What I can do children’s pictures
Making a drama What “Being the outsider” can mean
1 A Space to Speak Up
A Space to Speak Up 2
Contents
A warm welcome – or welcome back – to Issue 2 of A Space to Speak Up We have had a very encouraging response to our 1st edition in December 2013. Have a look on page 26 and you will see some comments from readers from all walks of life. We want to hear more because this magazine is for you and we want to feature the kinds of issues that you feel are important in the project. This time round the focus is on the local workshops that partners are running with various groups of young people in their own countries. There is an inspiring range of different activities taking place with all kinds and ages of youngsters in Austria, Bulgaria and Germany. We also have some reflections on how the workshops have been going in Spain. We will continue to feature the workshops with our next issue covering the activities in Italy and the exchange visits between partners.
ace? What is Transitional Sp e are Local workshops – wher at happens they taking place and wh young “What I can do” – from children in Bulgaria Profiles of the trainers: Maya from Bulgaria D Who are the partners? CJ s Frechen and MHC provide some answers
3-4 5
We are also keen in A Space to Speak Up to tell you who is involved in the project and what they do - as you may want to become involved and use some of the methods and exercises that we employ. So two more partner organisations and trainers are featured and the Borgorete team explain just what our core notion of Transitional Space can mean. So, exciting times for Transpace, and more to come over the next few months.
But we are very keen to know what you think and what you are doing in the area. We want to hear from you so If you have relevant events such as workshops, conferences or exhibitions or interesting web sites and social media then please get in touch with me and the team on info@transpaceproject.eu
g people Making a drama – youn mily from Austria explore fa relationships
18 - 20
Pages 18 - 20
8 - 10 11 12 - 13
15 - 16 “Being the outsider” – oups in Germany some role playing by gr 17 Profiles of the trainers: Andrea from Austria Page 21
21
s from Spain Report on the workshop g Journey Reflections on a Learnin Regular features: Comics Reader comments
What’s coming up
24 22-23 26 27-28
Production team Editor – Roy Smith Design and graphics – The MRS Consultancy Illustrations and editorial assistant – Jack Robert Smith
We would like to hear from you, the readers, about what you thought of our magazine – and – do you have anything that might help us spread our message.
If so email Roy Smith at info@transpaceproject.eu
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Transitional Space The notion of Transitional Space is at the heart of the Transpace project. Michela Lupi and Letizia Bargelli from, Borgorete, our Italian partner based in Perugia, explain what lies behind the concept. There is a psychic reality, which is an inner and personal reality. There is external reality, which is objective and separate. There is inner and there is external. But are these two realities really all that there is? Where are we when we listen to a symphony by Beethoven, when we contemplate a work of art? Where is a child while he’s playing, sitting on the floor? Where are adolescents when they daydream?
In order to answer these questions, it is necessary, according to the paediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicot (1896-1971), to hypothesise a “third intermediate area of experience, to which external and inner realities both contribute”; a sacred space which, like a bridge, lies between the individual and the environment. It is a space which allows to understand how it is possible to “keep inner and external realities separate and, at the same time, interrelated”.
A Space to Speak Up 4 The first experience of this “third area” belongs with childhood, when a shift occurs between an initial state of omnipotence and fusion with the mother figure, to a time when the child begins to perceive him/herself as separate from the mother and begins to experience the “non-me”, perceiving objects and phenomena as outside his/her omnipotent control. “It is the place, in terms of space and time in which, in the mind of the child, the mother transitions from being as one with the child to being, on the other hand, an object perceived rather than conceived” (Winnicot, 1971). If the child enjoys a “sufficiently good” mother, who is able to instil trust and selfconfidence, the transitional space will become an infinite area of separation, which the lactating baby first, and later the child, the adolescent and the
Paintings by Ciro Palumbo:
Ciro Palumbo is an Italian painter from Turin. His paintings are a magical journey into unknown worlds, populated by dreams, mythological figures, colourful toys, silent moons and flying islands; where the stars live inside little houses, like they live inside of us.”
www.palumbociro.it
adult will fill with play, creativity and imagination. The transitional experience, in fact, exists at all ages, and does not only refer to a specific phase of development. In the adult, it is the space of “play, artistic creativity, religious sentiment, dream, and also of fetishism, of stealing, of the origin of loss of affectionate sentiment...” (Winnicott, 1971). Letizia is the one in the orange tshirt
Michela
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Introduction to Workshops What we are trying to do in the workshops The Transpace project is currently in the “workshop phase” in which the trainers and support staff from partners are working closely with groups of vulnerable youngsters in a series of learning sessions. It is in these workshops that we aim to achieve our goals for the training: l Protect children and youth suffering from emotional and behaviour disorders from violence. l Reduce violence, bullying in young people. l Foster self-prevention of violence. l Help our target groups to transform/manipulate their space to self-protection. l Built a strong self-esteem among our target groups. l Empower individuals suffering from emotional and behaviour disorders l Teach victims to promote empathy in aggressors. l Create a safe group / safe space for our target groups. One of the many challenges facing the project and partners is the variety of target groups – ages, contexts, cultures. But this is also one of our strengths because it encourages and promotes a broader understanding of the issues and the sharing good practices. We can now have a look at some of the activities that took place in Sofia (Bulgaria), Linz (Austria) and Frechen (Germany). Some reflections follow from Intras on their workshops in Valladolid (Spain).
In our next edition we join workshops in Perugia (Italy) and see what happened when the youngsters and partners exchange some of what they have learnt and experienced as they visit each other’s countries to learn and work together. We can only give you a flavour of what the workshops were trying to achieve and how the youngsters took part. In the Autumn of 2014 the project will be publishing a guide to the project and its methodology.
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d “Prof. N. Shipkovenski” Lt The Mental Health Center fia district in Bulgaria So e th r fo e ic rv se al ip ic (MHC) is a mun ld of litation activities in the fie bi ha re al ci so d an g in at oper es health. The Center provid l ta en m d an s er rd so di l menta services in: ed approach nt psychiatric help l Inpatient and outpatie cy psychiatric l Night and day emergen care
psychiatric help l Child and adolescent tivities l Forensic psychiatric ac
projects MHC also works in European ANIC, RG HO and partnerships such as jec pro t it is the and Peer2Peer and for this the project’s lead partner in developing ch is the Methodology. This approa t and requires jec innovative core of the pro ucture the MHC to help define and str and prepare the methodological framework integrate notions training programmes that ctices of of transitional space and pra psychodrama ch to Galabina The role of MHC owes mu of MHC and the Tarashoeva, the manager nter Orpheus. Dr Director of Psychodrama Ce mber of FEPTO Tarashoeva is founding me ychodrama (Federation of European Ps active member of Training Organizations) and e is a member of its research committee. Sh P (International the Board of Directors of IAG otherapy). Association of Group Psych
Child centr ace is on its The focus of MHC in Transp years living work with children under 18 mental and h wit in Sofia municipal region m is led by a Child conduct disorders. The tea ical psychologist who psychiatrist and Child clin cover a range of services: rning disorders l Development and lea , Dyscalculia) (Dyslexia, Dysgraphia ter events, l Adjustment disorder (af ding to changes in causing stress and lea behavior) l Anxiety disorders e disorder l Obsessive-compulsiv
ractivity Disorder. l Attention Deficit Hype Conduct disorders l Emotional disorders, nt disorders l Pervasive developme orders) (autistic spectrum dis l Mood disorders l Schizophrenia
l Mental retardation
Dr. Gabi Tarashoeva
7 A to Speak Up Up 7 Space A Space to Speak
MHC works with many oth er organisations, groups and institutions to provide both long and short term therapeutic programmes including child protection agencies, foster families, orphanages, institu tions for children and adolescents with cognitive and emotional difficulties, the Regional Inspectorate of Education and the Medical Commission for the Evalua tion of Disabilities.
Maya
The work on Transpace wil l be in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Ward of Mental Health Center “Pr of. N. Shipkovenski� where the fac ilities and support staff will ensure the most conducive context for the development of the young people and the tools they will need to combat aggressive behavi our and maintain their own space.
a
dinov
Kosta
The outside of the building
Natalia Borislavova
After the party!
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MHC Workshop rkshop
Our Firs
ve Wo t Creati
ne of in the o e c la p ops: ok worksh what to e s h t in la p x Maya e children orkshop like to w e v ti a cre “What I our first the topic used pencils n “During o s g o drawin good at. They ey had to d tures. Th m a ic I p t ir a e h th w uch do do and p very m n pers to o a h p s l u rk rf o and colo xpecting that w ere asking whe ey w red were e e time th w. We discove . th ll a e s ra to d them becau re going ities in some of they we il l with b u a lf ry skil artistic e v d e te b c e to tion. unexp appened a lot of imagina es h m e th One of to have at he lik d said th sors and the scis drew a book an ll although he is e very we a lot of Other on and read ll of them had g in d a re a much. t for sure enjoyed it very u B . ic x dysle fun and that ere glad .” w y e th s n e sessio of their drawing nd of th e s e re th tu t A pic we took
The first groups the MHC ran were with young children 8-11 years old. The groups proved to be a handful as one of the team remarked “…Maybe we would do a smaller group for that age and the session shorter, because nearly half of the children in the group have a problem with attention”. But despite these difficulties the children after the last session thought the workshops successful “All of them said that they wished we had more sessions and the group didn’t have to finish and that they enjoyed it very much. They separated as friends. They did photos in the corridor.”
9 A Space to Speak Up
On the back
I am good at reading books watching TV and playing on the computer
I am good at creating a football playground
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The castle of the evil queen of darkness
Creating a “safe space“
The objecti ve was to c rea own safe s pace and le te boundaries around arn when, how much for whom a to open it. nd The childre think abou n were told t their favo to u rite hero an that hero, to d to becom organize th e eir children we re given diff place and so on. The e a rope…th ey began to rent clothes, hats an d play. After trainers we that the MH nt to each of them to C tell his/her s to ry . Here are s ome of the ir safe spa ces
A castle o f sports
forest e h t n i e A hous
A carriage of wishes
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Hi, my name is Maya
I work as Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Mental Health Center in Sofia, Bulgaria.
I was born in a small town in the eastern part of the country 30 years ago. When I was little my parents moved to live in Sunny beach, which is at the seaside of the Black Sea. Actually it is famous tourist destination. It is very sunny and beautiful place. I love it because in the summer it is full of people from different countries and you can meet many interesting people there. I grew up there. I graduated from Commercial High School in Bourgas. But I have always wanted to help people
I love travelling, meeting new people and discovering new cultures. In my leisure time I like going out and meeting my friends. I like sport as well. I take step aerobics classes which I like very much because it is refreshing and cheery sport. My participation in this project is a real challenge. I am interested in psychodrama and especially psychodrama with children. I took part in some psychodrama trainings, including with children. When I heard about that project I decided it is a
so that’s why I decided to study Medicine. In
great opportunity to learn more, to
2002 I moved to the capital Sofia and started my
experience and to see things in
education. In the university I met a lot of friends.
practice. Our first group has just
We had to study a lot but when we could we had
finished. We had our challenging
a lot of partying too. We really had a good time
moments but all in all we all
together. Some of them are my closest friends till
enjoyed it very much and had
now.
really good time together.
I graduated university in 2008 and a year later I started my four-year training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at “Alexandrovska”. University Hospital. I finished my residency a few months ago and now I am working as a Child and
Participants became friends. Nobody of them wanted the group to finish. I am looking forward for
Adolescent Psychiatrist at Mental
starting
Health Center. What I actually do
the new group.
is consulting with children who different mental problems and giving support to their families, as well as advising and prescribing medications when needed.
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CJD is a large, nationwide organisation for youth, education and social work. Every year CJD offers orientation and future prospects to 150,000 adolescents and young adults. More than 8000 employees in over 150 locations offer support and teach skills providing education. CJD Frechen is a Vocational Training Centre. The main aim of CJD Frechen is the vocational and social rehabilitation of youngsters and young adults in the region around Cologne. Mostly the participants are learning handicapped and in risk of social exclusion. About 250 young adults live in our boarding home during a two or three years vocational training. Others commute between their home and their working place. We offer vocational training in more than 20 different working fields. Our goal is the officially acknowledged final examination. The vocational school is located on the campus as well. The teaching contents are taught practically in workshops and theoretically in school. There is a strong emphasize on supporting the trainees in an individual way. Additional to adapted framework conditions like e.g. learning in small classes a team of pedagogues, psychologists and social workers supports each participant individually. The trainees are also trained in social competences, especially teamwork and communication. There are four key
competences, which are anchored in the guidelines of CJD: sports, religious-, musical- and political education. Amongst others CJD is cooperating with the following institutions: l Politics in the Province Bergheim, City of Cologne, Region North-Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Republic of Germany. l The social, youth and health administration on each level in the country. l Employers and Enterprises l The National agency of labour with local and regional departments. l Universities and High Schools in the province and city l Psychologists, hospitals and other important stakeholders in the German Public Health System
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Work The main emphasis of our work is professional and social rehabilitation. In CJD BBW Frechen 250 young women and men live and study during their rehabilitation during which they receive vocational training in over 25 professions. The training ends with an examination at the responsible chambers for industry and trade. An experienced team of instructors, teachers, social education workers and psychologists accompanies and supports the rehabilitation process. The process is completed with close collaboration with our partners.
Target groups Our rehabilitation program is primarily aimed at young people who have left special schools for educationally handicapped people or from a junior high school who, due to their special needs, are not able to find or complete any training vacancy on the general training market. Reason for this lack often
are learning handicaps or/ combined with mental health problems. To support them the best way, an experienced team of instructors, teachers, social education workers and psychologists accompanies and supports the rehabilitation process.
International work CJD - BBW Frechen is engaged in the international work for many years, which includes projects with various partners in Spain, Austria, the UK, Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary and many more. Currently we are partners in the EU - Programmes Transpace (http://www.transpaceproject.eu/de/), Outart (http://outart.intras.es/), Horganic (http://horganic.intras.es/) and 3in1, for which we do not yet have a homepage.
International Projects
rts
Leisure Time & Spo
A Space to Speak Up 14
Bullying and what you can do against it!
Martin Kroeber of CJD Frechen led a 2 day workshop with a group of young people in their late teens. We hope to see more of their work in a later edition of A Space to Speak Up but these are the activities that they got up to on their first day
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SMS for all those who... Objective: The promotion of co-operation within a learning group. Revealing of similarities and differences creates reasons for communication.
What The participants sit on chairs in a happens: circle. There is one chair less than participants. The one who does not have a chair stands in the middle of the circle and says:
"SMS for all those who are wearing pink." Every participant who is wearing pink has to leave his chair and to sit down on a different one in the circle. The person who couldn't get a chair sends the next SMS.
Identifying and naming bullying Position barometer Objectives: l Insight into how different bullying is perceived l Finding the position within the topic "Bullying" What happens: Posters reading "0% approval" and "100% approval" are hanging at the front end of the room. The statements are presented to the participants. They have to decide on what position they take towards the "bullying statements"
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Powerlessness and Power as the main element of bullying “Being the outsider� - forming little groups, excluding other participants Objective: l Raising awareness for exclusion processes through personal experiences l Reflecting on the role of participants being out siders and bullies What happens: Participants leave the room. The remaining participants are divided into small groups. Their task: It’s Monday morning, they are in the schoolyard talking about the weekend.
One of the three participants is told to enter the room. He is instructed to take part in the conversation. Whenever he tries to get in touch with the others, the members of the group move very close to each other, thus preventing the one who has been called in to participate in the conversation. The workshop leader stops the exercise if the pressure exercised on single participants is getting too high. Then the remaining two participants are told to do the same. stops the exercise if the pressure exercised on single participants is getting too high. Then the remaining two participants are told to do the same.
on: Watch the movie=b ?v We0Oo5baGw www.youtube.com/watch
Leading others by the nose Objective:
Raising awareness for the ambivalence of one's own feeling of power
What happens:
The group is split up into pairs. Each pair has one ball. One participant has the ball and holds it close to his partner's nose. This one has to follow the ball with his nose no matter where his partner takes the ball. After 2 minutes the partners change roles.
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I´m Andrea, from Austria and I work as a trainer for pro mente Upper Austria I grow up in a small city with 5000 inhabitants
cultures and see other
in Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Close to the place
countries. In 2009 I got the
where I work now. Although in the meantime
change to move to Australia and
I have lived in different places in Austria and
was lucky to stay there for a bit
abroad - but let´s start at the beginning.
more than a year and experience the way of life in
First I thought I want to become a Kindergarten pedagogue. But after finishing my education I worked in the summer holidays as a kindergarten
OZ with sunny beaches and great weather. After that I spend 6 months in New York City, and had a blast in the “City that never sleeps”.
pedagogue and I could not imagine working
In 2011 I came back to Austria and shortly
with small children for my whole life. Although
after that I settled down in Leonding, near Linz
I wanted to work in a job where I interact with
with my partner. We live in a house with a great
people. That was the reason why I went to study
garden where we enjoy every minute of summer
Social Work in St. Pölten, Lower Austria.
time. But, it is not only the summer time, which
In 2003 I moved to Vienna and enjoyed living in a big city with all the cultural and pulsing social life. You especially enjoy that when you are still a student. Although I loved being in Vienna, I always was keen to travel around and get to know different
I like. I also enjoy the wintertime, outside in the countryside, either snowboarding or cross country skiing. My work at pro mente right now, is a mixture of coordinating EU projects and carrying out workshops for youngsters. In my daily work previously, I did more of organizational, scientific work and less work with the youngsters itself, but it is very fruitful and useful work that makes a lot of sense for myself and I hope for the youngsters, too.
A Space to Speak Up 18
Workshops The team at pro mente, based in Linz, Austria, has taken advantage of some unique facilities to support its groups of young people. Here we can have a look at what happened when the group had “A Day in Space” and when they used the theatre facilities at KUK, the art and culture club of pro mente.
A Day in Space “Cool event. Snow and frost – real fun!” If someone had the chance to watch a group of 16 to 19 year old girls and boys at 8:30 am on a cold and frosty morning in Linz (Upper Austria) they would have seen the following scene: all of them standing in a circle gesticulating with fingers, arms, feet - and sometimes with the whole body! That was the way the youngsters introduced themselves to each other. With this and other fun
kind of games we created a safe atmosphere to hear more about the main topic of the day: the role of boundaries in space and ways of speaking and communicating. In several role playing games they experienced different kind of situations and how to react in a safe place. The youngsters’ feedback for the first day was a wholehearted.
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Story for the Creative Workshop Improvisational theatre:
“I never experienced being a parent as that difficult�. This quote is from a girl who played the mother in our little improvisational theatre story. This picture shows her (the blonde) as a mother, her husband is the one sitting at the table. Here, the daughter is the other girl. She came home late from having a night out. Her parents were still up in the kitchen and waiting for her. The mother was very strict and the father was more a liberal and a nice dad.
Her there is the mother, the father, the pizza delivery guy (with the orange t-shirt) and the brother of the father in the grey shirt. In this scene it is the day after the event that the girl came home late. The brother (in grey) is living in the same house as the rest of the family. He is always drunk and unemployed and a coach potato. The delivery guy was sent away the first time as no one ordered pizza. In the end it showed that the brother ordered it with the money of the mother. She got very angry. The guy who was playing the delivery guy afterwards said that he learned that it is not good to interrupt in certain discussion.
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In the picture below the daughter is telling her parents that she is pregnant. At the same time the mother is shocked and is telling her, that she too is pregnant. The father is not her husband - it is the brother of him, the coach potato. Everyone is shocked and the daughter is faints and falls to the floor.
In the picture above everyone is in the family house - even the delivery guy, still waiting for his money. The daughter is looking out of her room, as the police man is here. The guy with the black/reddish t-shirt. He is here as the son of the brother (the guy left in the grey long sleeve shirt). He was dealing with drugs at school and even taking drugs and the police caught him and brought him home. The police was having a discussion with the father of the “drug dealer”. When the police came in everyone was in shock and very quiet.
This was the end picture – the “wrap”. Everyone was posing to express how they felt during the workshop. Everyone had the chance to step forward and take a “fake” picture themselves.
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Report on the workshops in Spain * Annalisa Pellegrini – She is a Clinical Psychologist and expert on ADHD: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. She has four years of experience working with children and youth. To understand diversity not as a resource, but as a stigmatizing element, is something that participants of the Transpace workshops, know well. Some of them have moved from one school to another trying to find new people, appearing to be happy and smiling, but carefully trying to avoid the pain of being bullied again. The first activity aimed to create an atmosphere of openness. It was important to create a place where everyone felt safe, free to talk about anything and where everyone showed respect to their companions. Role-play games, ice-breakers, group dynamics, counselling, moments for reflection and lots of fun were used to discuss bullying and to encourage the participants’ feedback. Little by little, workshops started to engage the participants, they began to show enthusiasm together with the need to open up and talk about certain topics. Some activities turned out to be interesting for both the participants and trainers: “Magic Castle” was one of them. Participants were asked to think about their safe place and share it to their peers; it was a good chance to share and become more open
* Clare Conboy – has a joint BA in Fine & History of Art, with further training in Young Adult Leadership. She has three years experience of working on youth committees and artistic programmes. to the benefits of intimacy. “Super-hero”: If you were a super-hero, what powers would you like to have? We talked about facing the evil powers of others and how the participants would like to protect themselves and their loved ones. This provided a clue for the next sessions. “Role-playing” consisted of performing both the role of victim and aggressor, neither role had good feelings attached to them! After six sessions some changes became noticeable, even the most resistant youngsters participated in the activities! They began to feel like members of the group. They grew more confident in sharing their thoughts, knowing how and when to speak, how best to be respectful of others beliefs and how to identify when other people do not show respect for their beliefs! The participants are now more aware of their abilities, of their value and their limitations. The participants were excited about the project, both they and their trainers wanted the workshops to continue. The empowerment of learning to “deal with daily life” is something that requires more long term training; this was just the beginning for them.
A Space to Speak Up 22
23 A Space to Speak Up
A Boy
Airplanes
Airplanes A story…a conversation
A Space to Speak Up 24
Throughout his years at school, teachers reported that Lucas had difficulty paying attention, with abstract thought processes and deficiency in language and vocabulary abilities in relation to the level expected for children of his age. In schools he previously attended he had serious problems with bullying and he did not want to continue in his studies. Another challenge for Lucas were his social skills: he was unable to interact successfully with the people who surrounded him. He was not aware of his mistakes: in his eyes, he was better than his companions, and tried to spend as little time as possible with them; he did not want to be stigmatized by being associated with those people! During the early sessions, Lucas was not active and participated very little; he frequently tried to point out his fellow participants’ difficulties. In group situations, he often tried to hold the attention of the group, presenting himself as the leader.. As the sessions progressed, he began to want to participate more in the group activities, he started to think about the feelings of others and to respect his companions. Lucas has now helped another participant with physical difficulties several times to facilitate his participation in some activities, even though it results in his inability to take a leadership role. We cannot say it is a happy ending, but it seems like a very good start.  
Lucas, 23 years old.
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Professionals from six different European countries met in Frechen (Germany) to set new challenges in preventing violence in children and youth.
The TRANSPACE Project is funded by the Daphne Programme of the European Union. A report from Sara M Ispierto Professionals from six European countries met in Frechen (Germany) over two days in order to establish a plan of action for 2014, confirm objectives and to further share and improve their expertise and practices. The organisations in attendance were the INTRAS Foundation from Spain, CJD Frechen (Germany), pro mente Upper Austria (Austria),
Borgorete (Italy), Mental Health Center (Bulgaria) and The MRS Consultancy (United Kingdom). The exchange of experiences and ideas was particularly interesting. Following the feedback at this meeting, we can say with confidence that the current pilot courses in progress are essential tools for identifying potential areas of action to establish more equal relationships between participants and their environments.
For more information about the project and its impact: www.transpace.eu
Partners also took the opportunity to tour round CJD Frechen. Senior Executive manager, Markus Besserer, explained how the young people that CJD supported are producing goods and services for the local economy.
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Readers Comments
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Web site www.groupwork. org.cn/ EngNews/ 2013927111124795. html
Web site: http://conference. pixel-online.net/ foe2013/
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