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What's new, what they're
building, and how they're advancing a performatory or social therapeutic
orientation to community building
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June 2010
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The Institute has welcomed 57 students to its International Class since 2004. They come from five US States and 16
countries. Among them are psychologists from India, Pakistan and Brazil,
applied theatre practitioners from Kenya and Canada, community organizers from
Uganda and Taiwan, psychotherapists from South Africa and Argentina, youth workers
from Nicaragua and Mexico, and educators and social workers from the
Philippines and the United States. Coming from different places and
professions, they share a desire to change the world -- and an eagerness to take
advantage of the unique platform the International
Class offers them to create a global support network, to engage the
philosophical, political and psychological issues of their practice, and to
study and train as developmentalists with creators of social therapeutic
methodology under the direction of Lois Holzman. Enjoy these snapshots from
our colleagues' performance stages...
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India and Bangladesh
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India
Ishita
Sanyal (class of 2008) is a psychologist and the founder of Turning Point, an NGO fighting the stigma of
mental illness in Kolkata, India. Ishita created Turning Point
in response to her brother's need for supportive treatment after suffering
serious mental illness. This spring, at the invitation of Fountain House, Ishita
traveled to NYC to learn more about the clubhouse model and to further develop
ties with the international clubhouse movement.
While in NYC, she met with
Institute staff and discussed her work with street children and her outreach to
colleges across Kolkata. A fierce proponent of humanistic treatment for the
mentally ill, Ishita has made numerous presentations this past year on the
value of improvisation, play and a social therapeutic approach. She recently
completed a documentary film, Dare to
Dream, which shows how people suffering from chronic mental illness can use
improvisational games to learn computer skills.
Prativa
Sengupta (class of 2009) is
chief psychologist and coordinator of SEVAC (Sane and Enthusiastic Volunteers Association in Calcutta), a mental health and human rights NGO
also in Kolkata.Prativa recently returned
from West Bengal to lead a staff development program for an NGO that deals with
issues of domestic violence for women in remote villages of West Bengal. Most earn
a paltry salary by binding "bidi" (a kind of cigarette). Although many are aware of their legal rights, they do not fight back against
illegal employment practices due to deep rooted stigmas about women's roles.
Prativa reports that her training in social therapy (including the use of
improvisational games) was very helpful in creating the environment where the
women could discuss and perform new possibilities to improve their lives.
BangladeshSyed Rahman (class of 2007) is a trained economist
and founder of TREE (Theatre for Education, Research and Empowerment) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He recently joined the Business and
Economics faculty at Daffodil International University and has been conducting
trainings there for women and children affected by catastrophic cyclones. These training initiatives
were created in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Save the
Children/UK. In all, 150 school teachers and 300 members of the community were trained
using a social therapeutic approach. Syed is also coordinator of the Career
Development Center (CDC) at Daffodil, and in that role has developed an Impression Management for Attaining Glorious
Existence (IMAGE) training, which addresses the gap between who young
people are and how others see them. Syed recently returned from Vienna where he
participated in the proposal selection process for the XVIII International AIDS Conference -- a daunting task, as
there were thousands of submissions.
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Africa
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Uganda
Peter
Nsubuga (class
of 2009), directs Hope for Youth Uganda,
and reports on the ongoing development of his
community programs.
Hygiene &
Water Safety. Peter and his staff led community-wide
trainings in hygiene, water safety, nutrition and basic parenting. In 2009, International Class
colleague Esben Wilstrup organized friends in Denmark to donate funds for a new
water system, which has had a tremendous impact on the community's health. (See
before-and-after photos below.)
 
Farming
Programs. HFYU is
expanding its existing farm into a community model farm that can be developed
for teaching best agricultural practices, feeding the community and generating
funds for the school and other programs.
Free School. HFYU runs a free school for
230 children (grades K-4), most of whom are orphans and whose guardians (mostly
grandmothers) are too poor to pay for meals and scholastic materials.
Sports
& Drama. HFYU
involves teenagers in after-school sports and drama programs. This includes
organized sports competitions between teams from nearby villages and schools. The drama activities are partly therapeutic, partly educational and allow the young
people to express themselves through storytelling and plays.
Therapy Group. A
new program this year inspired by Peter's training with the Institute, involves about 20
community members (mostly women, but some men, too) to gather and talk about the
many issues of their work and family lives.
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Europe
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Serbia
Svetlana Kijevcanin (class of 2008) is a psychologist, a peace trainer and founder of one of the first NGOs in Serbia. For the last nine months, she has been supervising Princeton University undergraduates who have come to live in Serbia through the World Learning Study Abroad program. Beginning in August of 2009, six American students lived in the homes of Serbian families in three towns. Svetlana supervised their work as volunteers with local youth programs, Roma (gypsy) organizations and the National Park in Montenegro. Svetlana reports that she has been touched by the subtle changes in the students -- how much they accepted the local culture and grew as a group.
She led a team of 80 teenagers representing schools across Serbia who were part of a multi-national student project to create a board game called Human Rights Sunrise. The Serbian team joined with students from Italy, Spain and Greece to choose one symbolic event to illustrate a violation of human rights.
In April, Svetlana also participated in the founding meetings of the Council on Dignity, Justice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Rome. The meetings drew 90 participants from across the world working in areas of peace and reconciliation.
The Netherlands
Celiane Camargo-Borges (class of 2008) is starting a new job with the NHTV / Breda University of Applied Science as the director of a research group in Imagineering -- a method used to involve employees in creating work environments. The University brought Celiane on board to inject a postmodern perspective into the program. She plans to take a group of students to Uganda to work alongside Peter Nsubuga in developing his community anti-poverty programs.
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Latin America
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Mexico
Miguel Cortés, (class of 2007) is a youth development worker and psychologist at CASA (Centro de Asesoría y Promoción de Juvenil, A.C.) -- a community center with a strong presence in the poor communities of Juárez. Miguel and his colleagues help young people and their families continue to develop their lives in the midst of the chaos spawned by the drug cartels working on the border turf between Juárez and El Paso, Texas.
Miguel was in New York last week and attended the birthday celebration for Institute co-founder Fred Newman and developmentalist Lenora Fulani. Taking the stage for a surprise announcement, Miguel reported on the recent opening of the Fred Newman Center for Social Therapy in Juárez, which he will direct. The video (linked below) shows a social therapy group in action at the Center.
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CANADA |
QuebecSynthia Zborilek, (class of 2007) will begin work this fall as a job counselor for the Carrefour Jeunesse Emplois de Notre Dame de Grace (www.cje-ndg.com), a youth employment center in West Montreal, working with young people ages 16-35. For the past few years, Synthia has been volunteering in Cuba as a dancer and teacher and also writing and directing a documentary about US/Cuban and Canadian/Cuban history. |
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Reports from the Field is published by the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy in New York, NY.
Readers are welcome to submit reports, announcements and story ideas to Esther
Farmer, estherfarmer@hotmail.com.
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