Cultural Awareness and Reflections in the Process of Learning and Practicing Psychodrama in Taiwan

Abstract This paper will discuss the practicing of psychodrama from a multicultural perspective. In particular, we will explore the roles and impacts of Chinese cultural factors in doing psychodrama in Taiwan. We believe psychodrama trainees and practitioners in Taiwan still constantly facing the issues of making discretionary judgment in balancing various cultural considerations while doing psychodrama. Those are very valuable experiences. We will interview psychodramatists in Taiwan and document their experiences and inner process of learning and doing psychodrama.

Literature Review

1. The Influence of Culture The Implications of Culture The Impacts of Culture on Human Behavior

2. Cultural Differences between East and West The Content of Chinese Culture Perspective on Self Relations with Others Perspective on Life Attitude of Individualism and Collectivism

3. Cultural Impacts and Cultural Identity The Five-Stage of Cultural Impacts The Development of Cultural Identity

4. 1. The Cultural Impacts and Multicultural Counseling Competency The Basic Philosophy in Theory of Counseling Psychology The Cultural Impacts in Counseling Context Cultural Value and Counseling The Personality Perspective on Mental Health Multicultural Counseling Competency Two Distinctive Views of Multicultural Counseling Competency Multicultural Counseling Competency and Attitude

Research Method

1. Research Aim The purpose of this study is to understand the interacting effects of cultural factors and culture awareness on the learning and practicing psychodrama in Taiwan.

2. Research Subjects and Research Method We use qualitative research method and collecting data via in-depth interviews with seven counselors (psychodramatists) in Taiwan. All seven counselors received at least four years of training in psychodrama. Their experience in directing psychodrama ranges from one year to eighteen years, and therefore covers work experiences among older, middle, and younger generations of psychodramatists in Taiwan. Their background informaiton are shown in the following table:

The major components of the interviews includes: (1) The inner process of learning psychodrama; (2) The relations between learning process and personal background and life experience, (3) The experienced cultural impacts in the process of learning, (4) The multicultural issues presented in the psychodrama theater.

Research Finding and Discussion

1. 1. The Impacts of personal life experience and Chinese culture on learning psychodrama (1) The way one expresses thinking, emotion and behaving One ’ s emotion and affection can be expressed uthentically (A) Awareness of one ’ s habitual inhibition when facing authoritative figures (F)

(2) Personal (Self /other) boundaries The interpersonal law of “ attaching importance to interpersonal harmony, avoiding conflicts ” keeps the relationship stays on a surface level, safe but not real. (A, F) The cultural thinking of emphasizing “ self in relations ” were challenged (D) “ Differentiation ” in psychodrama can not resolve the role conflicts in family. (C)

(3) Relationships with Family and Parents Family or parents are not the burden of personal differentiation, the mutual relationship is a reciprocal process (F) Find more alternative choices from “ role reversal ” (C) Taking good care of oneself so that one can have better relations with others (B)

2. The cultural impacts and reflections of trainings from counseling psychology and doing psychodrama Language and terms from counseling profession are disconnected with daily life language (E) (G)

Psychodrama carries the load of culture, and carries “ cultural split ” (G) The strain of the big environment became the best foster for the surge of psychodrama When one leaves psychodramatic language and approach and comes back to real life, one experiences a “ cultural split ” Psychodrama carries the load of culture, and carries “ cultural split ”

There aren ’ t any so called East West cultural problems, there are only cross-cultural issues within psychodrama theater (D) Back to the commonality of human nature (E)

3. Experience and influences of learning psychodrama with foreign (Western) trainers (F) (1) The stage of following blindly: Whatever taught by foreign trainers is good (The foreign moon is rounder than Chinese moon.) (2) The stage of impacting: To criticize one ’ s old learning by new learning. (3) The stage of settling down: Begin to see the East- West cultural differences and to ponder over the impacts of these differences (4) The stage of integration: Want to connect the old learning with new learning, finding both of them are good.

Conclusion and Suggestions