An Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater Hall of Mirrors on Stage

An Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater is a comprehensive book presenting Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater as a unique form of group psychotherapy. This pioneering book is the first of its kind, examining this new approach, the theory behind it, and the numerous considerations and diverse possibilities involved in using the technique to promote a significant reflective process among participants. Informed by years of Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater practice and research, the authors detail a collective-creative method that allows for the creation of a therapeutic experience centered on feelings of belonging, acceptance, visibility and liberation. It is presented to the reader as a path toward their development and growth as a conductor working in this newly evolving field of group therapy. The book will be of great interest to dramatherapy students, trainees and professionals, and group therapists who wish to reflect upon their practice through the mirror of Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater as well as facilitators and actors working with Playback Theater or other improvised genres.

Introduction – A House on the Bridge 1. The Story – A Picture from the Photo Album of the Mind 2. Theatrical Mirroring 3. A Bypass to the Depths of the Psyche 4. Opposites and Integration 5. Expansion of Self through the Other 6. From the Playground to the Stage 7. Such Stuff as Containers are Made on – Levels of Structuring in Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater 8. Theatrical Forms in Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater 9. Approaching Personal Stories through Dramatic Resonances in Group Work by Susana Pendzik10. Psychotherapeutic Playback Theaterasa Group Dream about the Story: Surrealism as the Theatrical Language of the Inner World

Ronen Kowalsky, M.A., is a supervising clinical psychologist, co-founder and head of the Israeli Institute of Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater and member of the Israeli Institute of Group Analysis. He is faculty and supervisor at the Winnicott Center and the Academic College of Society and Art. Nir Raz is an international Playback Theater trainer, writer and stage artist, andco-founder and head of the Israeli Institute of Psychotherapeutic Playback Theater. He teaches at the Schneider Clown-care Academy, and is a medical clown and hydrotherapist. Shoshi Keisari, Ph.D., is a drama therapist and scholar in the field of drama therapy and clinical gerontology. She is a lecturer and a researcher at the School of Creative Arts Therapies and the Emilie Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center at the University of Haifa, Israel. Susana Pendzik, Ph.D., RDT, former head of the Drama Therapy M.A. program at Tel-Hai College, Israel, and lecturer at the Theatre Studies Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Dramatherapy Swiss Institute and other academic institutions worldwide.