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THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY  

P S Y C H O D R A M A   S E C T I O N
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[this letter is available also in French, Spanish, German, Italian  Portuguese & Swedish and will be sent around the world]


 

Dear fellow psychodramatists,

In the beginning of the century, a strange observation was made by a young Austrian man - J.L. Moreno - that people can resolve some of their emotional problems through role playing. He called this "psychodrama" and it rapidly became known as an effective method of group psychotherapy.
Later, he also founded sociodrama to improve the inter-cultural relations between various people. Today, psychodrama and sociodrama are used by thousands of practitioners in almost every part of the world. Thanks to the efforts of Zerka Moreno and many other teachers, Moreno's spirit continue to infuse the worldwide psychodrama movement to this very day.

However, we are now approaching a very decisive cross-roads. In the world of the 21st century, and as a relatively small approach, we have little choice but to accept globalization. Because the negative
consequences of doing things alone are far greater than doing them together. What we need is a recognizable face and voice; a recognizable entity for common policy, a kind of international umbrella organization for
psychodramatists that is far greater than the sum of its parts. With a broad framework of support, the Psychodrama Section of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy (founded by J.L. Moreno)could become the starting-point for such a unifying body and establish itself as a global
player in its own right. Some of the tasks would include ways of improving  the quality of psychodrama practice and training, the initiation of  international psychodrama events, as well as of supporting the funding of research, publications and the creation of new employment opportunities.

Many interrelated factors; political, economical and social, are involved in the development of such an international psychodrama framework within the Psychodrama Section of the IAGP. One factor, however, transcends all of the others; the need to be inclusive rather than exclusive in membership
recruitment. Inclusion is an historical and strategic necessity rather than a policy option. With enlargement, we will get what we did not have for a long time: growth and stimulation. Specifically, we would be able to
include students with limited economic means in our congresses and invite collegues from developing countries to join in. Thus, we might help creating some more bridges between people from various parts of the world. After all, we have assembled a wealth of resources, of which our long-lasting friendships are the most valuable.
 
In order to plan future action, we propose to hold a summit meeting of international psychodramatists. Naturally, because of the extensive efforts involved, such a meeting must be well planned beforehand and focus on specific issues of common interest. To this end, we need to construct an up-to-date directory of world-wide psychodramatists, so that we can include the input of as many involved parties as possible before the actual meeting.

This letter is a first step in this direction. If you are interested in participating in this endeavour, please fill out the form below and return it   as soon as possible. Please make a print and forward it also to other psychodramatists whom you know.

This will help us opening up the communication network so that our discussion can start. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Peter Felix Kellermann, Jorg Burmeister, Sue Daniel

 

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY

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- 14th Congress, Jerusalem, August 20-25, 2000

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