From the Jungian perspective it was a dream, Active Imagination, or sandtray in action, and from the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) perspective all channels were being utilized in each scene. But closest to my heart was what I saw from the perspective of anthropology and the use of ritual and metaphor. Psychodrama has all the elements necessary to help the client transition from one stage to another—essentially, to effect a “rite de passage.” I was hooked!
The “hooking” continued as I worked with Kate in TSM groups and we began to develop the Trauma Survivor’s Intrapsychic Role Atom (TSIRA) (Toscani and Hudgins 1995). This was comfortable territory where I could bring in the metaphoric elements I cherished and still keep a Jungian philosophical perspective while using classical psychodrama techniques within the clinical framework of TSM. Ah, those “nesting bowls” fit so nicely and after a 12-year hiatus and work in other fields, I have returned to TSM because of its efficacy, its heart, and to help tell its story.
TSM Cultural Evolution
In a training group for psychologists in Taiwan at the Chinese Guidance and Counseling Association, a local psychologist, Dr. Lai, author of Chapter 11, noted that the Western way we build a Circle of Safety does not work well for Asians. Normally, in setting up our dramas, we create a stage area that is also a visual representation of containment or safety. Each person is asked to pick a colored scarf, name a personal, interpersonal, or transpersonal strength they bring to the group, and to place the scarf on the floor to create a Circle of Safety. While this circle is recognized as a collection of strengths and therefore communal, the Western orientation is that psychologically people need to be able to own and state their strengths.
However, Dr. Lai gently informed us that Asians do not like to own strengths in this way, since it is considered rude to talk about oneself. The Asian mind also has a focus on community that cannot be ignored. Therefore she suggested a new way to provide containment as well as safety. At her direction, group members break down into pairs and one person picks a scarf to give to his or her partner, adding words to that strength(s); for example, “I see you have courage, determination, love, and connection to others.” The other person then reciprocates, giving a scarf that reflects a strength they see. Then, together they lay their scarves down to build a Circle of Safety that is more easily acknowledged as a collective or community circle.
A question often asked is “How can I do this if I don’t know anyone in the group?” As directors we simply say, “Find someone in the group you feel a connection to. Pick a scarf that fits that person for any reason, and soon you will intuitively find one or more of their strengths.” Now when we work with people who have a reticence to speak their own strengths no matter the culture, we have members pair up and honor each other’s strengths. This action shows the interpersonal, familial, and community values of connection that are a core part of harmony in all Asian cultures, as well as necessary for many of the Western mind. Today, the Circle of Safety can be formed by small groups focused on values, stories of leadership, folk and cultural tales, and family histories as a few examples. (See Chapter 16 for an adaptation of the Circle of Safety with groups of men.)
A more humorous cross-cultural/hemispheric “faux pas” that broadened our horizons happened on one of our first trips Down Under when we were setting up a preliminary structure for our workshop to teach the Director’s Roles (Kellermann 1992; Toscani 1995a). On that day we used a template of energy from the four geographic directions, a Native American tradition as we were taught by Yago Tahnahga, an Ojibwa Mohawk woman with whom we had worked for many years. But we were in Australia and, after 25 hours of traveling the previous day(s), we were disoriented to say the least. As we started to arrange the directions in the space, it was clear that we had no clue where we were—literally. The sun still rose in the east and set in the west, but they were on different sides if you faced the equator. Additionally, south and north were completely poles apart in perspectives and cultural meanings—for example, you would not face south in the winter to get warm; it was not the place of “sunshine and growth” as we look at it from our perspective. Totally spun around, we gave over the Direction of directions to “Native Australians,” who knew the territory and were able to get the group on the correct course—but not the one we initially thought we would pursue. It was a light-hearted moment and we all laughed, but for us it was a good learning experience about our ingrained perspectives and the power of co-creation to bring in new elements of safety and structure.
Following on the two previous examples, this book demonstrates that intrapsychic “safety and containment” are the core principles of TSM that have been retained consistently over time and around the world. Having the ability to transcend hemispheres and cultures, you will see the creative expansions of TSM by 19 authors who bring their work to each chapter, presenting theory, research, and practice. As we have done in this introduction, clinical examples are provided as a basic component to illustrate theory and practice throughout, making it, we hope, user-friendly to readers of many cultures. TSM is alive with spontaneity and creativity. We hope you find the book to be also.
TSM Grows and Multiplies
As the healed protagonists go into the world, they claim one final role to take with them—Ultimate Authority. This is the full circle for the protagonist: they have spiraled down and now, at the end of their work, they spiral up into a new realm. Likewise, Healing World Trauma with the Therapeutic Spiral Model: Psychodramatic Stories from the Frontlines is the final outcome of TSM as it was first conceived experientially, developed clinically, and matured theoretically. Our personal work on the development of the model is complete. The structure is set but it will continue to spiral onward, becoming more defined and refined in the hands of many others.
Meet the Contributing Authors
Healing World Trauma with the Therapeutic Spiral Model: Psychodramatic Stories from the Frontlines, the book that was many years in the making, brings together the voices of various mental health professionals using TSM to treat PTSD and other diagnoses related to trauma in the global community. A chorus of academics, scientists, trainers, and practitioners of experiential psychotherapy share how TSM has influenced their practice. The publication of this book, in turn, shows how they have helped TSM evolve and develop into the rich, multicultural system of learning that it is today—a symphonic composition with many variations, many styles. While the contributors to the model are countless, the book itself includes the shared experience of practitioners from Australia, Canada, England, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States. Together they show how TSM is culturally adaptable, bringing a safe method of experiential healing to many people around the world. Each of the stories presented is a composite case to honor client anonymity.
And just as we work from the heart, the writings in this book, too, are heart-to-heart talks. Therefore, you will notice a certain informality of language at times, as well as differences between and among the chapters—each reflecting the author’s personality. Yet, whole beings are involved here presenting their strong clinical and theoretical knowledge as well.
Part 1 provides the beginnings and evolution of TSM: Zerka’s story of classical psychodrama, the similarities and differences of classical psychodrama and TSM, and the final product of the model as it is today.
How does one fit 74 years of intense work and profound insight into a single chapter? Well, in Chapter 1, Zerka T. Moreno, the co-founder of psychodrama with her