This workshop is an invitation to reflect upon some subtle inter-human processes in dramatherapy, which accompany the whole group journey. Although they are not necessarily tied with eye-catching occurrences, they are fundamental in order to create a dramatic environment, as they are calling into game the recovering and renewing of vital resources, like mutual attuning, mirroring, coordination, empathy and interpersonal insight. At the same time, drama in itself fosters the development of these resources, in a virtuous circle that helps people not only to improve their relational and social abilities, but also to reassess and rebalance their own self-image.
My attempt is to place this issue in a broader perspective, which on the one hand relates to the Conference theme, considering the impact of cultural identities in a global world, and their intrinsic limits. On the other hand, inquiring upon some possible alternatives to an obsolete conception of identity as a closed fortress, we move toward a renewed paradigm of human nature, which may be integrated in dramatherapy theory.
I will outline the controversial theme of social and cultural identities starting from some striking suggestions: the anthropologist Francesco Remotti maintains that identity is a ‘poisonous word’, and the writer Amin Maalouf writes upon ‘identités meurtrières’ (murderous identities); they point to the fact that excluding the values and the meanings of otherness is an operation both arbitrary and potentially violent. Identity and otherness cannot be considered as opposite conditions, but complementary poles of a continuum, along which each subject (individual or social) can move according with the different situations.
This shifting from a monolithic to a relational conception of identity has a precise counterpart in what has been called the ‘intersubjective dimension’, which has flowered in the last forty years, in disciplinary fields as different as infant research, neurosciences, ethology, and social studies.
The most significant aspects of this emergent perspective can be subsumed under three main headings. First, it stresses the necessity of considering the individual as intrinsically connected with the others, to a point where the notion itself of individuality ceases to be a good description for reality. Second, it identifies togetherness as the key force that pushes human life forward, even more important than the satisfaction of basic self-centred needs. Third, it established empathy as an inborn resource that each human being potentially possesses.
I believe that the awareness of the intersubjective processes in dramatherapy can support our sensitivity in recognizing and foster them, and guiding them toward healing and transformation.