This lecture and workshop explore the healing potential within the theatrical elements of Dionysian drama. The ancient practice of curing illness in body and soul by participating in dramatic ritual is still active in how we treat many psychological conditions – including but not limited to both individual and cultural trauma. Patterns of breaking apart and coming together and death and rebirth, when viewed through a theatrical lens, can assist in the integration of previously unconscious material.
The first section includes an interactive lecture followed by a group reading of Euripides’ classic play Medea. (No theater experience needed!) The colloquium section explores Dionysian themes in clinical case material through varied psychoanalytic approaches. Jungian Complex Theory, Alchemy, Dream Interpretation, as well as Relational and Developmental perspectives in the treatment of trauma are included.
