavioural strategies. The child activates his spontaneity more easily than the adult because he has a narrow range of internal crystalised roles (cultural conserves). “An adult playing with a child becomes a kind of mobile transitional object, connecting the child to the adult and also approaching the child to the feared parts of the same adult and of the other internal adult figures”1. Important information for carrying psychodrama with groups of children:
out
1. The director and the professional Auxiliary Egos are responsible for the instructions
and for the group as a whole when they are in the space (physical and contextual) of reality; they may play specific roles during the activities that take place in the space of semi-reality.
2. The director clearly underlines the passage from moments of reality (what is here and now of the group) to moments of surplus reality/semi-reality (symbolic play, dramatisation, as if.). He has to emphasise and ritualise the alternation between activities in semi-reality and reality of the group. In this way children learn to alternate action and reflection, ego actor and ego observer. The working contract with the children consists of some basic rules openly exposed right from the beginning of the group activities: l Everyone has the right to be themselves and to express it without being judged. l Verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated l Do not say bad things about others outside of the groups l Everyone has right to say “Stop” l The room must be cleaned and left in order at the end of the day When working with groups of children, we use sociometry (SM) for: l Establishing members
connections
l Creating group cohesion
1 Luigi Dotti, PsyD. - Italy - CHILDREN GROUPS - PARENTS GROUPS: Psychodramatic Method in Children Psychotherapy (presented at IAGP International Conference in Jerusalem - august 2000)
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between
l Helping children to overcome their shyness
The director creates questions depending on:
l Diagnostic purposes
l What he wants to know
l Therapeutic effects
l What he wants the children to see clearly
SM could be used as an action sociogram. The Dr asks questions and uses lines or different spaces on the floor for displaying the possible answers. Participants are invited to place themselves beside of their answer. The questions could be: l on a scale of 0 to 10: n How good do you feel around your school mates? n How much support do you receive from your parents if/when dealing with problems at school? l Questions with 2 possible answers e.g. Yes or No – “Do you receive help at home when doing homework?”
l What the children want to know from each other When working with the children the director, needs to be aware of the children´s needs and their vulnerabilities. l When the SM is carrying out his first activity, he has to know not only the step 1, but also the step 2 and step 3 of the programme. He has to be prepared for every eventuality, and solutions are created using the SM concept (shame, exclusion, isolation, victimisation for a child).
l Questions with many possible answers – “How many people do you live with at home?”
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l The children don’t like to express their negative sides as they don´t want to further alienate themselves from their friends. l The children like to express themselves, their hobbies, past times, favourite foods, games and so on. l The children have low tolerance for frustrations. l The children have short concentration and attention.
spans
of
l It is very important that if there is an isolated member in the group who is not engaging in any of the activities, the director has to be aware of this and can address this issue. l Always give very clear instructions on any task to be carried out, e xpress and show clearly the different positions and their meaning, without judgment. l Always end the SM with something positive, a positive end to the day, be it a song or a dance will leave the kids feeling happy and upbeat. In the school there are very clear and rigid roles. Within them are subgroups for examples Aggressors and Victims. With SM we could move them in subgroups on the basis of different identifications. After collecting the answers the leader could invite the 2 subgroups or 2 participants from each group to have a discussion according to their answers. For example, between 2 subgroups – “Who loves TV?”, “Who hates TV?” It is good to have more meetings and dialogues between the members.
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(The focus has to be on the dialogue between the members, not between the director and member.) To give the children a chance to try as many roles as possible. If there are children with some kind of deficits there are 2 possibilities: l To engage and see whether the children want to talk about this topic. l If they do not want to engage, focus on something else. You do not to pressurise them to talk. It can be a very sensitive matter to talk about home/ personal issues with the children. The leader of the group must get the children to open up but not in a manner that singles him/her out. An example of this would be, – instead to ask: “Who is punished at home because of his/her school grades? We could ask “Who thinks that the parents have the right to punish their child because of his/her poor school grades? This protects the child from shame in front of the others. And in this way the child learns that it is not acceptable for their parents to punish them if they receive poor school grades. The instant reaction for kids is to withdraw like a flower, and go into their own world and block everything else out. The role of the leader is to help the child to integrate their weak and the strong roles and to become more spontaneous. This can be carried out through role play. The director could take the weak role, verbalise its feelings and together they can help find a solution.
TranSpace Training Programme Session by session
Workshop 1: Creating a Safe Place
Introduction ow self-esteem seems to be the most prevalent and the most complex problem that the interviewees are reporting, either openly or in a latent manner and could be considered as the neuralgic point in methodology development that somewhat silently lies at the heart of most violencerelated reasons or consequences. The latent nature of low self-esteem in relation to violence has a lot to do with the fact that it encompasses a very complex cognitive and emotive landscape of representations, realities and their perceptions,
L
which is why it is very difficult to pin down its core, especially given the fact that “the core� of low self-esteem changes from one individual to another. The problem seems to be widely present with children who suffer from one or several forms of peer violence and seems highly correlated with depressive moods, anxiety attacks, shame and even self-injury. Some of these children seem to have previously gone through domestic episodes of aggression/ abuse, in which they have never learnt to confront and therefore still see these episodes go on amidst
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their own realities. Every new act of violence thus reconfirms the “normality” of such episodes and the roles played. The problem of maintaining control over an aggressive situation and keeping one’s head together when in the whirlwind of intense interaction is something that should be given serious attention, especially in terms of devising a mechanism for creation of a tranquil mental haven, a space that does not allow unreflecting aggression in terms of »acting out« to either enter or exit. This kind of space would then allow one to reflect upon an intense situation as if from the outside and then take controlled action. Every child needs: n Safe place = security, warmth, food, admiration. n Exploration = to go outside and to explore the world, to have contacts with the others, to move freely. The child has to learn: n To keep own boundaries and to respect the boundaries of the others. n To recognise when and how much to open the boundaries. n To enter in real contact with the other child – non-binding contact. n That frustration is part of the life. n That we could have different opinions, but maintain a friendship.
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Social competence consists of: n openness n empathy n assertiveness n conflict resolution n initiative Activities Proposed
1. Exercises to get to know the names 2. Group work rules and contract 3. Action Sociograms 4. “Magic Castle” 5. Reflection circle 6. Ritual for “good bay”
Objectives: to get the children to talk about sensitive issues in a safe and trusting environment Trust is the key factor here when dealing with children’s emotions. They need to feel that they are in an environment that they can feel accepted among their peers. Playful activities and ice breakers will be carried out in case some children do not know each other. Activity 1. Exercises to get to know the names Description of the activity: The children and the 2 directors (leaders) are sitting in chairs in circle. There is one empty chair on the left side of one of the leaders.
First everybody introduces his/herself. The leader says “I would like ………. (the name of one of the members) to come to sit on my left side walking like ……….. some kind of animal, person or another moving object). The named child is going to sit on the empty chair, leaving another chair empty. The child sitting on the right side of the empty chair says “I would like ………. (the name of one of the members) to come to sit on my left side walking like ………... The game does not end before everyone child has changed his/ her place. The children learn their names, the atmosphere in the group becomes playful and the children have the chance to have fun in a non-judgmental space. Materials needed: none Time required: 10 min
Activity 3. Action Sociograms The leader carries out several SM The main goal of sociogram is for the children to get to know each other through group activities. From these activities the director can gather additional information, and get an overall sense of the issues facing the children. The leader asks an array of questions and the children stand beside each different answer. Examples are; n Who likes to go to school and who doesn’t? n Who has brothers/sisters and who doesn’t? How many? n How many people do you live with at home? n Who likes TV and who doesn’t?
Activity 2. Group work rules and contract The leader explains to the group the work rules: l Everyone has the right to be what he/she is and to express it without being judged. l Do not hurt each other – physically or verbally l Do not speak badly about the others outside of the group l Everyone has right to make “Stop” l Clean and tidy the room at the end of the play. Materials needed: none Time required: 10 min.
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n Who likes to play outside with children/walk with friends and who prefer to stay at home?
After that they were invited to organise a part of the room as their castle and to put the boundaries using the rope.
n Who has pets, who doesn’t?
The director visits the castles one by one acting as a journalist asking questions to help everyone present himslf/herself and augment the fantasies and inner pictures. He/she asks how he/she feels with this protection, admiration and care
n Which are your favourite meals, activities, TV shows? Materials needed: none Time required: 20 min. Activity 4. “Magic Castle” Objectives: To help every group member to create his/her own magic Castle - to find inner recourses of strength, love and support - a place where he/ she could escape to, rest and re-create his/her strength. Materials needed: Ropes – 4-5 metres each, one rope for every one of the members. Requisite – big pieces of materials – different colours, different hats and so on. Description of the activity: The group members are invited to think about a safe place where they have been or they would like to be and felt or would feel safe, protected, loved and valued. Instructions are: “Imagine this place as your own castle, see it, feel it, and find somebody (either from real life or imagination) who will come to live with you in it: l “Who could protect / defend you (your army?)” l “Who would like and admire you” l Who would love you and fulfil all your needs”
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Afterwards the leader then invites every one of them to establish communications with the others, on the basis of their new experience of strength and self-esteem. The last instruction is to put this safe place inside of him/her and retrun to reality with this “Magic Castle” insight of himself/herself. Activity 5. Reflection circle Every day at the end of all the activities, all the children are invited to take part in a reflection circle. This is an open space where everyone is invited to share how he/she felt during the different games, what they did and didn´t like, and what they would do differently the next time. Activity 6. Ritual for “good day” Ritual for good-bye – The participants, together with the trainers, stood in a circle holding hands. The trainer says: “Goodbye, best wishes, see you on .... (date) at ........ (hour).” Then, all the members repeat the same thing and leave the meeting.
Workshop 2: Reflection on their relationship with aggressors. Why am I unable to react adequately? Introduction
T
he interviewees have regularly mentioned that an increase in self-esteem and feeling more comfortable with oneself would help them feel stronger and they are most probably right in this assumption, which is why the Methodology Board should consistently strive to tackle this wide and complex problem in one way or another. Low self-esteem seems to stand behind the inability to build up an adequate defence mechanism against violence in many cases. The victims of violent attacks will normally respond to these attacks with silence, a bowed-down head and escapism, whereas in certain cases, the anxiety induced by violence is so strong that it evokes self-aggressive behaviour.
Objective: To help the children to realise the dynamic of relationships between the victim and the aggressor. Materials needed: none Activity 1: Some sociometry activities l “In your opinion” how much of an obstacle is low self-esteem, for someone who is trying to protect themselves from aggression? (from 1 to 10) “Why?” (dialogue between the participants)?
The key challenges when tackling the problems of low self-esteem and the subsequent victim behaviour is to bring out a tool for these children to think for themselves, articulate for themselves, reflect upon themselves and assert themselves. Activities Proposed
1. Some sociometry activities
2. Role plays of usual bullying situation 3. Reflection circle
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l “In your opinion, how much assertiveness should somebody have when defending themselves from the aggressor?” (from 1 to 10) “Why” (dialogue between participants?) l “In your opinion how much can physical weakness be seen as the reason for somebody to become a victim of aggression” (from 1 to 10) “Why?” dialogue between the participants. l “In your opinion, how much inner strength should one have to stop aggression?” (from 1 to 10) “Why”? dialogue between the participants. Activity 2. Role play of a typical bullying situation The group describes one situation and states the roles in it. Children play it, usually when it is happening. Then the child in the role of the “victim” tries to change his one behaviour. Try to ask for help and to speak openly about the situation. Ask the kids to raise their voice and act out different scenarios. The children in another role play will observe the change in the new situation. The children take turns changing roles and experience feelings in different roles.
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Activity 3. Reflection Circle Circle for sharing and reflection on the day’s events: everyone is invited to share how they felt during the different games, what he/she liked, what they didn’t they like and what would they choose differently for the next time
Workshop 3: Learn how to confront. Learn how to avoid auto aggression or escapism behaviours. Introduction
R
unning off, shutting out the world or pressing a mental “OFF “button frequently comes up with youngsters as a reaction to violence. The escapist tendencies extend well beyond a violent situation and penetrate the everyday functioning life of a victim (for example by the latter not going to work or to school, etc.). Escapism should therefore be considered as much more than just mentally shutting oneself out of a violent scene: it is a mode of being and as such it functions as a crippling defense against reality, against letting life happen, against feeling life as it happens and against letting oneself build something meaningful by being overwhelmed by the ups and downs of life. Escapism is an important theme to be dealt with in the methodology and its importance comes from not seeing it as a dysfunctional coping mechanism in scenes of violence, but as a crutch that prevents one from living life fully by avoiding confrontation at all costs. The challenge in addressing escapism lies in finding a tool for youngsters that would prevent them from choosing to retreat when life gets tough. Life is a wonderful gift and to live in the here and now is so much better than mental, emotional and physical retreat. For this reason confrontation strategies should be developed to
provide a powerful mechanism for participation in life. Activities Proposed
1. Warm up with games for dealing with confrontation. – 20 min. 2. Group discussion in small groups (25 min.) and role play – (25 min.) 3. Sharing and self-reflection circle - 20 min.
Objectives: l To explore their inner strength, – their voice of reason, weakness and learn how to channel this energy into something positive, not negative. l To learn that there are not only strong people and weak people, that everyone has both sides. l To acknowledge how strong they really are, and not to feel ashamed when they are experiencing a weaker emotion. Materials needed: none
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Activity 1. Warm up with Games for confronting The session started with some physical exercises – games of confrontation: The children go together in pairs. The 2 partners stand face against face, with their palms touching. They have to take a stable position on the floor. When the leader gives them a signal everyone starts to press and push the palms of the partner. Nobody has the right to move his/her
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legs. The task is to make the partner to move his/ her legs. They cannot push their partner onto the floor or deliberately trip them over. It is good if it is possible to change partners with another person of similar build. The 2 partners stand with their backs touching. When the director give a signal everyone tries to move his partner forwards, without using hands, only trying to make steps.
The children change the partners; there is no need to be physically equal. They decide by calling number“1, number 2 and so on. Number “1” has to make a gesture with his hand as if he will hit number “2”. Number “2” has to say / scream “Stop”. They have to do several times; until “2” articulates a strong enough “Stop”. Then they change roles and practice the same if needed the directors can perform the exercises as a demonstration. The children change the partners. They decide who number “1” is and who number “2” is. Number “1” asks number “2” to give him all his money. “2” says “No, I will not!” After several times they change roles. Activity 2. Group discussion Once the exercise is complete, the group gathers together in a circle, and they are invited to share their experience from the role-play and they have the opportunity to say what they have discovered or learned from that session. The group separates into 2 subgroups:
1. Takes on the role of physically weak children - they are the “victims”
The two leaders could enter in the subgroups to help and stimulate the discussion: for example, saying: “I am physically weak, but I am strong enough never to steal something that is not mine even though I would like very much to have it.” “I am strong enough to ask for help, when I cannot manage alone, even if this is not pleasant for me”. This kind of doubling could be used also for the subgroup of aggressors “I am afraid that somebody could tell to the director / my father what I am doing and he will kill me.” After the discussions in the subgroups, they stand one in front another and confront (verbally) using their new learning. The 2 subgroups change their roles and do the same. Activity 3. Reflection circle Circle for sharing and reflection from the day: everyone is invited to share how they felt during the different games, what he/she likes and what didn’t they like. What would they do differently?
2. Takes The role of physically strong and “aggressive” children In their subgroups they think about:
1. – “what is their non-physical strength?” “How they could use it?”
2. – “what is their non-physical weakness?” “What makes them to be afraid?”
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Workshop 4: Form barriers between my space and others space. Introduction
O
nce youngsters learn how to think in their own space from a mental distance, once they learn how to push for understanding of their space in relation to other spaces, once they learn how to form barriers between the “me“ and the “not me“ spaces, they can also start embracing their space, inhabiting it and finally defending it. A genuine increase in self-esteem and a decrease in victim behaviour may not come naturally for these youngsters, but it can come as a result of gradually gaining a mental disposition of an active agent, which pushes towards profound understanding of oneself and others. Activities Proposed - Favourite hero Materials needed: ropes 4-5 meters each, one rope for every one of the members – big pieces of materials – different colours, different hats and so on. Time required: 60 min. Objective: to create boundaries around own inside safe space and to learn when, for whom and how much to open it up Activity 1. “The favourite hero” The children are invited to think about their favourite hero – from fairytales, book or film. They must then imagine that they are this person and to organise his space as this hero (home, forest,
36
ship,…). To use the rope for marking on the floor the boundaries, and to decide whether there is a door or not, who and how one should enter. They could use the materials and their imagination to act out their favourite hero. . The leader highlights that everybody has the power in his/her own space and they can decide everything about their space and their hero, even if it is not like the original story. They are invited to be as creative and care free as they like. Once all the children have created their “favourite hero” space, the leader then asks if he can visit their space, and they outline the rules and requirements of their home. Once the role is finished, the children share their experiences from the game, and what they took away from it. Self-reflection is about what gave them the feeling that they could feel safe enough to go outside or to invite somebody close to their space.
Workshop 5: Breaking the invisibility, making the silence and invisibility visible and filled with sound: empowerment. Introduction
Materials needed: none
nother theme of violence that seems to arise over and over again in several interviews is intentional, active and harsh social exclusion: several youngsters report being completely excluded from social groups. Others walk right past them as if they were ghosts. When the victims try to approach their peers and enter their peer groups, they are being pushed away intentionally and with militant determination of the groups’ members. Normally being ignored is accompanied with others, mostly harsher forms of violence. Social exclusion thus generally works as an additional ostracising mechanism that accompanies other acts of violence and reconfirms the status of the victim as the helpless, isolated subject. Not being included in peer groups and not being listened to when one tries to speak means that one is residing in an invisible space, which does not allow any sounds or images, no matter how much one tries to produce them. Breaking through the invisibility, making the invisible and silent visible and filled with sound, is the true challenge here. Again, this thematic framework should be considered in connection with self-confidence as the engine of assertive social participation.
Objectives:
A
Activities Proposed
1. Warm up with Acton sociograms – 30 min 2. Role play – 40 min
3. Sharing and reflection circle – 20 min
n To teach the children that there is no reason to keep violence secret, because they are not the guilty one. n Be clear that keeping secrets gives power to the aggressors. n To teach the children that they have the right to ask and receive help and support, and there is no need to be ashamed because of their weakness. (Here we have to stay in the space of thoughts, not to ask them to share personal experience with aggression, because if we open up such painful topics, there is no time and no professionals, competent to do therapy.) Activity 1. Warm up with Action sociograms The director leads several SM:
1. “Who thinks that the child has the right to tell the parents if somebody is aggressive towards him and who thinks he has not?” After forming 2 groups with opposite opinions: “Why?” – Every child explains his motivation. The others have the right to change their place if the shared motivation makes them change their mind. 2. “Who thinks that the parents have to protect the child if they are victims of aggression, and who thinks that they not?”, “Why?”
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3. The same as 1. but for teachers 4. The same as 2. but for teachers
5. “Who thinks that the parents have the right to punish the child because of some reasons, and who thinks they have not?”, “Why?” 6. The same as 5. but for teachers
7. The same as 5. but for other children
8. “Who thinks that the victim is the guilty one and who thinks he is not?” “Why?”
9. “Who thinks the victim has to keep the secret about the aggression and who thinks that he has to find somebody to share it with?” “Why?” 10. “Who thinks that weakness is a reason for shame and who thinks it is not?” “Why?” During the dialogues between the 2 opposite groups the leaders put themselves in one and
38
another position with different statements to be a model for and to stimulate the children to follow them. At the end of each question they clearly support or declare the healthy answer. Activity 2. Role play – Asking help The group chooses a situation in which the child has to ask help (from teacher, policemen, and parents). They describe the roles and for each role there are 2 children. They change roles and speak about their experiences and what was the outcome when they were asked for help. Activity 3. Sharing and reflection circle Circle for sharing and reflection from the day: everyone is invited to share how they felt during the different games, what he/she likes and what didn’t they like. What would they do differently?
Workshop 6: Articulate otherness: Everyone deserves a place in all groups of people and has his rights. The difference (from dominant identity) as an enriching element. Introduction
O
therness is something closely related to mental health difficulties or learning disabilities and should be addressed as a theme in the methodology. Anyone who doesn‘t fit the picture of dominant representations is the “Other”, especially the people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. For that reason, it is important to reflect upon and articulate otherness, not only to find and assert a place for oneself as “Other”, but also to acknowledge that being different from dominant identity structures deserves a place in its own right as an enriching element. In general, youngsters involved in this project will all be in a potential danger of marginalisation due to their difficulties and it is therefore crucial that they learn how to experience Otherness in whichever form in order to learn how to incorporate it in their own emotional and cognitive realities and thus become skilled in voicing otherness as a legitimate subject position that deserves its rightful space. Activities Proposed
1. Action sociogram – 30 min
2. The resource flower – 30 min
3. Sharing and reflection circle - 20 min Materials needed: paper and pen
Objective: To allow the children to start accepting their “otherness”/”differences” as a part of their lives, and not something that they should be uncomfortable with. Activity 1. Action sociogram The leader leads SM with questions: n “Do you know children that are “different” to other children, (“Yes” – “No”) n “What makes them subgroups of answers)
different?
(form
n Do you like them? (“Yes” – “No”) “Why?” n “Is there somebody who makes you feel “different?” n “Do you know people who think, that “different” children have less rights?” n “Do you think that “the children” sometimes overcome more difficulties to achieve the same results like all the others? n “Do you think that they deserve more respect because of struggling with additional difficulties?” During the discussions between the two groups the leaders put themselves in both positions with different statements to be a model for and to stimulate the children to follow them. At the end of each question they clearly support the better answer.
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Activity 3. Sharing and reflection circle
Activity 2. The “resource flower” – 4 leaves 1. With which people do I feel well? 2. Where do I feel well?
3. What kinds feel well?
of
activities
make
me
4. Which thoughts / phrases make me feel well? Brain storm these answers and write them on a large piece of paper.
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Circle for sharing and reflection from the day: everyone is invited to share how he/she felt during the different games, what he/she likes and what didn’t they like. What would they do differently?
Workshop 7: Creative Workshops Introduction
T
hese workshops were organised to reflect on group dynamics and make a story based on it.
Creative Workshop 1 Activities Proposed
1. Individual collage - 60 minutes.
2. Collective sculpture – 30 minutes Materials needed: All materials needed for making a collage Objective: Self-reflection and integration of the new experience Activity 1. Individual collage – “What I like to do and what I am good at” When the collages are ready they are put in an exhibition and every member explains his/her own work. Activity 2. Collective sculpture – “What this group has done that has been good for me” After a short discussion the children created a body sculpture about how they feel after participating in the group. One after another each child is replaced by one of the trainers and looks at the sculpture and himself/herself from the outside. Everyone takes “inner photo of this sculpture”.
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Creative Workshop 2 Activities Proposed
1. Creating friendships – 45 minutes 2. “Gifts” - 45 minutes
Materials needed: Big pieces of paper and coloured pens Activity 1. “Creating friendship” Objective: To help the children learn how to make friends Description of the activity: Brain storming about the abilities you need to make friends, writing them on a big piece of paper.
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The participants will receive instructions such as; “Walk like …. Open person” (one by one list all of the abilities). Every child will step out in front of the others and receive applause from the rest of the group. Activity 2. “Gifts” Objective: To give and receive positive feedback and to prepare for separation. Description of the activity: A big sheet of paper is fixed to everyone’s back. They all walk around and write feedback and wishes on each other’s backs. The children can take this piece of paper home with them as a gift from the group.
Workshop 8: Days in Space Introduction
Activities Proposed
S
ince the TranSpace project is all about space and its attributes, an additional activity was planned for the groups. It applies and develops the methodology using a number of openspace activities, allowing for freedom of spaceconception and submersion in a completely new dimension. 4 days in nature and wilderness were organised with 10 participants from the whole group. Activities were focused on finishing the training in a fun and joyful way.
1. Welcoming and introduction
2. Making a fire like our ancestors 3. Preparation for making the fire
4. Techniques of ignition (fire-drill / striking sparks) 5. Use of fire: making a bowl for eating and/or drinking 6. Lunch and leisure time 7. Hunting techniques 8. Lawn game: Kubb 9. “Blind discoverer“ 10. Survival-hut
11. Feedback and end Activity 1.
Welcome and introduction
Objective
To get to know each other, lecturer (L) introduces himself/herself and questions pupils (P) about interests, personal experiences and ideas as well as wishes and expectations regarding this day and topic, overview of the programme
Procedure
P and L are seated in a circle, “talking stick“ goes around and everybody gets to express themselves when holding the stick in their hands
Materials
Talking stick (decorated wooden cane)
Duration 15´
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Activity 2.
Making a fire like our ancestors
Objective
To clarify the significance of fire for us and the development of men
Procedure
P and L talk about the crucial importance of fire for people (heating, cooking for easy digestion of food, light, safety from wild animals, social meeting point‌) and how people established control of fire
Materials none Duration 15´
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Activity 3.
Preparation of fire
Objective
To recognise the appropriate construction of a fireplace
Procedure
P collects brushwood in the spruce forest nearby, L builds a pyramid-shaped fireplace with P’s help: first fine brushwood, then larger pieces (at the beginning fire needs a lot fuel, e.g. tree bark)
Materials brushwood Duration 15´ Activity 4.
Techniques of igniting the fire (fire-drill/striking sparks)
Objective
To get to know both techniques and to understand the functions of different materials used
Procedure
L explains and demonstrates both techniques (one in detail, one briefly)
Materials
Fire-drill and wooden spindle, flint and pyrite/steel, tinder polypore, reed mace, cotton etc.
Duration 15´ Activity 5.
Use of fire: building a bowl for eating and/or drinking
Objective
To master the task of building a bowl with the help of fire/glow and to gain knowledge of our ancestors’ lifestyle (to gain respect and reduce prejudices against other cultures), to train haptics and patience
Procedure
P will get a piece of wood to demonstrate how to make a bowl. Afterwards, the group will make bowls using a stick in the middle of the blank and blowing into it to deepen the opening of the bowl. The ash and sand can be removed from the bowl with sand paper, P will take the handmade bowl home to finish it off with cooking oil and make it ready for use.
Materials
Piece of wood (ca. 8x12x8 cm)
Duration 75´ 45
Activity 6.
Lunch and leisure time
Packed lunches could be consumed in the refuge of the forest provided weather conditions are good. Activity 7.
Hunting techniques
Objective
To aid with hunting, our ancestors developed sophisticated equipment; Spears, fortiori, bows and arrows which greatly enhanced the hunting process. Handling these tools is exciting and adventurous and instils respect for ancient and foreign cultures.
Procedure
Hunting techniques will be taught and practiced in a supervised environment using a simple throwing stick, spear, bow and arrow. Safety rules will apply (responsibility for oneself and each other!)
Materials
Throwing stick, spear, bow and arrow, different targets
Duration 75´ Activity 8.
Lawn game: Kubb
Objective
Training how to throw by practice and play (this is likewise connected to the hunting techniques), those having difficulties performing intellectual tasks are able to receive recognition and acknowledgment through this activity.
Procedure
Two teams will compete: the object is to knock over the opposing wooden blocks (Kubbs), the king stands in the middle and knocks the objects over by throwing wooden batons at them. Good fortune and skill are necessary – afterwards revenge!
Materials
Three sets Kubb
Duration 30´
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Activity 9.
“Blind discoverer“
Objective
To sharpen senses and perception. To train hearing, haptic (touching trees, branches and the forest floor).
To concentrate and adapt to new conditions.
Procedure
P will wear a blindfold and slowly walk along a stretched rope in the forest. They should begin realising how many different things they can still perceive in this “unknown world“, and perhaps start acting more courageously. The activity should continue for one or more rounds, it should be quiet.
Materials
40 m rope, blindfolds
Duration 25´
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Activity 10.
Survival-hut
Objective
To lose their fears of the forest, even if one gets lost and does not find their way back to shelter. To learn how to build a survival hut with branches without any tools. To strengthen the ability to work as a team.
Procedure
After a demonstration, P will build a survival hut in little groups. They will use fallen branches, sticks, leaves and whatever they can find on the forest floor. After completion, P will have a look at the different huts built and talk about different approaches and difficulties. Every group receives applause for their hut. A picture of P with every hut will be taken and hung up in the classroom to remember the day.
Materials
Branches, sticks, leaves etc. collected by P
Duration 45´ Activity 11. Feedback and end Objective
To share feelings and experiences of this day with the group.
Procedure
P and L are seated within the circle, everybody shares what was important to them and what they enjoyed the most
Materials
Talking stick
Duration 15´
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Applying TranSpace Locally Did it Work?
In Spain - Fundaci贸n INTRAS
The young people participating in TranSpace are students of the Initial Professional Qualification Programme (PCPI) which is managed by the INTRAS Foundation at the headquarters of Valladolid and Zamora. The participants are all aged 16 to 21 and have not yet graduated from school. These children have a range of different mental illness, including mental retardation and psychological problems. Many of them come to PCPI because they found it difficult to learn and interact with students in conventional state schools. Many of our participants reported
dropping out of school early due to experiencing bullying throughout their school years. Our workshops consisted of 4 different groups; 2 From PCPI Valladolid and 2 from PCPI Zamora. We decided to work in small groups (10 people per group) as this helped to improve group dynamics and ensure that the personal needs of each participant were met. The groups were assembled by the teachers and further revised by the psychologist according to feedback gathered from the first session. The sessions lasted between 1 to 1.5 hours, some sessions taking place in the afternoon in order to facilitate the
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male participants who found it hard to concentrate and participate in the mornings.
Since each group consisted of participants with different needs, the materials and exercises provided in each session were tailored to meet their unique requirements. For example, one group consisted of children with mental retardation in which case the trainer took on a more proactive role by asking questions and providing examples of different scenarios in order to stimulate the group. In contrast, the participants from another group were more engaged with each other and required less assistance from the trainer, therefore they mainly received guidance during moments of reflection. Reflection played a key role in the programme, after each exercise the participants were given time to reflect on their experience. This enabled them to explore their own feelings, identify what they thought went well in each exercise and suggest areas for improvement. The pace and difficulty of the original material provided by the project was modified by the psychologist to suit the needs of the participants.
The sessions were divided into 3 stages: the initial stage consisted of games to improve interaction within the groups. Teamwork and cooperation to overcome bullying were central themes in the activities. After each activity the participants were given time to reflect and share their thoughts with the group, they were encouraged to discuss what they enjoyed or disliked about the activities, express their emotions and share their memories. The sessions ended with an evaluation of the day and preparation of materials for the article.
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Generally, the information provided by the project coordinators was suitable and appropriate for our target group. In some cases we had to make slight changes to the syllabus to make it more age appropriate for our participants as some activities were a little childish for our age group. Bullying is a very profound topic with which our participants can strongly identify themselves due to their current or past experiences. For this reason we found it difficult to cover bullying within 6 sessions. Generally, we saw some very positive results after each session. Initially the participants felt uncomfortable and had little confidence, however with each session they became more and more acquainted with each other, allowing them to feel a sense of security within the group and express deep emotions and past experiences. Some participants were able to achieve significant changes in a short period of time, while others took small steps to work on overcoming their difficulties to build relationships with strangers. The positive changes witnessed in each participant, whether big or small, indicate the success of these sessions both at the personal and group level. Our participants enjoyed all of the activities carried out in the sessions, such as the theme of bullying and getting to know each other. Although the participants attended the same school or were in the same class, they were not aware of each other´s hobbies or interests. The enthusiasm which they demonstrated when interacting with each other shows the importance of communication and working together to solve issues which directly affect them. Overall, we received very positive feedback and witnessed amazing results in a short period of time.
In Germany - CJD Frechen
Our students participated in various workshops during their professional orientation year at the vocational college Christophorusschule in Frechen. The professional orientation year is aimed at pupils who have completed 10 years of school, but are not yet ready to begin an apprenticeship due to learning difficulties and/or behavioural problems. Students opting to pursue a career in craftsmanship, academic performance and social skills are eligible for CJD, provided that their career aspirations are reasonable and realistic. The participating groups were in the first year of Vocational Orientation which is organised by the Daphne programme. Half of the students came from international families. Many of our students have struggled academically and as a result they have very low self-esteem. To compensate for their feelings of distress they often become aggressive and deprecating towards others, generally they acquire these behaviours from other family members. We have had quite good results with
these approaches. After completing the course, the participants will commence an apprenticeship or will begin another vocational preparation course. Throughout our project we carried out plenty of activities to facilitate and reach our final goals. In the classroom we used various games which allowed the participants to become acquainted with each other and to improve group dynamics. One of the techniques which we used was role play which allowed our students to put themselves in the position of someone else. It was rewarding to begin recognising the skills of our participants. We tried to help our students to begin seeing the world through the eyes of others and to reflect on their experiences. Gradually they came to understand the importance of our community and that it’s relatively easy to solve problems when in a group of people. The activities which we carried out were fundamental to building a high degree of trust within the group. Our activities were diverse and were focused not only on team work but also on building self-esteem. Games
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which test our senses, voice and memory are generally useful for strengthening character. The critical point is transforming the ideas of the project, the learning objectives and activities into “real life” situations. In our group discussions we asked our participants if they learned something new and how could they use this knowledge when faced with problems in reality. Each person was able to learn something from the project. According to the participants, TranSpace helped them to become a strong person who is able to say “NO”, who intervenes if someone is in trouble and who knows the basics for putting a stop to bullying at school or at work. All of the training sessions were flawlessly arranged. However, we experienced two issues which can perhaps be changed in the future. In some sessions of the “Bullying Workshop” we found ourselves running out of time. Occasionally we had to stop interesting discussions and there was not enough time for all of the prepared social exercises, particularly during the “Rap against Bullying” workshop. We felt that the preparation time prior to singing could have been longer to help the students feel more relaxed before their performance. Secondly, we felt that a normal classroom is not the right environment for social exercises. A pleasant room with a large space and an inviting atmosphere is ideal for learning; due to the limited capacities of our school we could not arrange another room for the “Bullying Workshop”. However, we were able to find a suitable location
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for the “Rap Workshop” in a different building. The bullying workshops were extremely successful as they provided participants with completely new forms of learning beyond pen and paper. Their minds were fully engaged in the activities and they were able to show their personalities and share their experiences. Their living environment and their feelings were addressed and illustrated. The topic of bullying, whether in the classic form or cyber bullying, plays an important role in the daily lives of most of our students be it from painful personal experience or hearing the experience of others. The students took part in these exercises with great joy and motivation due to their strong connection with the topic. The students were ready to face completely new challenges, to fight their fears and weaknesses in a protected learning environment. The training sessions taught the students the reasons and motives behind bullying. They learned how it feels like to be an outsider, sharpened their empathy skills and learned strategies to intervene in cases of bullying. Additionally, the participants witnessed how conflicts can be solved creatively and that win-win situations are possible. Overall, the workshops helped to unify the students, thereby reducing the possibility of bullying occurring within the group. The training sessions were both effective in the prevention of bullying and very enjoyable for the coaches and pupils, everyone was left with the impression that time flew by.
In Austria - ProMente The Austrian teenagers were all between the ages of 15 and 23. In general every group had 10 participants, but due to holidays, acute sickness, or other ailments and conditions our numbers varied throughout the project. The participants attending the workshops suffered from mental health illnesses. The workshops were carried out in northern Austria and the teenagers also attended a vocational training programme run by the Pro Mente institution. During ongoing interviews and research, the participants were informed that a workshop
would be organised for them, based on the results of the survey and they were all invited to attend the workshop. The rationale behind this was to increase the participants’ self-esteem, and to put the results of the survey into practice. This was carried out in four different vocational centres located in northern Austria. The main aim of our workshop was to work “solution focused�. In order to carry out this task effectively, we needed to adapt a different time schedule to suit the youngsters. The reason for this was to take into consideration the age and
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knowledge of their reflective and personal work. The time schedule was changed from 9 sessions lasting 90 minutes to 270 minutes. We had 2 workshops in total, each lasting a total of 270 minutes. We also adapted some of the exercises to suit our specific target group. The changes that were made were reviewed by a professional social worker who has a wealth of experience in working with youngsters in a group context. “Solution focused” means working with the youngsters, adapting to their specific needs and requirements. We, therefore, respected their wishes, especially with regards to the theme of “Bullying” and we discussed different topics depending on the needs and ideas of the groups. In the creative workshops, each group had the opportunity to choose between artwork, theatre, video (recording a short professional video) and dance. The participants chose which type of creative work they preferred. (The artwork section will display some of the materials produced) Throughout the course of the exercises, we noticed there was a shift in the behaviour of the youngsters. They became more playful and more outgoing. The shyer members of the group had solution focused ideas, and the other members of the group were listening to their suggestions. They in turn decided to solve the exercises in that particular way. This gave the shyer members of the group a sense of satisfaction and confidence, which was clearly visible on their faces. They learned to express themselves which gave them a sense of happiness.
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Throughout the course of the day, the group grew stronger and displayed a good sense of team work; this was visible when they carried out the activity a “Day in Space” whereby they had to find their own way in the forest. Prior to carrying out the activity, they each had to do a series of warm up exercises for building group-dynamics. This was a great icebreaker for the group and a fun way to start the exercise as they seemed to lose their inhibitions and have fun. In terms of personal space and boundaries, the group became aware of just how different each individual really is, and how to respect each other’s space and to distinguish whether someone is being disrespectful or not. Furthermore, the group wanted to challenge themselves, so they could understand what it feels like to push their boundaries. For example the more quiet and shy youngsters had the opportunity to behave in a way to talk louder and get outside their comfort zone. All the activities were carried out in a safe environment under the supervision of a social care worker. It is worth mentioning the groups’ feedback with regards to the theme of “Bullying”. Most of them had experienced bullying at some stage in their lives and they recommended starting antibullying campaigns at a much earlier stage e.g. in Kindergarten or in primary school.
In Italy - Borgorete A total of 38 children participated in our workshops in Italy. We tested the TranSpace methodology with three different groups. The first group consisted of 16 children (6 males and 12 females) aged 11 to 12; the second group consisted of 10 children (8 males and 2 females) aged 10 to 14 and the third group consisted of 12 children (5 males and 7 females) aged 10 to 12. All the children in the target group had learning, behavioural or emotional difficulties. Most of the participants find it very difficult to build relations with peers, as a result, they are excluded and isolated from their peers and they don’t know how to relate to others in a positive way. This is one of the reasons why their self-esteem is very low. As a result of these difficulties, some of them show aggressive and destructive behaviour, while others appear to become progressively more and more isolated, to the point of excluding themselves from social situations. The main learning objective we set for working with these groups was to improve their social skills, such as empathy, assertiveness, collaboration, social problem-solving and promoting their selfesteem, with the aim to prevent social dysfunctional dynamics, such as bullying and prevarication. Our primary action was to
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promote assertive behaviour, such as the ability to say “no”, or “stop” for children excessively retired or passive and to promote empathy, as the ability to feel for others and creatively mend aggressive actions for children with destructive behaviour. To achieve this aim, we used various “games” based on psychodrama techniques, sociometry, theatre exercises and expressive arts. The themes of the workshops, specific techniques used and the “games” were adapted each time based on the feedback received from participants. The materials provided in the Booklet and in the Prevention Training session have served as a great support for our work. We modified some of the “games” to adapt them to the needs and dynamics of each group. We have also added the use of expressive techniques, such as drawing and collages as communication tools. We felt it was important to include “special” time at the beginning and at the end of the sessions in every workshop. This starting ritual was called “the rain dance”, it was structured as an initial time of silence and absence of movement followed by a series of movements with rhythmic use of vocals, and ended with a final collective shouting to mark the start of the workshop. The “rain dance” was useful psychologically, to kickstart the session, as well as to warm-up the body and vocals. The closing ritual was a moment of silence and absence of movement, ending with a
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collective “salutation shout”. Time was dedicated to reflect on the “game” itself after every exercise participants also discussed group dynamics during this time. During this phase, the role of the mediator, as carried out by the trainers, was of utmost importance. In fact, the trainer had the task of helping the children talk about what had occurred, create a respectful environment where everybody has a turn to speak and manage any potential conflict. Feedback received from participants in relation to the activities carried out was overall very positive. The activities proved to be suitable, appropriate and appreciated by nearly everybody involved. There were no drop-outs. Our target group included some children with “internalised behaviour” (social retirement, extreme shyness, isolation) and some with “externalised behaviour” (aggressiveness). Based on our experience, we believe that this diversity, if well balanced, has the potential to be a great resource for the workshops. At the end of the workshops, participants showed evidence of learning new and more functional relational modalities and of partial progression from the roles of “victims” or “aggressors” which were their characteristics.
In Bulgaria - MHC
We selected children and youths who attended the Children’s ward at the Mental Health Centre. The children who were chosen displayed symptoms of aggressive behaviour or were victims of aggression at school. They had different kinds of special needs, including; Learning disabilities, ADHD, Oppositional-provocative disorder, Conduct disorder, Adjustment disorders, Adopted children. We didn’t include children with mental retardation IQ < 65, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Psychosis. We decided to form four groups with 10 children in each group. The first group BG 1 consisted of 10 children aged 8-11 years old, 8 boys and 2 girls. The second group BG 2 consisted of 9
children aged 13-17, 7 boys and 2 girls. The third group BG 3 consisted of 7 children aged 12- 15, 4 boys and 3 girls. Usually, we started our meetings by sitting in a circle and sharing experiences, everybody had to talk about their problems at school or at home during the week. We tried to stick to the games in the manual, but we spent a lot of time discussing cases of aggression and difficulties in everyday life. All of the children enjoyed the games “Magic castle” and “My favourite hero”. In the second and third groups we carried out a role play of reallife situations of aggression from their personal
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experience. They changed roles and afterwards discussed how everybody felt in different roles. We did some additional warming up games: clapping hands simultaneously, expressing moods by walking and moving in a certain way, walking around a chair in circles, and a “survivors in the ocean” game. Also we played a game called “Saying stop” to outline personal space – the children divided into couples and stood on opposite sides of the room. One had to walk over to the other and the other child had to say stop when he/she felt discomfort. Afterwards they switched roles. The purpose of this game was to outline personal space. One of the problems we experienced was that some of the children were very hyperactive and couldn’t stay still. It was almost impossible to focus their attention on the group play. It was very difficult to work with 10 children with special needs aged between 8-11 years, all in one group. We decided to do a contest between the children to motivate them to follow the rules and to be more concentrated. We used a board with red and black points for following and not following the rules respectively. It turned out to be an effective tool. Some of them really tried to stay still and not be noisy during the session. This lasted for a couple of sessions. The children in the first group had some conflict situations between themselves. This gave us the chance to discuss the topic of aggression in a real-life situation. This seemed to motivate them to
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actively take part and to be involved in the theme. They shared common values against aggression. In the next sessions we observed a change in the behaviours of some, they became more tolerant of other children in the group. They seemed to understand that sometimes other people may also experience difficulties and problems. Some children, especially those in the first group, the 8-11 year olds, had difficulties in understanding the symbolic meaning of the games and could not answer to some of the open questions. They required a higher level of maturity, speech abilities, attention, concentration, abilities to follow instructions, and development of abstract thinking.
Creative works There are many ways to express one’s reality and to reflect upon peer violence. Our participants decided that the best way to describe their experience involved such as rapping music and undertaking a theatrical performance about the impact of bullying. They hope that by doing this, they will instil confidence in other victims and thus prevent bullying from happening to someone else. Another group expressed their emotions through painting whilst others participated in theatre performance about conflict resolution. Some good examples of their work which can be found on TranSpace website http://www.TranSpaceproject.eu.
Spain
Austria 59
Italy Germany
Bulgaria 60
Reflections on a Learning Journey Individual stories which can inspire Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
Martina - An isolated youth trying to keep up with the fast pace of life. Martina is a 21 year old female who appears to be very shy. The test revealed a lower intellectual ability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive and paranoid deficit. Although M is very polite, she has a very low level of self-esteem and struggles to relate to others, this is evidenced by her failure to keep appointments with others despite her desire to interact with her peers. Martinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obsessive and paranoid disorders play a major negative role in her life and contribute to her constant state of depression. Her family is very supportive, particularly her sister who she has a good relationship with and she sometimes leaves the house to play sports with her. However, Martinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents and sister are the only people with whom she spends her free time.
during moments of reflections. She particularly benefited from activities and games where she could talk about her hobbies as this allowed her to relate to and connect with her peers. The group responded in a very positive way towards M by trying to help and engage with her as much as possible. Since Martinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social problems are related to larger issues and the sessions were designed for working with groups instead of targeting individuals, there was not a drastic change in her behaviour. Despite
Martina finds it hard to interact in her peer group due to her difficulties in building relationships and as a result often gets excluded from the group. Since beginning the sessions, Martina admits to feeling that she only partially belongs to the group, adding that it is due to her own personal struggles rather than lack of acceptance from her peers. From the very first session one of our aims was to include Martina in the activities by encouraging her to actively participate in group work. We commenced by introducing her to her companions and involving her in group discussions by asking her direct questions or inviting her to express her opinions
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this, M was able to contribute to the group by sharing her opinions thereby catching the attention of her fellow students and teachers alike. In the first few sessions M was silent, isolated and little inclined to express her opinions, participating only to the bare minimum. In subsequent sessions, M began to open up, speak more freely and eventually share her opinions and interact with her peers. With each session Martina felt more accepted and positive towards her classmates, her experiences from the first session compared to the last session was drastically different. In the final evaluation of the last session M commented that she felt accepted. She herself has noticed this change and is became committed to getting more involved within the group; the smaller size of the work group has helped
to facilitate this change. The teachers have also reported a positive change in Martina. The activities in each session have benefited and helped M to start sharing experiences with her friends and to recognise that people face many common problems which in turn has helped her to deal with a mental block that contributes to her fear, loneliness and depression. The teachers have monitored her progress and encouraged her to participate in activities with her teammates during class and also during leisure time. Changes are slow with M due to her obsessive disorder which plays a strong role in her social relations. Overall, the fact that M now sees herself differently and in a more positive light is great progress.
Dennis - has found the courage to speak out. Dennisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; inhibitions to speak and his unintelligible pronunciation, which many people have difficulty understanding, making him an easy target for bullying by his classmates and people outside school. His slurred speech makes it difficult for him to communicate with others and as a result Dennis has very few solid social contacts. When in a group of familiar people, Dennis feels safe and comfortable and has the courage to speak. At the beginning of the TranSpace project, Dennis was very cautious and shy around his new teammates and avoided eye contact. However, Dennis was present at every workshop, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Day in Spaceâ&#x20AC;? and creative workshop and he enjoyed the activities. Dennis was one of the 3 participants who were chosen to go on the international exchange to Spain.
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At the beginning of the international exchange, Dennis remained with his German peers whom he was not acquainted with as they were from different project groups. The exercises during the international exchange were so heart-warming, encouraging and motivating that Dennis soon stopped being shy and started to get in touch with the other participants from Austria and Spain. In his group, Dennis quickly made contact with the Austrian participants. Due to language barriers, Dennis remained cautious around Spanish participants, however, he was able to maintain eye contact and was content to be a member of the community. While participating in the international exchange, Dennis was very open and helpful towards others.
Rona - with support and guidance, she found the strength to say “No” The reason Rona started vocational training was her shyness and she also didn´t engage in eye to eye contact. Furthermore she refrained from using the word “NO”, as she didn´t want to make herself unpopular amongst her peers. Our main focus with this girl is to ensure her behaviour is monitored within the vocational training setting, and equip her with skills and confidence so that she is ready for the world. One of our main concerns was whether she would be ready for group interactions and different role plays. She succeeded our expectations and engaged fully in all the activities she participated in. We realised quickly that the playful activities helped boost her confidence and she became more open and engaging. She also became more creative and cheerful during the creative workshops, even initiating an activity that had come to mind and
explained her solutions and ideas regarding the activity. Overall we noted that it was good for her confidence and self-esteem to encourage her when she did something good. The girl is more engaging than ever before, she expresses herself more clearly and if she doesn´t want to participate in an activity, she will use the word “NO” and not feel guilty about it. She feels respected by her group members, as they listen to her ideas, and it is visible that she has more inner strength and has changed from a shy introverted girl to a more cheerful, grown up person. She has moved from a passive to an active person. It is also worth noting, that this girl found her inner voice, at the beginning of the workshop, she was very soft and silent and subdued. Throughout the course of the day she was laughing a lot, helping others and even proposed an activity herself.
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Fabio - Help is never too far away! Fabio is an Italian boy, he is 11 years old and he has a learning disability. He is a very shy character, who prefers to whisper as opposed to speak aloud. This results in the other kids making fun of him and further isolating him. At school he doesn´t receive good results, as he finds it difficult to understand written text. Fabio pretends that everything is okay by smiling a lot but it is clear to see that he is unhappy with his current situation. Our hope is that through the TranSpace training, Fabio will gain more confidence and strength to tackle his issues effectively and make new friends. Initially Fabio was shy and withdrawn and didn´t want to engage in any of the activities. At one point he even suggested that he wanted to go home, as he was not interacting with the other members of the group, and he seemed lost. One of the mentors of the group suggested a different game to play, which was entitled “How to Say Stop” little by little, a change started to occur in Fabio. He settled into his environment and was engaging in the activities. The tone of his voice changed and he was engaging in conversation with a boy of his same age. His confidence was growing little by little. During the group reflection stage, the trainer asked Fabio to express his feelings by asking him a range of questions from “What did you feel today?” “What did you like?”, “What didn’t you enjoy?” These types of questions encouraged Fabio to speak aloud in front of his group members. Some of the activities used were particularly useful on the day for learning processes for example “How to say STOP”, “The Blind and the Mute”, “The Sculptor and the Clay”
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The trainers assessed Fabio´s improvement throughout the day by direct observation. They firmly believed that all of the activities carried out really encouraged Fabio to speak out, express his feelings and needs, and instilled a sense of confidence in him. During one activity session, he said to another child “You have to treat me with respect, we are working together”!
Tom - Steal Nothing But Time.
Tom is a boy with learning disabilities and attention deficiency disorder. Tom comes from a good family background and in our preliminary conversation with his mother; he stated that he had problematic behaviour at school due to his strange hobby - collecting car emblems by taking them from parked cars. He carried out this activity with two of his friends. When we started the group he told us about “his hobby” of taking the emblems from the cars. He found the activity “cool” and didn´t feel he wasn’t doing anything wrong. We tried to carry out a discussion group on this issue, and asked the children what was their opinion on the matter, without judging Tom. We tried to show him that this behaviour is an act of aggression towards somebody’s property. Our expectations were that he will realise the extent of her actions, and to realise on some level that this behaviour is wrong. He told us about a situation when he and his friends took an emblem of a car and the owner of the car saw them and started running after them shouting. They managed to escape. We played out that situation in the group in a psychodramatic way with role reversal. When he played the role of the owner of the car Tom stated that he too would have been very angry and annoyed if some children decided to take property from his car that did not belong to them. Other children took different roles in the play and they said how they felt during the play. After he heard their feedback he said that maybe it is not so “cool” anymore. After a couple of sessions he told us that he had stopped stealing car emblems.
is “different” from the others. Tom’s friends taunt the boy and call him nasty names, not wanting to disappoint his friends; Tom joins in on the name calling. He states that he feels bad for doing this to the boy, and was afraid that if he stands up for the boy, he will lose his friends. We had a discussion about this topic, and each participant had the opportunity to contribute their views and share their experiences on this topic. Also he told us about a boy in his class who was a victim of aggression. He said that the boy is “different” and probably he had some mental problems. His friends call the boy bad names. Once the discussion was complete, Tom had a changed view on the actions he was carrying out and the effects that it has on other people.
Tom also went on talk about a situation he was having in school. There is a boy in his class, who
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What participants say about TranSpace Did TranSpace work for you?
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articipants who attended the workshops were interviewed for this booklet, the following section contains some of their reflections about their experience of the TranSpace project.
We hope you enjoy reading their comments and find similarities between our participants and the young people you are working with!
Fundacion Intras - Spain
Too bad it’s over. Really liked the work done on the topic of bullying, it helped me understand what to do if it happens to me or my teammates. I also had the opportunity to know more about my fellow students. These workshops have been very beneficial for me. I’ve suffered from bullying in the past and it was a challenging but rewarding to share my experiences with my classmates and to discover that they’ve also been in similar situations. It has been a great experience for me, I really enjoyed the activities and I had lots of fun. Thanks to these workshops I was able to experience some lovely moments with my classmates, I discovered new things about them and reflected on bullying, how it exists in many different ways, physical, verbal, online… and that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.
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I found these sessions very helpful, I learned a lot about my classmates, their hobbies and past experiences.
Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands E.V, - Germany Agostin: I found the bullying workshops to be very helpful. I am now able to help someone who is being bullied or help someone who is bullying to stop doing it. Nadine: It’s very difficult to fight peer pressure Jussuf: It’s difficult to describe exactly what bullying is, but now I know more about it. Nadine: I’m glad that I didn’t feel like an outsider. Cengiz: Now I know what bullying really means. Sibel: I can now see the bigger picture Yussuf: Do I only see what I want to see? Cem: At the beginning I felt scared during the trust exercises, but then I began to feel stronger and stronger. Aysa: I have never heard myself crying out so loudly before. Dennis: Wow, screaming is energy Nadine: Teamwork can be difficult Christian: We really had to think hard to come up with strategies.
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Mike: I like talking to people and meeting new people. I got along well with many of my classmates prior to these workshops and we continue to get on well with each other.
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Promente Upper Austria - Austria
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Mike: I like talking to people and meeting new people. Mr. Cool made me stronger – 19 year old male after the Stay Cool activity I now know what my limitations are and how far I can push myself (Boy, 17) It was exciting and challenging that we had to find the target point on our own (Boy, 16) Whilst carrying out the Day in Space activity out in the nature, where they to orientate themselves in the forest on their own. (Boy, 16)
(Girl, 18) during the Day in Space activity, whereby they had to orientate and find their own path and finish the exercises as a team.
BorgoRete - Italy
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Only nice people can come inside our castle, bad people must stay outside (Sana, 11 years old) Being in a position to help others, you must first understand them (Vittorio, 12 years old) You can’t buy trust, you have to earn it (Albina, 14 years old)
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Team work is important, I’ve only realised this now, as we got on so well as a group, working together.
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I learnt the most during exercises where I had to cross my boundaries and get pushed to the limit. That was challenging and it’s good to do something that is a challenge, that way we can learn more (Boy, 22)
Methodology Implementation Evaluated
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ranSpace aimed to provide children suffering from mental health disorders and learning difficulties with the necessary tools, mechanisms and mental constellations to be able to protect themselves mentally from peer and domestic violence and to be able to understand the concept of violence as a complex phenomenon that should be reflected upon in relation to various social environments. To fulfil this aim the project devised a new methodology – based on the fluid notion of space and on relational paradigm – to be implemented throughout six workshops in five different countries. Given that one exists only through a social relation with the other, the methodology, when implemented, strived to offer the target group the mental capacity to transform their intimate and social space into a shield of safety and a space of mutually respectful creative action, where individuals can co-exist in a space of respectful mutuality. A crucial concern with the methodology application was the intense prevalence of low self-esteem in the target group. This appeared as the common denominator and the general engine not only stimulating violent episodes but also making it impossible for their victims to ward off the perpetrators. A significant amount of attention has therefore been placed on increasing the level of self-esteem with youngsters, not only by reaffirming their mental positions of personal boundaries within the scope of social relations, but also exploring various roles and shifts in social positions and so maintaining the target groups’
capacity to inhabit their own space regardless of the played-out changes in social circumstances. The partners who have been developing the methodology have taken the view that the issue of self-esteem as a mental category arising within a social context and through relational dynamics is something to be dealt with in the context of social relations and interactions. This is why group work and its internal dynamics has been the focal point of the overall methodological approach. What seemed striking in the feedback from the workshops was an explicit and common appreciation by the children that by getting to know their school mates better in a personal way they have been able to: l learn about what others are like in a more profound and intimate manner
l understand what their values and beliefs are l realise what fears haunt them
Quite amazingly, most of the groups have expressed a sincere appreciation that they are now able to relate to their mates on a whole new level, bonding and sharing as never before. Moreover, given the target group feedback it seems that methodologies of this sort – increasing the social skills, trust and interpersonal group dynamics – are not only beneficial, but almost necessary for the youngsters to collaborate in creating a pleasant social environment with personalized and empathic dynamic between its members.
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This finding goes beyond violence-fighting methodologies; it’s a general statement about the nature of human relations: the more we know each other, the more we learn about the particular traits of individual group members, the less able we are to see them as objects to be denigrated and the more able we are to see them as interesting and unique human beings. This intelligence, taken from the target groups’ feedback, argues in favour of methodologies, working on interpersonal skills and group dynamics, as being not just preferred but necessary if the group is to function long term without internal dynamics of brutal divisions between “us” and “the others”. Interestingly, the youngsters demonstrated a natural inclination to approach others and to see who they are “for real”; and it is this spontaneous interest that has the power to improve the group dynamics developing explicit empathy and comradeship. In a way, this project wasn’t so much about inventing defence strategies for individuals victims of violence as much as an innovative and successful preventative measure for violence amongst peers, born out of the group members coming to see each other as unique, interesting and wonderful human beings. In short, the group members came to see what empathy is and what miraculous effects it has. And this, in a way, is how self-esteem is increased and how people fee protected – through a supporting and understanding social environment. Another finding worth mentioning was that the progress of the target groups and how the
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feedback of its members grew more and more positive from one workshop to another. There was an evident increase in the respective groups feeling safe during the activities, its members feeling free to be themselves during the workshops, feeling accepted by others, feeling stronger due to the workshop, feeling respected by others and having a good time during the workshop. It seems that the target group members felt more and more confident to let go in the workshop and embrace it, to go with the flow and to allow themselves to open up to the experience of the unexpected. The only statement that received positive, albeit mixed reviews, was about whether the workshop made them feel stronger. It seems that the groups felt more impact in the workshops in terms of their interpersonal and group dynamics than it did in terms of individuals gaining personal strength. In a way this seems a positive result: one can only truly feel stronger if they feel that their personal space is safe within a group. The main criterion by which we should assess the quality and the impact of these workshop therefore, isn’t the individuals within the group reporting their newly gained personal strength, but these same individuals feeling accepted and safe within a shared space, i.e. feeling secure over their own space and feeling inclined to enter into a shared one through a set of mutual interactions. And if this is indeed the criterion we look at in the evaluation of the workshops, we can easily say that they served their purpose in every respect.
Conclusions Some thoughts to reflect upon
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n conclusion, we found the psychodrama sessions which dealt with bullying were appropriate to tackle such a sensitive topic. Psychodrama is an ideal method approaching an issue such as bullying which affects so many young people directly or indirectly. The positive feedback reported by the participants indicates that these exercises can be used for different target groups and can bring positive results within a short period of time. A relatively small group of 10 people allows group work and also to dedicate some time to individuals. Smaller groups provide a safe environment for children who have difficulty expressing their opinions to participate in group discussions giving everyone a chance to express themselves. Alternating games and theory in the sessions helped participants to gain knowledge of bullying and to deal with feelings of exclusion and guilt. Working together with their peers has helped our students to improve group dynamics, establish harmony within the group, allowing the exchange of experiences and opinions in the TranSpace workshops. The project itself was very interactive and challenging. It was very interesting to see the personal development of each person. We witnessed the participants creating a safe environment through games and play. One of the students in our group was particularly
victimised in the past making him very reluctant and shy. It was very rewarding to observe him transforming into a person who can be part of a group and stand up for himself and say “NO” as the workshops progressed. The trainees also benefited from the experience, it allowed us to feel safer in intergroup communications and share our thoughts with confidence. Overall, the workshops were very successful. The participants had fun as well as learning to express their feelings and saying “NO” if they are uncomfortable in any situation. As each group had very different needs, we as trainers, tried to meet their expectations while allowing the youngsters to gain as much skills and experience as necessary, building on their self-confidence the whole time. Any change that was made to the structure of the workshops was first approved by a qualified social worker. The exchange visits were a very positive experience – the youngsters had the opportunity to learn about different cultures and meet new people. For one boy in particular, it was his first time on a plane and travelling abroad to a new country. Furthermore during the sessions, the three youngsters who taught the dance classes had the opportunity do the exchange workshops together with the trainers and also to teach the classes, which was a huge boost for their confidence.
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We found the theoretical and methodological framework of the TranSpace training to be very effective. All aspects of the training, psychodrama, role play, and theatre have proven to be very effective and successful for all participants involved. We incorporated other expressive techniques such as drawing and collages into our training programme and we found these methods to be very successful. We especially found it useful when the youngsters were shy or too embarrassed to express themselves physically or vocally. With regards to the target group, we’ve noted that it would be beneficial to include not only victims and children with special needs, but also youths who have problems with aggressive behaviour. A stable acquisition of abilities and relational competences would require a longer intervention time, and the participation of the children’s families. We believe that it could be beneficial to organise a meeting with the children’s parents so as to gain a better insight from them and to receive any feedback they might have. Some of the feedback we received from parents was that the methodology used was effective and that their children are calmer at home. They understood what aggression was, could verbalise it and became more tolerant to other people’s difficulties.
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We experienced some problems with children missing sessions and drop outs from the group. We had to take into consideration that when the children are not residential and therefore had to be brought and collected by a parent for each session, and sometimes they needed to be absent from school in order to attend, there is a bigger risk of missing sessions. Our experience from the workshops shows that the children should be assessed very carefully before admitted into the group, and that we should consider their age, and the nature and acuteness of their problem when determining the size of the group and the duration of the sessions. Our practice confirmed the theory that it is more suitable for participants aged between 8-12 years to work in small groups – 4 children maximum with 2 trainers. Overall, we were very happy to have engaged in such a professional and successful programme. This experience has taught us that a serious supervision process is necessary for the trainers. If we were to make a recommendation, we would suggest extending the length of the programme, particularly for the bullying workshops.
In conclusion, it was an excellent project and we’re disappointed that it’s over.
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Contact Details If you have any questions… For more details about the organizations involved in TranSpace, please check out TranSpace Website. http://www.TranSpaceproject.eu
Project Co-ordinator Sara M Ispierto Email: Proyectos3@intras.es Website: www.intras.es
Nataša Vihar
Email: Natasa.Vihar@um.si Website: www.um.si
Dr Galabina Tarashoeva
Email: cpz_ns@abv.bg Website: www.cpz-ns.com
Andrea Viertelmayr
Email: viertelmayra@promenteooe.at Website: www.promenteooe.at
Michela Lupi
Email: m.lupi@consorzioabn.it Website: www.consorzioabn.it/it
Gesa Schiller
Email: Gesa.Schiller@cjd.de National Website: www.cjd.de Regional Website: www.cjd-frechen.de
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Roy Smith
Email: roy.smith@mrsconsultancy.com Website: www.mrsconsultancy.com
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