Integrating Psychodrama and Systemic Constellation Work

Karen Carnabucci, MSS, LCSW, TEP, is a licensed clinical social worker and board-certified trainer, educator and practitioner of psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy. She has trained with Zerka T. Moreno, J.L. Moreno's widow and collaborator in psychodrama, and Heinz Stark, a leading trainer in systemic constellation work. Her private practice in psychotherapy and teaching is based in Racine, Wisconsin. Ronald Anderson, M.Div., LPC, TEP, trained with J.L. Moreno, Bert Hellinger and other innovators of experiential psychotherapy. Through his many careers as minister, administrator and psychotherapist, he worked with street people, addicts, helping professionals and many others. He lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and was a national trainer in experiential therapies and family constellation work.

• Acknowledgements. Preface. 1. What is Experiential Therapy and Why is it Important? 2. Jacob Moreno, the Innovator, and Bert Hellinger, the Synthesizer. 3. Case Study: Addressing One Issue with Two Methods. 4. Assessment: An Adventure into the Being of the Person. 5. Warming Up to Action. 6. Auxiliaries and Representatives Assist the Process. 7. The Place of the Mother and the Role of the Father. 8. Couples and Relationships. 9. Miscarriages, Abortions and Other Lost Children. 10. Trauma, Healing, Perpetrators and Justice. 11. Altars, Rituals and Prayers. 12. New Developments and Next Steps. Bibliography.

The book is thoughtfully organised so that a practitioner would be able to use it for reference; the chapter on assessment/diagnosis using the two orientations is particularly insightful. We were impressed that so much material is incorporated in a relatively short book, including those aspects of Hellinger's theory that are generally regarded as controversial. We liked the humility with which the book ends, acknowledging that we stand in a particular time, that both modalities have grown and changed and will continue to do so in the hands of future practitioners.