Standards of Training and Curriculum

Curriculum

Child psychodrama-training

Competences in: 

-Self-experience in the role of a child
-Theoretical background in psychodrama with children – basic needs of children and resilience
-Individual psychodramatic diagnostic with children (PART work)
-Introduction to group therapy and individual therapy
-Psychotherapeutic interventions for fortifying the basic needs of children in individual and group settings
-Group dynamics and group cohesion interventions
-Interventions according to the symptoms of the children – how to work with anxious and aggressive children
-Interventions with traumatised children, EBTS
-Family Psychodrama Play therapy with children, divorced parents
-Research of the effectiveness of PD with children
-PD with adolescents – sociometry, sociodrama
-Pedagogical interventions – how to work in schools and kindergartens

Addressees/target group: 

This curriculum is aimed at professionals working pedagogically or therapeutically in group and individual settings with children:

-Child and adolescent psychotherapists
-Child psychiatrists
-Child psychologists
-Social workers
-Special education teachers, teachers in kindergartens and schools
-Speech therapists
-School psychologists

Requirements for the title Psychodramatist for Children and Youth (psychodrama psychotherapist for children and youth or a psychodrama leader for children and youth)

We follow the standards for Psychodrama for Children and Youth accepted by FEPTO (Federation of European Psychodrama Training Organisations)

Criteria: 

Minimal standards for additional training for psychodrama therapists and leaders for adults to become psychodrama psychotherapists or psychodrama leaders for children and youth

Total: 560 hours

Training: 400 hours

Practice: 160 of PD with children and youth

Training:

1. 120 hours for theory and techniques specific for PD with children and youth and self-experience focusing on childhood;
2. 80 hours of training for conducting inside the advanced training group;
3. 80 hours of supervision
4. 120 hours can be decided freely by the training organisation or by the trainee, as supplements of these 3 subsections
5. Final thesis and presentation during the final colloquium
6. University degree

Definitions: 

–The Psychodramatist for children and youth is a person, who is recognised as competent to take the responsibility for organising and directing PD group of children and youth and individual PD for children and youth sessions, within his/her area of competence.
-There is a difference in training and “training hours”, between learning theory and techniques and “theory and techniques hours”, between practicing psychodrama and “practice hours” and so on. See further.
–Contact training hours are the hours of training in professional contact with a recognised trainer or assistant trainer. It can be hours used for PD self-experience, or for theory, techniques and research, or for training in conducting inside the training institute (under live supervision) or for supervision.
–Practice hours: hours of practicing as a director or co-director in own practice under (some type of) supervision. Time is time of session + time of processing with a co-director before and/or after the session.

One hour is a minimum of 45 minutes of pure PD work from the actual start until the end.

Requirements for the final thesis

The written thesis should be proof of one’s own psychodrama practice and represent this theoretically justified and reflected. The topic must be treated according to the desired degree and according to an (addiction-) therapeutic or a management topic.

The choice of topic is made according to your own possibilities and interests and can be coordinated with your supervisors. At the latest at the consultation with the group management, the topic and the question of the work can be projected.

Protocols and casuistry or historical analyses from the practical application in the fourth year of further education can form the basis of this work. It makes sense to derive a question from this or to follow a course from a special point of view.

Content 

Alternative priorities:
a) a more theoretical, that is, it is a question from the theory of psychodrama, compared with other methods or model ideas and explained using examples from their own practice
b) a rather practical, i.e., one’s own practice is presented under a certain question or focus and reflected and related to the corresponding theory of psychodrama

Structure 

The scope of the work corresponds to a housework with usually 24-40 pages, which should not be undercut or exceeded significantly (max. 10%).

The work should be structured clearly and be clearly arranged by a corresponding table of contents with page numbers. Quotations must be supported by citations (with page numbers), and bibliographical references must conform to standard scientific standards.

A short summary should be included.

It is necessary to explain that the work was written independently.

The work must be submitted to the institute by the agreed date type and bound in duplicate.

It will be examined and evaluated by two further education directors and presented in the colloquium. If it contains serious errors or is insufficient, it must be corrected, supplemented, or rewritten.

The diploma will be from Szenen and Cognitiva
Szenen is recognised by FEPTO as a training institute and in Germany by DFP as a training institute for PD with children.

Structure of the Training 

The duration of the training is 8 weeks (5 days each, 50 hours each training, in total 400 hours) in an ongoing group that will be conducted over 4 years.

The topics of the education are: 

Week 1- 5 days Topic: Introduction to Psychodrama with Children

  1. Self-experience in a child role
  2. Understanding children’s play 
  3. Theory of Psychodrama with children.
  4. Four Basic needs 
  5. Strengthening of the attachment and safety 
  6. Strengthening of the self-efficacy 
  7. Strengthening of the self-esteem 
  8. Satisfaction of joy 
  9. PART work with children with animal figures (individual first interview)
  10. Initial phase and group dynamics
  11. How to start a group – Magic Island and Animal Farm
  12. Negotiation of the scenario 
  13. Spontaneous play session 
  14. Interventions on how to become friends and promote group cohesion 

Week 2 – 5 days Topic: Disorder-Specific Interventions 

  1. Different warm ups to start the process.
  2. Psychodrama with anxious children 
  3. Interventions in groups
  4. Interventions in individual therapy
  5. Psychodrama with aggressive children 
  6. Interventions in groups 
  7. Interventions in individual therapy

Week 3- 5 days Topic: Evidence based Trauma stabilisation Program.

  1. Experiencing trauma
  2. Neuropsychology and PTSD
  3. Self-care, secondary traumatisation and resilience
  4. Stabilization
  5. Playing and conducting the Bear Valley stories
  6. Group dynamics, sociometry and action methods based on psychodrama.
  7. The EBTS-Programme in 9 sessions with psychoeducation, playing
    and sharing in groups of parents and children.

Week 4 – 5 days Topic: How to Work with Traumatised Children and difficult situations and the closure

  1. Psychodrama therapy with traumatised children
  2. How to play the victim role
  3. How to play the perpetrator role
  4. Save place and stabilisation.
  5. Interventions in group and individual therapy 
  6. Dealing with difficult issues in the group (acting, sexual issues, etc.)
  7. Closure of groups and group dynamic

Week 5 – 5 days Topic: Family Psychodrama with Children.

  1. Family Psychodrama Therapy
  2. Introduction and how to invite the parents.
  3. How to create good experience in Family psychodrama therapy
  4. How to improve the parents’ child attachment
  5. PART work in case of separation/divorce (individual)
  6. PART work with families
  7. Child protection

Week 6 – 5 days Topic: Psychodrama with Adolescents 

  1. Group therapy with adolescent
  2. Sociometry to foster belongingness, appreciation and safty.
  3. Sociodrama with youth topics
  4. Individual Therapy with adolescent 
  5. Live supervision 

Week 7 – 5 days Topic: Psychodrama in School and Kindergarten 

  1. Resilience promotion in kindergarten and schools 
  2. Playing pedagogically with large groups
  3. Forstering self-esteem by Hero story
  4. Research in psychodrama with children 
  5. Live supervision 

Week 8 – 5 days Topic: Colloquium 

  1. Live supervision 
  2. Colloquium 
  3. Diploma ceremony 

 

Training management: 

Stefan Flegelskamp
info@szenen.de

Graduate social worker, child and adolescent psychotherapist, Psychodrama trainer for adults and children, Supervisor. Director of the Institute of Psychodrama SZENEN (Cologne, Germany)

Assoc. Prof. Milena Mutafchieva, PhD
mmutafchieva@nbu.bg

Psychologist, Psychodrama therapist for adults and children, Associate Professor in the Cognitive and Psychology Department of the New Bulgarian University, Sofia. Psychodrama trainer for adults and children. Mutafchieva is the founder and the head of the Centre for Child Development and Psychological Consulting “Cognitiva”, Sofia Bulgaria.