Five Arguments For Therapists, Trainers & Educators To Learn Experiential/Action Methods

by Nicholas Wolff, LCSW, BCD, TEP

 Full Disclosure: I am a trainer in experiential/action methods, a psychodrama Trainer, Educator, and Practitioner with a long career history of using these methods in clinical practice and a you-name-it-I've-been-there list of professional training situations. That is to say, I believe in this stuff. If action methods were the hair club for men, I'd not only be a spokesperson, I'd be a member. So here are five - out of many - arguments for academics, clinicians and trainers of every stripe to receive training in these methods, supported by some studies from a range of disciplines:
1. In the Information Age, learning must be integrative.
When Harvard physicist professor Eric Mazur looked into the effectiveness of the lecture method of teaching physics, he discovered that after an entire semester students understood only 14% of the concepts they had memorized. "Students have to be active in developing their knowledge," he says. "They can't passively assimilate it." His innovations include group interaction, group process and active discussions about the class content. The results show that in this age of easily accessible information, the instructor's role needs to shift from "the sage on the stage" to "the guide on the side." (Physicists Seek To Lose Lecture As Teaching Tool, NPR transcript)

2.To Train Others To "Possibility Thinking" We Have To Be "Possibility" Thinkers
Children think in terms of possibilities - the "what if" approach to the world - until we shut that down with repeated explanations of "what is." We can all agree there is nothing wrong with explaining the way the world works to children, but possibility thinkers keep an open mind about how it could, might or should work. Drama and imaginative experiences connect us to the "what if" mind set, regardless of our age, education level, or problems. This a serious idea that is leading innovation in the field of primary education and upon which psychodramatists and trainers who work experientially base their approach. Check out these journal articles: "Documenting 'Possibility Thinking': A Journal of Collaborative Inquiry" and "Pedagogy and possibility thinking in the early years" from the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity.

3.The Pace of Change is Accelerating - Creative Methods Enhance Adaptability To Change
Life is not about being balanced, it is about the act of balancing. Stanford University professor Patricia Ryan Madson writes about a key life skill learned through training in improvisation, something she calls "embracing the wobble." Like riding a bicycle or skiing, there are physical activities that are nonstop feats of balance - "Things are not stable, linear or predictable," she writes in Improv Wisdom. "The situation is always in flux. Our footing keeps changing. Even if we succeed in finding solid ground for a while, we can depend on the fact that it will eventually change." And just as reading a map is not the same thing as taking the trip, the experience of uncertainty in a safe, supportive learning or therapeutic environment is uniquely helpful in gaining the skills for balancing in life.
4.Life Is Unpredictable. Train For It.
Cockpit, surgical and police teams work in the most tense, dynamic situations, and the latest advances in their training includes simulations - or fully realized role-plays of events that happen in the field - communication and assertiveness skills, and creative thinking skills. When it comes down to those dynamic, dramatic moments that people in these professions encounter, the life-or-death decisions have as much as to do with relationships and trust among the team, the capacity to take in the nuances of the situation and to be inventive on the fly. If experiential methods are effective in training for what those guys have to deal with, think about their value in learning to cope with the uncertainty of the classroom or consulting room. ("Strategies to Improve Cockpit Resource Management," Aviation Knowledge;  Crew Resource Management and Team Training," Anesthiology Clinic
5.Everything is connected.
Albert Einstein's famously said that "Imagination is more important than knowledge" and he argued all his life for the benefits of creativity to academic learning and personal development. Guided, creative, interactive experiences enrich new learning by integrating it with the development of a creative process and relationships with other people. In the networked world that Einstein's scientific breakthroughs made possible, it is more important than ever that we provide clients, students and trainees with the tools to create and sustain relationships, for both personal and professional satisfaction.

Nicholas Wolff, LCSW, BCD, TEP facilitates a weekly professional training group in experiential action methods at Lifestage, Inc. The group meets Wednesday evenings 7-9 p.m. To contact him to discuss participation in this group call 631-366-4265 or email him at bookings@lifestage.org