BAMI Newsletter June/July 2024

1) Participants from my May workshop, Connecting With Our Ancestral Roots: Transgenerational Psychodrama. 2) The altar we made to honor our ancestors, using photos and mementos.

Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying these early days of summer. I am looking forward to a special collaboration with my colleague and good friend, Cathy Nugent, LCPC, TEP, founder and director of the Laurel Psychodrama Training Institute (LPTI) in Laurel, Maryland. Cathy and I will be co-leading Psychodrama for Personal and Professional Development, on July 20-21, at LPTI. I believe that Cathy and I complement each other’s expertise, knowledge, and directing style, and we each bring decades of experience to the work.

If you have been interested in psychodrama or in adding some experiential, body-based, and/or expressive arts approaches to your repertoire, this workshop would be a good fit. Because we will also be processing the psychodramatic work we direct, the workshop is also appropriate for advanced psychodrama trainees, or for any helping/healing professional seeking a space to do personal work with psychodrama.

All LPTI training offerings provide psychodrama training hours (American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama) and continuing education credits (NBCC, Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners). In addition, I will be offering CEs through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Participants can choose to come for one or both days (7 hours for one day; 14 hours for two days). For more information please scroll down or visit: www.bayareamorenoinstitute.com/july-20-21-2024-psychodrama-for-personal-professional-development-in-laurel-md/ Or you can register here.

I continue to reflect upon and integrate the profound and powerful work from Connecting With Our Ancestral Roots: Transgenerational Psychodrama held in May. Workshop participants co-created an altar with photos and inherited and natural objects and invited our ancestors into a sacred space with song, art, drumming and movement. By stepping into the roles of our ancestors, we confronted complex issues and gained powerful insights, often letting go of burdens or patterns that have held us back and began long before we were born. We also received much support and blessings. I hope to revisit this topic again.

Many of you are probably aware that I have been involved in Playback Theater for many years. I am pleased to announce the San Francisco Playback Company performance on July 6 in San Rafael. Playback theater is an improvisational form of theater in which people from the audience volunteer to tell a true-life story, which the actors and musician then spontaneously enact. It was developed by Jonathan Fox, TEP, in the 1970s and is practiced in over 60 countries. Psychodrama is a required course for those who become certified by the Playback Theater School. As in psychodrama, playback theater includes a warm-up in which the troupe warms the audience up to tell their stories. I hope you can join us and experience this unique theater form! Payment will be taken at the door, but you can click here to reserve your spot on our Facebook events page. You can also scroll down to see the flyer.

I am taking time this summer to rest, rejuvenate and consider what programs to offer beginning this fall. I am considering offering a directing skills intensive over two weekends, a day of playback theater, as well as drama therapy and psychodrama. I would like to more intensely support people in integrating psychodrama into their work. I continue to look for a space where I can offer 3-5 day trainings. Please be in touch with any suggestions for topics you would like or possible workshop spaces.

I look forward to seeing you and connecting soon. And if you come to the July 6 playback performance, please say hello!

Blessings,

Sylvia

Upcoming Workshop

CEs available for LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP

CEs for Psychologists & RNs

 Psychodrama for Personal and

Professional Development in

Laurel, Maryland

 Transform your personal and professional life with psychodrama!

Psychodrama is a creative and experiential approach that uses guided dramatic enactment (role-playing) to explore and gain insight into personal and interpersonal issues.

Psychodrama allows participants to enact internal conflicts and external situations in a safe and supportive environment, promoting emotional healing and personal empowerment.

If you are looking to incorporate innovative methods into your practice, or would like a space to do your personal work in a supportive setting, this workshop is designed for you. New and experienced psychodrama trainees will learn about or deepen their knowledge of psychodrama.

Date/Time: Saturday and Sunday, July 20 & 21 (choose one or both days – see registration form); 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, EST.

Location: Laurel Psychodrama Training Institute in Laurel, Maryland (off Route 198 between Route 29 and I-95).

What you can expect: 

·     Networking: Meet like-minded professionals with an interest in psychodrama and related somatic and expressive therapies.

·     Learn by Doing: Understand the principles of psychodrama through direct application and experiential learning.

·     Skills Enhancement: Enhance your ability to facilitate deep change and growth, whether for personal development or professional practice.

·     Personal Growth: Gain new insights into your own life and develop strategies for overcoming personal challenges.

·     Professional Development: Identify concepts and methods you can apply in your practice setting.

Group is limited to 12 participants, with a minimum of 8.

Psychodrama Training Hours/Continuing Education Information: American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy; NBCC; Maryland Board of Social Examiners; California Board of Behavioral Sciences—7.0 hours for one day; 14 hours for both days.

Investment: $375 for both days; $195 if attending one day.

           Zelle: 410-746-7251

           Pay Pal: paypal.me/cathynugent

           Check to: Cathy Nugent, 6636 Park Hall Drive, Laurel, MD 20707

Click here to register.

Your trainers - Cathy Nugent, LCPC, TEP, left and Sylvia Israel, LMFT, RDT/BCT, TEP

Meet the Trainers:

Sylvia Israel, TEP, LMFT, RDT/BCT is a certified Trainer, Educator and Practitioner in Psychodrama, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Registered Drama Therapist/Board Certified Trainer. Sylvia is cofounder of Bay Area Moreno Institute, IMAGINE! Center for Creativity & Healing, and Bay Area Playback Theatre. In addition, she is Adjunct Faculty at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and Kansas State University. 

Sylvia is past president of the Northern California Chapter of the National Association of Drama Therapy (NADT), past board member and Officer of the American Board of Examiners of Psychodrama, and fellow of the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP). She is a Certified Trainer in the Therapeutic Spiral Model of working with Trauma Survivors and is a national and international trainer and presenter.

Sylvia has maintained a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area working with individuals, couples, families, and groups for over 30 years. She has also used psychodrama to help civil and criminal lawyers with trial preparation. Her work blends verbal and somatic therapy with drama, sandtray, and other expressive arts. Sylvia enjoys supporting clients in practicing self-compassion, awakening to their spontaneity and creativity, and living more fully in the present moment.

Catherine D. Nugent, LCPC, TEP, a licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified psychodrama trainer, is the founder and Executive Director/Principal Trainer with Laurel Psychodrama Training Institute (LPTI) in Laurel, Maryland. At LPTI, Cathy teaches classical psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy through a recovery-oriented and trauma-informed lens.

Cathy is a past president of the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry & Group Psychotherapy; a fellow of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP); former Executive Editor of the Journal of Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama; and a past president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of ASGPP.

As adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University (2013 to 2019), Cathy designed and taught experiential courses on psychodrama, self-care and self-compassion for counselors, and spirituality as a resource for mental health and wellness. She is an Approved Clinical Supervisor for Licensed Graduate Professional Counselors working toward full licensure.

In addition to her psychodrama career, Cathy served for 20 years with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. At SAMHSA, she was a thought leader in a paradigm shift away from a deficit-based framework and toward strength-based approaches in the way substance use disorders treatment/recovery and mental health services are delivered. At SAMHSA, Cathy received many awards and accolades for her work promoting recovery-oriented services.

In recognition of her long career in psychodrama, Cathy was honored to receive the ASGPP’s 2019 J.L. Moreno Award for Lifetime Achievement in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. More recently, she received ASGPP’s 2023 Ann Hale Sociometry Award.

Questions:

Email Sylvia at sylvia@imaginecenter.net or

Cathy at: cathynugent@verizon.net

Click here to visit my website, for more information.

About Bay Area Moreno Institute

THE BAY AREA MORENO INSTITUTE for Psychodrama and Applied Expressive Arts and Action Methods (BAMI) is dedicated to promoting the training, practice and development of Psychodrama, its offspring action methods & philosophies, and related fields in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

www.bayareamorenoinstitute.com

www.Imaginecenter.net

sylvia@imaginecenter.net 

(415) 454-7308