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Courage is Fear that has said its Prayers

Kate Hudgins, Ph.D., TEP, as  a guest on the Trauma Therapist 2.o podcast discussing the topic Courage is Fear that has said its Prayers, with Guy Macpherson.

Kate is all about experiential therapy, and specifically psychodrama. Experiential therapy, as you’ll learn in this interview, involves a certain immediacy from the people involved. It demands courage from both the client and therapist, and it has an incredible power to heal.

Kate is an inspirational leader and a stellar trainer known worldwide for her innovative model of safe and effective trauma treatment.

Click Here to listen to the Podcast.

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Containment 1⁄4 Safety with Action Methods

INTRODUCTION

According to research on neurobiology (Rausch, van der Kolk, et al., 1996), we now know that intense dissociated affect can cause retraumatization of the brain by overwhelming it with the very same emotions that were never expressed, or simply experienced, and then stored in the right brain during traumatic experiences (Hug, 2013). The Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM), was developed clinically and modified classical doubling in 1993 (Toscani and Hudgins) to address these observations several years before the initial re-traumatization study using MRIs by Rausch, van der Kolk, et al. (1996). This study showed that uncontrolled catharsis overwhelmed the brain by taking it back to the past rather than, as Zerka Moreno (personal communication, 2002) has taught us, bringing the past to the present.

Read complete article here

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Fundamentals of Psychodrama 1st ed. 2020 Edition

If you are looking for a great book to read Dr. Kate Hudgins highly recommends Fundamentals of Psychodrama 1st ed. 2020 Edition, written by Falko von Ameln and Jochen Becker-Ebel.

Check it out on Amazon 

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Building Resilience in Youth with Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM) Psychodrama, working with Post High School in Bali, Indonesia

Written by Mario Cossa

Abstract This article in the journal Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie explores the foundations of resilience theory and the application of the Therapeu- tic Spiral ModelTM’s (TSM) form of psychodrama in building resilience in youth through increasing the internal locus of control and supporting the ability to internal- ize the positive regard of peers and adult mentors. The author describes a program developed to serve these goals while working with post-high-school youth, ages 17 to 19, in the Campuhan College Program in Bali, Indonesia.

Click Here to read the article.

 

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Psychodrama Revisited: Through the Lens of Internal Role Map of the Therapeutic Spiral Model to Promote Post Traumatic Growth

Abstract Classical psychodrama embodies the theory and practice of spontaneity and creativity as the goal of all methods of change. In today’s world of post-traumatic growth (PTG), this is a perfect match for the view of humans as resilient and always seeking growth, even following traumatic and often violent experiences. This article of the Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie details the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM), which is a trauma-informed, stage-process model to change the self-organization of people affected by trauma by using experiential methods. TSM presents the first internal role map for working with parts of self, developed through decades of clinical observation (Hudgins 2017, 2002). TSM connects with advances in clinical psychology on trauma and attachment, and the latest research on interpersonal neurobiology, and makes a crucial turn from interpersonal work in psychodrama to the focus on inner parts of self. The trauma survivor’s internal role atom (TSIRA) is presented as a three-stage model to guide all action methods when working with parts of self that include: Prescriptive (RX) roles, the TSM Trauma Triangle, and roles of transformation and post-traumatic growth (PTG). Composite examples are given from a lifetime practice in the global community to help bring the clinical structure of the internal role atom to life for inner parts work.

Click here to read the complete article

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The Effectiveness of Trauma-Focused Psychodrama in the Treatment of PTSD in Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment

By Scott Giacomucci & Joshua Marquit

Just writing to share of my new trauma-focused psychodrama research study, “The Effectiveness of Trauma-Focused Psychodrama in the Treatment of PTSD in Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment” in the Frontiers in PsychologyJournal.
This study comes from my work at Mirmont Treatment Center (Philadelphia area) demonstrating hopeful outcomes for the treatment of PTSD with trauma-focused psychodrama – the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM) & Relational Trauma Repair Model (RTR).

Results demonstrated over 25% decrease in PTSD symptoms for participants in Mirmont’s “Phoenix/Trauma Group” which is based on trauma-focused psychodrama. Considering the average patient only attended the group 4-5 times (2x per week), these results are quite meaningful and 2.5x the level of change in a residential trauma-focused CBT program with similar qualities.

Available here (full article available open access soon): https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00896/abstract
Abstract
This single group pretest-posttest study explores the effectiveness of trauma-focused psychodrama in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at an inpatient addiction treatment center. The results contribute to the limited research bases of both psychodrama and PTSD treatment outcomes in inpatient addiction treatment. The present study supports the potential effectiveness of two trauma-focused psychodrama models, the Therapeutic Spiral Model and the Relational Trauma Repair Model. Findings of the research demonstrate clinically significant reductions in overall PTSD symptoms (over 25% change) and each PTSD symptom cluster (i.e., re-experiencing and intrusion, avoidance and numbing, and hyper-arousal). Additionally, patient satisfaction exit survey data support overall treatment effectiveness and highlight its tolerability, and capacity for establishing emotional safety, connection, and group cohesion. Patients even described the trauma-focused psychodrama treatment approach as enjoyable and helpful. Overall, the results of this study are promising, and support continued clinical application of trauma-focused psychodrama treatment with other subpopulations diagnosed with PTSD. However, the ability to isolate effects of trauma-focused psychodrama in this study is compromised due to the absence of a control group and participants’ involvement in other inpatient treatment services.
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You Can’t Say That

By Anath Garber, PhD, TEP

Anath Garber is a friend and colleague whose expertise in psychotherapy and particularly the technique of psychodrama is very intriguing to me because I believe live theater can be religion and therapy and therapy as drama and healing may be the best invention since the wheel …

Listen to Part 1 Here

Listen to Part 2 Here

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Working with projective identification in the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM)

Working with projective identification in the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM)

by Ina Hogenboom

2-1-2020

TSM paper – projective identification

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Containment in Zagreb- Event Cancelled

I have had to cancel my workshop on Containment in Zagreb due to Trumps travel ban. I am deeply disappointed as I love this group and organizers Vedran Korusic, Ines Cokarić and team members Axel Eichel and Ina Hogenboom. We will move the workshop to our June dates.

Meanwhile, we will announce next week several Zoom efforts to connect people during this time of crisis. I will be offering a 4 week group on darling with the acute effects of the virus n how to contain the fear triggering off other traumas via TSM Psychodrama. Look for our eblast!

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India 2020

By Karen Drucker

Sitting by the pool after a swim looking out on the waters of the Arabian Sea surrounded by palm trees and listening to the sound of tropical birds. I am treating myself to two weeks of Ayurvedic treatment at a place in Kerala recommended by Jochen Becker called Isola di Cocco. Feels like a well deserved rest and commitment to my health after nine intensive days of therapeutic spiral workshops.

We had a four day workshop in Bangalore, making friends with defenses, then a travel day to Delhi to begin a four day on transforming the trauma triangle. Arriving the first morning of the Bangalore group was like greeting old friends. Most of the participants had been with us last year and it was wonderful to see familiar faces!

                                   Bangalore Workshop Participants

                                  New Delhi Workshop Participants

Steven Durost and I had a smooth and beautiful co-leadership dance.

It’s such a privilege to work with someone I love, respect, and feel so met and supported by in all aspects of the work. From planning to timing, switching between team leader and assistant leader in directing the dramas, working with participants and the team, we were like butter.

Sadhana, a team member in Delhi writes, “It’s heartening to see how you have teamed up with Steven to make TSM such a beautiful experience for us. I love to see the way you two adore each other, shift effortlessly into various roles with so much fluidity and understanding and make a remarkable role models of professional partners with touch of Being incorporated into it. Could the universe give us any better gift than having the opportunity to see and experience Dr Steven and Dr Karen! I guess not.. This is the best gift!”

They loved the teaching I designed on working with the trauma triangle with an individual, splitting into groups of three to practice.

We were invited to Rashmi Datt’s house for dinner one night. She is a PAT and is the trainer in the Delhi group. It was very special to go to her house, which took almost an hour in crazy Delhi traffic, but we laughed a lot and enjoyed ourselves.

I’m including a poem written by one of our protagonists the night after her drama. She entitled her drama “Priyanka Owning Her Power.” One of her hopes for the drama was feeling worthy of accepting an award that she would be receiving a few days later. The picture tells the story!!

Lost & Found
by Priyanka Dutta

I was born resourceful,
I was born beautiful!
But somewhere in this life’s journey,
I lost a part of me…

I kept looking for it here & there,
But was left with frustration & despair;
As trust walked away from me,
I lost my ‘confidence key’.

Unlocking my potential became difficult,
And I started believing it was my fault;
I relied on others to feel good,
And to my ‘SELF’ I became rude…

But in my quest, I found a loving community,
Who embraced me & set me free;
I can’t thank you enough,
For reconnecting me to my other half…

Today I again feel resourceful,
Today yet again I feel powerful;
Trust came back to me,
I found my ‘confidence key’.

I feel very inspired, nurtured and enriched by this time in India and the privilege of working with such terrific people. Gratitude to Dr. Jochen Becker for his initial invitation and for inviting us back for the next two years!!

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