Listen Like an Actor: The Key to the Performing Art of Therapy

IF 0.4 4区 心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS
Mark O’Connell
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Anecdotes from both therapy and acting are used to illustrate his ideas.KEYWORDS: Listeningimplicit communicationuse of selfmultiplicity of selfimprovisationacting Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Wallace Shawn’s essay “Why I Call Myself a Socialist,” inadvertently but beautifully illustrates Philip Bromberg’s idea of multiplicity of self (Bromberg, Citation1998) through the lens of acting: “Contrary to the popular misconception, the actor is not necessarily a specialist in imitating or portraying what he knows about other people. On the contrary, the actor may simply be a person who’s more willing than others to reveal some truths about himself” (Shawn, Citation2011).2 Of note: Robin Weigert is the descendant of prominent psychoanalysts, including her father, Wolfgang Weigert and her grandmother, Edith Weigert, who wrote about psychotherapy as a creative art (Weigert, Citation1964).3 In contrast, a few years later I was told to “butch it up,” by a gay director no less, while rehearsing a production of Romeo & Juliet in which I played Romeo. Fortunately, rather than submit to this director’s anxiety about me “seeming gay,” by trying to force a “masculine” exterior – which would have undermined my function in the play (to be driven by genuine, unadulterated love) – I trusted that in order to stay present with my scene partners, and to organically discover and embody the heightened emotions necessary for the role, I would need to start from exactly where I was, even if my mannerisms defied normative expectations for a man who is in love with a woman (O’Connell, Citation2019b).4 I demonstrate and explore the concept of actorly subtext in my workshops for therapists. And I highly recommend video feedback as a tool for psychotherapy training programs, similar to how video is used in screen acting classes – which is to help each performing artist to become aware of their instrument and its possibilities. Relatedly, Romanelli, Moran, and Tishby’s research (Romanelli et al., Citation2019) shows how theatrical improvisational training in particular, can help therapists to be aware of self and other, and make use of our instruments. They specifically note that improv training can help us to “heighten awareness of Beebe and Lachmann’s (Citation2002) three organizing principles of interaction: vocal rhythm, facial mirroring and distress regulation.”5 The “therapy wars,” as it were (Burkman, Citation2016), could come to an end if psychotherapists of all stripes acknowledged our shared understanding that the therapist’s implicit communication is of primary clinical importance in session. Consider CBT icon Judith Beck’s emphasis on the empathic listening of the therapist – as conveyed through their “tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language” (Beck, Citation2011, p. 239), a.k.a subtext (Beck, Citation2011, p. 83) – and how similar it is to the observations of psychodynamically informed clinicians (on the opposite side of the therapy aisle from Beck), such as Beebe’s focus on the use of the therapist’s face (Beebe, Citation2004), and Jonathan Shedler’s studies which reveal that the individual interactions between each unique pair of scene partners are what most determine the effectiveness of any therapy treatment, regardless of the methods and techniques that are used (Shedler, Citation2015).6 Psychoanalyst Sheldon Bach might describe this practice as oscillating back and forth between states of subjective awareness and objective self-reflection (Bach, Citation2016, p. 56; O’Connell, Citation2019a).7 I’ve written elsewhere about how I first learned this lesson, as a child in a production of The Music Man. While believing I was invisible as I “just listened” to the two leads rehearsing the Marion the Librarian scene, the director called out to me, “Mark, don’t look at them! Pretend to read a book or something … ” I learned in that moment that I’m actively and obviously part of the scene no matter what I do or don’t do (O’Connell, Citation2019a, Citation2019b).8 Similarly, Galit Atlas writes: “The freedom to think and to feel even the most disturbing thoughts and painful emotions brings with it the experience of being alive” (Atlas, Citation2022).9 This work has already begun: For instance, Alexander Technique teacher Betsy Polatin (Polatin, Citation2013), who works extensively with performing artists – actors in particular – also collaborates with the founder of Somatic Experiencing, Levine (Citation2008) to train therapists in the art of breathing, in order to authentically embody and take ownership of our instruments.10 In my book The Performing Art of Therapy (O’Connell, Citation2019a), and my workshops for therapists, I share actorly exercises and meditations that help us to find a natural impulse to breathe, to use breath to stay present, and to experience a full range of feelings, while having the capacity to engage others at the same time.11 This phenomenon is what director Peter Brook refers to as the deadly theater (Brook, Citation1968). As therapists, we can easily find ourselves practicing deadly therapy (O’Connell, Citation2021), when we emphasize results over rehearsal, product over process.12 At these moments, I draw inspiration from great actors who deeply understand that it is through vulnerability that we find our greatest strength: e.g., Viola Davis in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s Fences, for example, who in the character of Rose, allows desperate tears of heartbreak to flood her face as she mightily emancipates herself from the submissive role she has always played with her husband.13 This is not unlike Beebe’s advice for parents in her face-to-face infant studies, to “wait” when they reflexively “loom” over their babies who turn away from them – and who are likely seeking a regulating breath of their own before continuing to play (Dougherty et al., Citation2016). I’m also reminded here of Corbett’s description of “privacy” as a necessary part of relational presence (Corbett, Citation2014), which is not necessarily the same thing as disengaging, ending the “scene,” or saying, “No!” to your scene partner. We all need a moment once in a while, don’t we?14 Saying “Yes, and … ” or “Yes, but … ” as opposed to “No,” is the first rule of improvisation (Gray, Citation2015; O’Connell, Citation2019a; Ringstrom, Citation2018).15 Psychologist Helen Nissen Lie’s research shows that the “most effective” way to engage clients is with “professional self-doubt” (Nissen-Lie et al., Citation2017), as opposed to certainty. And breathing like an actor, helps us to embrace our self-doubt, so that we can find unforeseen possibilities.16 This quote reminds me of theater director Peter Brook’s statement that the “greatest aid” for an actor or a therapist is “naivete” (Brook, Citation1994).17 This reminds me of both Loewald, Ringstrom, and Gray’s thinking on dramatic repetition in therapy, and how it can introduce openings for healing and new possibilities if something “novel” enters the dynamic, through the improvisation between scene partners (Gray, Citation2015; Loewald, Citation1975; Ringstrom, Citation2018).Additional informationNotes on contributorsMark O’ConnellMark O’Connell, LCSW-R, MFA, is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. He’s the author of the books The Performing Art of Therapy: Acting Insights and Techniques for Clinicians and Modern Brides & Modern Grooms, as well as numerous articles about the art of using our most essential instrument for engagement: our selves. He also teaches workshops for therapists and offers clinical supervision. For more information visit markoconnelltherapist.com and theperformingartoftherapy.com.","PeriodicalId":46458,"journal":{"name":"Psychoanalytic Inquiry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychoanalytic Inquiry","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07351690.2023.2257583","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs both a therapist and an actor, O’Connell proposes that: 1) The artforms of acting and psychotherapy share the same core goal: to invite another person to embody a range of their humanity; and 2) Both artforms rely on the same core action to realize that goal – to listen. By listening to clients the way actors listen to their scene partners, O’Connell suggests that clinicians can maximize how we use our most essential instrument for therapeutic engagement: ourselves – particularly in terms of our implicit/nonverbal communication, or “subtext.” He emphasizes that listening like an actor is always the key to performing the art of therapy, no matter what “kind” of therapist we are, and no matter how our “scene work” takes place, (e.g. on “stage” or screen). Anecdotes from both therapy and acting are used to illustrate his ideas.KEYWORDS: Listeningimplicit communicationuse of selfmultiplicity of selfimprovisationacting Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Wallace Shawn’s essay “Why I Call Myself a Socialist,” inadvertently but beautifully illustrates Philip Bromberg’s idea of multiplicity of self (Bromberg, Citation1998) through the lens of acting: “Contrary to the popular misconception, the actor is not necessarily a specialist in imitating or portraying what he knows about other people. On the contrary, the actor may simply be a person who’s more willing than others to reveal some truths about himself” (Shawn, Citation2011).2 Of note: Robin Weigert is the descendant of prominent psychoanalysts, including her father, Wolfgang Weigert and her grandmother, Edith Weigert, who wrote about psychotherapy as a creative art (Weigert, Citation1964).3 In contrast, a few years later I was told to “butch it up,” by a gay director no less, while rehearsing a production of Romeo & Juliet in which I played Romeo. Fortunately, rather than submit to this director’s anxiety about me “seeming gay,” by trying to force a “masculine” exterior – which would have undermined my function in the play (to be driven by genuine, unadulterated love) – I trusted that in order to stay present with my scene partners, and to organically discover and embody the heightened emotions necessary for the role, I would need to start from exactly where I was, even if my mannerisms defied normative expectations for a man who is in love with a woman (O’Connell, Citation2019b).4 I demonstrate and explore the concept of actorly subtext in my workshops for therapists. And I highly recommend video feedback as a tool for psychotherapy training programs, similar to how video is used in screen acting classes – which is to help each performing artist to become aware of their instrument and its possibilities. Relatedly, Romanelli, Moran, and Tishby’s research (Romanelli et al., Citation2019) shows how theatrical improvisational training in particular, can help therapists to be aware of self and other, and make use of our instruments. They specifically note that improv training can help us to “heighten awareness of Beebe and Lachmann’s (Citation2002) three organizing principles of interaction: vocal rhythm, facial mirroring and distress regulation.”5 The “therapy wars,” as it were (Burkman, Citation2016), could come to an end if psychotherapists of all stripes acknowledged our shared understanding that the therapist’s implicit communication is of primary clinical importance in session. Consider CBT icon Judith Beck’s emphasis on the empathic listening of the therapist – as conveyed through their “tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language” (Beck, Citation2011, p. 239), a.k.a subtext (Beck, Citation2011, p. 83) – and how similar it is to the observations of psychodynamically informed clinicians (on the opposite side of the therapy aisle from Beck), such as Beebe’s focus on the use of the therapist’s face (Beebe, Citation2004), and Jonathan Shedler’s studies which reveal that the individual interactions between each unique pair of scene partners are what most determine the effectiveness of any therapy treatment, regardless of the methods and techniques that are used (Shedler, Citation2015).6 Psychoanalyst Sheldon Bach might describe this practice as oscillating back and forth between states of subjective awareness and objective self-reflection (Bach, Citation2016, p. 56; O’Connell, Citation2019a).7 I’ve written elsewhere about how I first learned this lesson, as a child in a production of The Music Man. While believing I was invisible as I “just listened” to the two leads rehearsing the Marion the Librarian scene, the director called out to me, “Mark, don’t look at them! Pretend to read a book or something … ” I learned in that moment that I’m actively and obviously part of the scene no matter what I do or don’t do (O’Connell, Citation2019a, Citation2019b).8 Similarly, Galit Atlas writes: “The freedom to think and to feel even the most disturbing thoughts and painful emotions brings with it the experience of being alive” (Atlas, Citation2022).9 This work has already begun: For instance, Alexander Technique teacher Betsy Polatin (Polatin, Citation2013), who works extensively with performing artists – actors in particular – also collaborates with the founder of Somatic Experiencing, Levine (Citation2008) to train therapists in the art of breathing, in order to authentically embody and take ownership of our instruments.10 In my book The Performing Art of Therapy (O’Connell, Citation2019a), and my workshops for therapists, I share actorly exercises and meditations that help us to find a natural impulse to breathe, to use breath to stay present, and to experience a full range of feelings, while having the capacity to engage others at the same time.11 This phenomenon is what director Peter Brook refers to as the deadly theater (Brook, Citation1968). As therapists, we can easily find ourselves practicing deadly therapy (O’Connell, Citation2021), when we emphasize results over rehearsal, product over process.12 At these moments, I draw inspiration from great actors who deeply understand that it is through vulnerability that we find our greatest strength: e.g., Viola Davis in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s Fences, for example, who in the character of Rose, allows desperate tears of heartbreak to flood her face as she mightily emancipates herself from the submissive role she has always played with her husband.13 This is not unlike Beebe’s advice for parents in her face-to-face infant studies, to “wait” when they reflexively “loom” over their babies who turn away from them – and who are likely seeking a regulating breath of their own before continuing to play (Dougherty et al., Citation2016). I’m also reminded here of Corbett’s description of “privacy” as a necessary part of relational presence (Corbett, Citation2014), which is not necessarily the same thing as disengaging, ending the “scene,” or saying, “No!” to your scene partner. We all need a moment once in a while, don’t we?14 Saying “Yes, and … ” or “Yes, but … ” as opposed to “No,” is the first rule of improvisation (Gray, Citation2015; O’Connell, Citation2019a; Ringstrom, Citation2018).15 Psychologist Helen Nissen Lie’s research shows that the “most effective” way to engage clients is with “professional self-doubt” (Nissen-Lie et al., Citation2017), as opposed to certainty. And breathing like an actor, helps us to embrace our self-doubt, so that we can find unforeseen possibilities.16 This quote reminds me of theater director Peter Brook’s statement that the “greatest aid” for an actor or a therapist is “naivete” (Brook, Citation1994).17 This reminds me of both Loewald, Ringstrom, and Gray’s thinking on dramatic repetition in therapy, and how it can introduce openings for healing and new possibilities if something “novel” enters the dynamic, through the improvisation between scene partners (Gray, Citation2015; Loewald, Citation1975; Ringstrom, Citation2018).Additional informationNotes on contributorsMark O’ConnellMark O’Connell, LCSW-R, MFA, is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. He’s the author of the books The Performing Art of Therapy: Acting Insights and Techniques for Clinicians and Modern Brides & Modern Grooms, as well as numerous articles about the art of using our most essential instrument for engagement: our selves. He also teaches workshops for therapists and offers clinical supervision. For more information visit markoconnelltherapist.com and theperformingartoftherapy.com.
像演员一样倾听:治疗表演艺术的关键
【摘要】作为治疗师和演员,奥康奈尔提出:1)表演和心理治疗的艺术形式有一个共同的核心目标:邀请另一个人来体现他们的一系列人性;2)这两种艺术形式都依赖于同样的核心行动来实现这个目标——倾听。奥康奈尔建议,通过像演员倾听他们的场景伙伴那样倾听客户,临床医生可以最大限度地利用我们最重要的治疗工具:我们自己——特别是在我们的隐性/非语言交流或“潜台词”方面。他强调,像演员一样倾听永远是表演治疗艺术的关键,无论我们是哪种“类型”的治疗师,也无论我们的“场景工作”是如何发生的(例如在“舞台”或屏幕上)。从治疗和表演的轶事被用来说明他的想法。关键词:倾听;内隐交际;自我即兴运用;注1华莱士·肖恩的文章《为什么我称自己为社会主义者》无意中却很好地阐释了菲利普·布罗姆伯格关于自我多样性的观点(布罗姆伯格,Citation1998):“与流行的误解相反,演员不一定是模仿或描绘他所了解的他人的专家。相反,演员可能只是一个比其他人更愿意透露自己一些真相的人”(Shawn, Citation2011)值得注意的是:罗宾·魏格特是杰出的精神分析学家的后代,包括她的父亲沃尔夫冈·魏格特和她的祖母伊迪丝·魏格特,她把心理治疗作为一种创造性的艺术(魏格特,Citation1964)相反,几年后,当我在排演《罗密欧与朱丽叶》(Romeo & Juliet)时,一位同性恋导演告诉我要“爷们点”。我在剧中扮演罗密欧。幸运的是,我没有屈服于这位导演对我“看起来像同性恋”的焦虑,,试图迫使“阳刚”的外表——这将破坏我的函数在剧中(是由真正的,纯粹的爱),我相信,为了保持现在和我现场合作伙伴,并有机地发现和体现情绪提高必要的角色,我需要从哪里开始,即使我的言谈举止规范预期一个男人爱上了一个女人(奥康奈尔,Citation2019b)。4在我为治疗师举办的研讨会上,我展示并探索了演员潜台词的概念。我强烈推荐视频反馈作为心理治疗培训课程的工具,类似于视频在屏幕表演课程中的应用——这是为了帮助每个表演艺术家意识到他们的乐器及其可能性。与此相关的是,罗曼内利、莫兰和蒂什比的研究(罗曼内利等人,Citation2019)表明,尤其是戏剧即兴训练,可以帮助治疗师意识到自我和他人,并利用我们的工具。他们特别指出,即兴训练可以帮助我们“提高对Beebe和Lachmann (Citation2002)提出的三个互动组织原则的认识:声音节奏、面部镜像和痛苦调节。”如果所有类型的心理治疗师都承认我们的共识,即治疗师的隐性沟通在治疗中具有主要的临床重要性,那么“治疗之战”(伯克曼,引文2016)可能会结束。考虑到CBT的代表人物朱迪思·贝克(Judith Beck)对治疗师共情倾听的强调——通过他们的“语调、面部表情和肢体语言”(Beck, Citation2011,第239页),也就是潜台词(Beck, Citation2011,第83页)——以及它与心理动力学知识丰富的临床医生(在贝克治疗通道的另一边)的观察是多么相似,比如毕比(Beebe, Citation2004)对治疗师面部使用的关注。Jonathan Shedler的研究表明,无论使用何种方法和技术,每对独特的场景伙伴之间的个体互动最能决定任何治疗的有效性(Shedler, Citation2015)精神分析学家谢尔登·巴赫(Sheldon Bach)可能会将这种做法描述为在主观意识状态和客观自我反思状态之间来回摇摆(Bach, Citation2016, p. 56;奥康奈尔,Citation2019a) 7我曾在其他地方写过我是如何第一次学到这一课的,当时我还是个孩子,看了一部音乐剧《音乐人》(The Music Man)。当我“只是听着”两位主演排练《图书管理员玛丽恩》那场戏时,导演以为我是隐形的,却对我喊道:“马克,不要看他们!我在那一刻学到了,无论我做什么或不做什么,我都是这个场景的积极和明显的一部分(O 'Connell, Citation2019a, Citation2019b)。
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来源期刊
Psychoanalytic Inquiry
Psychoanalytic Inquiry PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS-
CiteScore
1.00
自引率
33.30%
发文量
65
期刊介绍: Now published five times a year, Psychoanalytic Inquiry (PI) retains distinction in the world of clinical publishing as a genuinely monographic journal. By dedicating each issue to a single topic, PI achieves a depth of coverage unique to the journal format; by virtue of the topical focus of each issue, it functions as a monograph series covering the most timely issues - theoretical, clinical, developmental , and institutional - before the field. Recent issues, focusing on Unconscious Communication, OCD, Movement and and Body Experience in Exploratory Therapy, Objct Relations, and Motivation, have found an appreciative readership among analysts, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and a broad range of scholars in the humanities.
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