Melinda Ashley Meyer DeMott
Empowerment and Resilience. EXIT: Spontaneity training with traumatised communities
Saturday, 14.00 to 17.30
Prof. Melinda A. Meyer Demott (Norway), PhD and Psychodrama Director is the Director and Co-founder of the Norwegian Institute for Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA). She is Professor and Core faculty at the European Graduate School (EGS), Switzerland and senior faculty member at the University College of South East Norway. Ms Meyer DeMott has made three documentary films about EXA with traumatized refugees, carried out several research projects and written several articles about EXA work with trauma survivors. Her research focus has been on spontaneity training and expanding the range of play with trauma survivors.
Enhancing identity and a sense of belonging in a new culture after traumatic events.
The Expressive Arts in Transition (EXIT) research project and results will be presented. The study is quantitative and qualitative. There are 208 unaccompanied minor boys in the project between the age of 15 and 18.
EXIT is developed for stabilizing people who live under extreme stress and/or have survived human or nature induced trauma. EXIT focuses on enhancing movement, imagination, engagement, connection, here and now, safety and responsibility. A film with the participants participating in the early intervention will be shown and the results will be presented and discussed.
The lecture and film will give the participants an opportunity to understand community art work with participants who suffer from trauma, stress and loss.