Bibliodrama in social work

1. Bibliodramainsocial work Lecture at the Newman University, 18. 09. 2017. 3100 McCormickWichita, KS 67213-2097316-942-4291 Zdravka Leutar, PhD Faculty of Law – University of Zagreb, Department of Social Work, Nazorova 51, 10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska / Croatia and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciencies in Mostar, Matice Hrvatske bb, 88000 Mostar, Bosna i Hercegovina / BH zleutar@pravo.hr

2. Introduction • People’s experience/s are intheBible • Bibliodrama: Greek words: “biblion” = books and “drama”= action, effect • End of the 60s = Bibliodrama and Psychodrama • Life – the Bible – life • Bibliodrama is a life interpretation of a biblical text in emotional, cognitive and spiritual presence of the participants.

3. Bibliodrama is a creative and spontaneous process • Creativity is a part of God’s creative power in man. • The man is co-creator in building a new world with God. • Spontaneity allows men to create new things, not only to repeat old things. • By Bibliodrama, such creative and spontaneous process is supposed to “wake up” the already well- known and eternally recited biblical texts and make them fruitful.

4. Bibliodrama is new experience, a new attitude. • In performing Bibliodrama it is not about learning a few necessary methods, but about adopting a certain attitude, that is, the attitude of a person versus the biblical text. • We enter the biblical text lightly and gradually. • We are observing the content of each word, sentence, and the entire text. • We go much deeper into the text on cognitive and emotional levels.

5. Bibliodrama and a professional social worker: the possibility to improve yourself and to cope with stressful situations better • Some therapeutic elements of Bibliodrama. Interaction between the content of the Bible text and the members of the group

7. The choice of roles • It is very important. • Who plays which role? • Who has power? • Who feels weak and plays the role of a victim, and so on. • It is important: the thoughts and images are not suppressed. • To try to identify with some biblicalcharacter or, for example … a bush ofroses. • Participant brings a lot of his or her personality into it and awakens much of his/her own life.

8. Bibliodrama: numerouspossibilitiesofidentification • In the biblical text: a lot of different personalities and situations. • Other roles: animals, objects, nature, different feelings and emotions. • New approach to the personality of an individual and a professional.

9. Genesis 13:1-12 • Abram and Lot Separate • 13 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. • 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. • 5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizites were also living in the land at that time. • 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” • 10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.

10. The Analysis: a social worker • One participant: A painful face facing the floor as reaction on the verse 13:6a “Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together…” • In her real life she identified with her estate. • A chance to raise awareness of her own life situation. • She later on talked and talked about her situation. • Other participans expressed their support and closeness to her. • Simply, her personality gained another dimension.

11. Aplication of Bibliodrama • Social workers work in a Bibliodrama Group with a biblical text and possible life situations: • They can raise awareness of their life and professional situations • Work on their acceptance and resolution. • Bibliodrama gives an integrative approach to reality in which all dimensions of man are represented: spiritual, physical, psychological, and social. Supportivemethods Professional self-help, Self -recognition

12. Bibliodramaapplied in different areas of activityinsocial work:

13. Bibliodrama – a practical example It starts with ”warming up” … • The leader welcomes the group, informing the participants that we have come to participate in the Bibliodrama. • After that, the participants meet each other through their sociometric maps (name, residence, place of birth and life paths).

14. Reading and familiarizing with the text • Different ways of reading text can be used: One participant reads the text aloud, all together they read the text aloud ... • Everyone finds a suitable place in the room and places himself / herself as comfortable as possible; it is possible to read the text twice. • Everyone has his / her own text and once more reads it in silence, so to find a word or a sentence that has a specific meaning for him / her. • After that, the participants walk around the room, trying to pronounce the keywords that appear in the text: Love is ... Lost ... He’s merciful ... He’s at home ...

15. Work on the side of life • It is important to make a connection between our life and the topic/s we have in the Bibliodrama. • Space design: Participants are trying to recall the situation ”Once when I left”. They take props, trying to fully reconstruct that personal experience. • For example, somebody will recall a difficult childhood experience, when the parents had an argue, and he / she was hiding in the attic of the house. Or s/he could recall the situation when s/he left home and went to the world of drugs. • Leader interviews:

16. Text – Life - Text • Recalling the text by common reading of the text. Building a statue • Each of the participants expresses, through the statue s/he builds, the way s/he sees his / her own word or sentence. • Participants of the group who are in the audience express what they see. • The protagonist expresses by words what s/she wanted to show by his / her statue / picture.

17. Life – Text – Life • Identification with all the roles led by the leader who identifies with all main characters. • Selection of roles • Bibliodrama – a group roleplay • Exiting the roles • Feedback about the role you played and a level of identitication with your role.

18. Integration • Creative phase: drawing and paint block, and making artwork. • Presentation of works of art through exhibition guidance.

19. The End • Final round: how the participants feel and what they carry to their daily lives, their reality, from the Bibliodrama. • It is important to note that Bibliodrama has four levels: cognitive level (knowledge), emotional level (feelings), spiritual level (adoration - meditation) and social level (action). Bibliodrama is not a spectacle for the audience, but an event in which participants experience the meaning of certain words – physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.

20. Applying Bibliodrama in the curriculum of Social Work GET KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

21. WORK ON OURSELVES

22. GET KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Knowledge of themethods of Bibliodrama• Knowledge and understanding of the importance of the spiritual dimension of man• Knowledge of the importance of psychodynamics ofgroups / group work• Skills of group leadership• Developing creativity in work• Developing communication skills• Participation in teamwork• Knowledge of new techniques in social work with a group• Knowledge of the mechanisms to cope with stress and crises

23. QUALITY OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS • The sense of community and a better knowledge of each other• Work on better relations• A better working relationship• A better understanding of self and others• Respect for and acceptance of diversity• Learning from others

24. Conclusion • This is the method by which participant brings along his / her own life experience, personality, history or culture, meets with the biblical text and integrates his / her reality in it, and after ”passing through the biblical text” meets the side of life again. • In Bibliodrama, it is very important for a leader to estimate and know the group psychodynamics well.

25. Bibliodrama in social work can be a useful method for professionals, social workers and other helping professions in terms of easier and more meaningful approaches to stressful situations at work, and also an excellent means of self-identification and work on their own personality as a precondition for good professional work. • Bibliodrama can be applied in self-help groups of social workers and other assisting professions, or peer groups, in solving some of the problematic situations in work with users. • Bibliodrama is also a method that social workers can apply in dealing with different groups of users

26. Thank You for Your attention!