Utilizing Superheroes in Play Therapy and Counseling NASW-Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference: A Meeting of the Professions Sophia Ansari, LPCC Midwest Play Therapy Institute October 24, 2017 The Rise of Superhero Therapy 1 Geek Therapy and Geek Culture • Geek Affirmative Therapy- therapy that is grounded in empirically-supported methodology and uses an artifact of geek culture. • Uses superhero symbolism as a tool in therapy • A geek is a person who makes a conscious effort to develop his or her knowledge about an interest. Sports vs. geek culture clash? 2 • One of the earliest pioneers was Lauretta Bender (Bender- Gestalt Visual Motor Test) • Published work on therapeutic properties of superheroes • Asked to testify at a hearing that looked to stop the public criticism regarding comics • Congress would eventually side with her viewpoints that “comic- book reading is not the cause of emotional maladjustment in children.” • Embrace it! Don’t pathologize it! • We as therapists need to know more about the things that are important to our clients. • If it matters for our clients it should matter for us. 3 Why Superheroes? • A cultural topic that influences so many people • Their role in positive psychology • They help those in need, uphold strict codes of honor • They have very human backgrounds • Great role models • Go through an emotional, mental, physical journey • Same struggles as us (relationships, tough decisions) • Offers chance to process relationships, morals and values • Makes the client feel less alone, and more understood when they can connect and relate to the characters in the stories 4 • Comics, books, movies are a reflection of the world around us • Superheroes show us who we are and what we are capable of achieving. We’re connected to the characters and narratives because they are grounded in human emotion. By tapping into the experiences we’ve had with them, it may be possible to better understand ourselves and the way we look at the world. 5 • Stories can be healing • Tragic pasts do not necessarily have to lead to tragic futures Several studies have found that reading the Harry Potter series produces meaningful benefits in terms of increasing empathy in the readers, as well as assisting the readers with coping with painful experiences, including grief, bullying, and dealing with prejudice. 6 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jasp.12279/full One study found that children who read passages from Harry Potter relating to prejudice reduced their own prejudice toward immigrants (Experiment 1) and toward the LGBT population (Experiment 2). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25304498 Another study found that reading such passages of Harry Potter resulted in activation of brain regions related to pain and empathy. Can make therapist approachable to someone who is hesitant to therapy. 7 My Favorite Superhero • Who? • Why? • When? How to use Superheroes in Therapy 8 Imagine Yourself a Superhero…. • Powers • Weaknesses oHow to use them oHow to use them oHow to make them oHow to real transform them oHow might they oHow to backfire overcome them 9 Fantasy Exercise What would you do if you could… • Fly and move at super speed • Travel through time • Change shape • Have super strength • Be invisible • Commit crimes without detection “The superhero metaphor is the guide to therapeutic change.” Find issues relevant for your client 10 • Bring one issue per session. Read it in session, process the content and theme • Can change the storyline • What would you do differently? • How would you handle the situation if you were given the resources or mutant power? • Who would you be if you were a superhero? • Dr. Patrick O’Connor • Developed the database “Comicspedia” (http://www.comicspedia.net/) • an online database filled with hundreds of individual comic book summaries and their psychological focuses 11 12 Superman Outsider, identity concealed, orphaned, alien, survivor, adopted Batman Grief, loss, anger, adopted Grief, loss, orphaned, adopted, radioactive accident, bullied, pseudo- Spiderman maturity, losses in love Failed experiment by father, anger control, outsider, grief, loss, bullied, The Hulk father alcoholic and abusive, possible Dissociative Identity Disorder Wonder Woman Cultural assimilation, gender equality Chemical accident, self-centered, The Flash hyperkinetic (hyperactive), grief Super Girl Orphaned, alien, survivor, immaturity Green Lantern Grief, loss of father, will power For a free copy of this book email: [email protected] 13 14 • Create a comic book (Scott McCloud book: How to make a comic) • Clay Face from Batman example (“What are some situations when you’ve tried different roles and you weren’t successful?) • Superhero therapy is perfect for including the expressive arts like: art, music, dance, bibliotherapy, poetry, role play 15 Group Therapy • Children create the comic together. Each child draws a panel to create one large story. Super Groups • We see super groups all throughout comic books - The Avengers, Justice League, X-Men, just to name a few. • Illustrate common aspects of group dynamics. The reader can easily identify situations he or she has encountered in their own group work and even learn how these characters addressed them. • Question for group: How do The Avengers decide upon their roles when each hero possesses such uniquely different strengths? 16 Super Groups • One of the best examples of group dynamics being portrayed in a recent comic book: X-Men Second Coming. • 14-issue story arc spanning five different comic titles • Great story and portrayal of group dynamics - how people with different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses come together to work toward a common goal (visit Comicspedia for more information) • Throughout the series, we see many subgroups form - pairings and task forces - that highlight the benefit of dividing tasks among smaller groups of people. • Illustrates how to effectively work under pressure. It shows us success (as well as failure) • Great examples of how to work with others in a group Therapeutic Storytelling Authoring Tools for Post-Traumatic Stress • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the organization in charge of developing technology for the United States military. • Software assists current and former military members in creating comics to help cope with post- traumatic stress. 17 Mindfulness Self-Compassion 18 Listen to podcast Episode 6 on https://www.geektherapy.com/episode-6-comicspedia- returns/ 10 comics from the Big Two (Marvel and DC) are discussed and how they can be used in therapy (mental health and substance abuse). Great info! -Batman and Robin #1-3 -Batgirl #1 -Uncanny X-Men #519 -Runaways #1 -Amazing Spider-man #625 -Ultimate Comics Spider-man -Nightwing #101-106 (Year One) -Green Lantern: New Guardians #6 -X-men: Second Coming -Superman Family Adventures 19 Max Gamer Dr. Frank Gaskill-author of Max Gamer, a comic book starring an Aspie superhero. https://www.comixology.com/Max-Gamer-Aspie-Superhero-1/digital- comic/45425 http://www.maxgameronline.com More Resources!!! 20 Celebrating Mental Health and Geek Culture! • Josué Cardona, a Licensed Professional Counselor in North Carolina • Video game therapy • Launched the blog “Geek Therapy” (http://www.geektherapy.com/) and weekly podcast • A website about how geek culture is “saving the world” 21 Dr. Lawrence Rubin Ph.D. Travis Langley 22 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a contextually focused form of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy that uses mindfulness and behavioral activation to increase clients' psychological flexibility--their ability to engage in values-based, positive behaviors while experiencing difficult thoughts, emotions, or sensations. SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidenced-based Programs and Practices ACT and Using Fantasy in Therapy Dr. Janina Scarlet http://www.superhero-therapy.com/ • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a form of cognitive behavior therapy that is referred by some as a "superhero manual." • Uses superheroes in a CBT framework • It allows you to become the kind of superhero you want to be • 6 core principles 23 Acceptance- Allows individuals to accept a painful event or emotion or thought they are experiencing. Acceptance allows the individual to talk about what happened in order to heal. Individuals with PTSD can understand what Harry Potter must have gone through when he had flashbacks of his parents dying. He has a hard time coping with it and this is where the topic of acceptance can be introduced. Mindfulness (contact with the present moment)- People get hung up on the past or anxious about the future. You want to be in the present, experience what’s going on right now and that allows us to interact with life as its happens in the moment (Iron Fist). 24 Defusion-Allows self not to get carried away by thoughts like “I’m a loser.” The process allows individuals to separate from their thoughts and allow them to say “I’m having a thought that I’m a loser.” Which is very different from “I am a loser.” For example, whilst growing up, Harry had thoughts that he wasn’t good enough. When Hagrid tells him he’s a wizard, Harry has a hard time believing that. So, Diffusion would allow him to not over identify with his thoughts (the thoughts that make him beat himself up). Self as context (the observing self)- Allows the individual to notice the kind of labels they are assigning to themselves like “loser.” These labels affect who we are and how we act. If someone believes they are a loser then they start to act like one (not interact with other people, isolate self). Self as context allows one to understand they are just labels and move past them and discover who they really are. When Harry goes to school he has a hard time forming an identity. Suddenly he’s popular and the center of attention. Here’s where self as context would allow him to look past these labels assigned to him by society and allow him to be the person he wants to be which is a true friend and a person who wants to treat people right.