Work Trainings in the Mental Health Field with Psychodrama as Self-Care
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been to a work training. How many? Is it like one or two? Maybe five to seven? Or is it A MILLION? In the first two years of my career, I could not even BEGIN to tell you how many trainings/orientations I attended. I just. I can’t. I don’t. <shudder>
What have all these trainings given me? Let’s see….
1. Giant stacks of paper (which I’m always glad about for doodling purposes, yet, at the same time, I cringe for the environment).
2. A love/hate relationship with PowerPoint (WHO ELSE HAS DEEP FEELS ABOUT THIS?!)
3. A commute home in which I question everything I am doing with my life. (#existentialcrisis)
PLUS, there is the added all-encompassing disappointment in fellow adults’ abilities to spell. <sigh>
Needless to say, in a training for my new job following burnout, I had reached my capacity for the above as well as: a) small talk with others, 2) stale snacks, and 3) general bullshit.
WHOA with the negativity. Right?!
Time for some self-care. But honestly, I was doing everything I could to care for the self. I utilized all the breaks. I wore comfortable clothing. I slept well. I sang in the car. I treated myself to a pleasant café lunch. I socialized a little. I took a walk to get space when necessary. I even brushed my teeth in the middle of the day (which gives one a surprising boost).
Guess what? I still wanted to scream at people. My thoughts were angrily whipping back and forth with every presentation slide like that little needle on a seismograph during an earthquake.
Then, there were the role plays. !!!
For those of you who like role plays, fine, but I’ve never met a group of strangers who jumped at the chance to play pretend in front of more strangers.
“Who would like to volunteer?”
So many crickets. Absolutely. No. Eye. Contact.
Somehow, I managed to avoid the first three role plays (that’s right, it’s not my first time avoiding role plays, not even close). The time I did participate in a role-play, I had to be cornered by upper…
