Between two worlds: Psychodrama for war refugees

In this workshop, we will share the experience of an online psychodrama group that has existed for 1.5 years, since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This group began before the war as a series of professional educational seminars, led by Clark Baim, focused on trauma. When the war started, based on urgent need, the training group evolved into a psychodrama support group for war refugees. To the participants, the group has become a kind of a kind of hearth where people gather, where you can be the protagonist, discuss professional topics with colleagues, warm up and be together. A unique aspect of the group is that it unites participants from different countries and with different professional trainings and levels of qualification.

In the workshop, we will recreate the processes we use in the group, including art-based warm-ups, sociometric activities, protagonist-centred psychodrama, and sharing.  Depending on the group interest, we may include sociodrama.

We will introduce workshop participants to some of the important themes that have emerged in the group, such as shame and guilt; different aspects of identity; survival and adaptation; building resources and finding stability and support; relationship strains due to displacement; internal, interpersonal and international conflict; transgenerational trauma; what languages we use in the group; whether one is ‘worthy’ of being in the group. We will also introduce participants to some of the key challenges of facilitating the group, from the perspective of the psychodrama director, the convenor of the group, and the translator of the group, who will all be present as co-facilitators of this workshop.