Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
August, 2017
Translations and Publication in Psychodrama
New technologies have arrived: There are programs that can help in translation, and other programs that can post translated papers linked with their originals. In light of these developments, I have hopes that much of the psychodrama literature can be posted and translated for the many people in other countries who don’t speak English. Many […]
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The Enterprise of Psychotherapy
First of all, “good candidates” for psychotherapy are willing to locate the source of trouble in the self rather than others. Many people are not good candidates because they blame others, including the current President of the United States (POTUS). Many people agree with Trump in believing that were it not for the dummies, the […]
Posted in Current Events, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry | No Comments »
Life Enlargement
Life of course is already huge beyond our comprehension, and adding depth is just mind-stretching. However, that is what I am bound to do: articulate in words what I’ve come to know: It is my karma—I think. Also, I enjoy it! Several years ago I did a cartoon playing off of the Peanuts’ cartoon strip, […]
Posted in Art (Mandalas, Doodles, Scripts), Foolin Around, Spirituality and Philosophy | 1 Comment »
The Truth About the Truth
We are misled by arithmetic, where, according to the rules there is one and only one “right” answer. We absorb this as ultimately true. Things we come to believe cannot have multiple explanations—there can only be one true answer. But consider that there may be multiple valid answers; there may be more than one “truth.” […]
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The Semantics of Psychodrama
I like psychodrama as a field, and also as a way of life. I’m working on an anthology of applications of the method beyond psychotherapy—title: Action Explorations. I don’t use psychodrama for these many applications, for the reasons mentioned below: First of all, I bow with respect to tradition: The word “psychodrama” and the creativity […]
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The Mighty Power of the Subjunctive
I continue to think about why psychodrama works, and here’s my latest hypothesis: Humans have a developed neocortex which gives them the power to imagine “if”-type sentences. This in grammar is known as the subjunctive tense. (Linguistic analysis, including grammar, gives clues to different ways people think in using different languages.) Psychodrama brings into play […]
Posted in Action Explorations, Psychodrama, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry | No Comments »
Redeeming Confabulation
The word “confabulation” refers to an unconscious process that seems real, and makes whatever seem plausible. It partakes of what we do in our dreams: It all can seem so real. (The word for seeming real is “verisimilitude.”) I’m not saying that people consciously make up stuff. The unconscious does this effortlessly, and more thoroughly, […]
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Cartoon Satire
Some modern cartoonists tickle my fancy: Would that I could be like them! Wait: I am like them, but not professionally. That is, I don’t have a syndicated column or sell my cartoons to magazines or newspapers. It occurs to me that I might. A number of these artists take off from Gary Larsen (the […]
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Psychodrama as a Root Form
Moreno’s method has been a major source for inspiration for drama therapy and a minor source for a number of related fields. For example, there is the Applied Improvisation Network (look it up)—mainly an organization formed by people who have been active in improvisational theatre. These folks have mainly been influenced by the work of […]
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