IMPROVing Social Emotional Skills through Therapeutic Improvisation

Format

Workshop

First Presenter's Institution

RISE Youth & Family Services

First Presenter’s Email Address

saranewman@riseyafs.com

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Sara Newman, LCSW, is a therapist and agency owner with over 20 years of experience serving youth, adults, families and community organizations. Through her work she has founded three agencies and serves the community in a variety of ways including crisis stabilization, mentoring, parent advocacy, coaching and psychotherapy. Sara is consistently called upon to consult, train, create policy and curriculum, supervise and facilitate both direct care practitioners as well as leaders of other organizations locally and nationally.

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

The focus of this proposal is on the ‘heart’ strand of the Youth Advocacy and Resiliency conference. This workshop teaches providers how to use therapeutic improvision to develop and enhance mindfulness as well as social emotional learning and related skills in both themselves and in the youth they serve. The exercises and skills taught can be utilized in an individual, group or family setting. This workshop also illustrates through practice and research how providers who learn and practice therapeutic improv as a method of mindfulness are able to be better attuned and connected to their clients which results in better outcomes.

Brief Program Description

Therapeutic Improvisation is used clinically because of the link between improv and social emotional functioning and emotional regulation. Research demonstrates that engaging youth in improv enhances various social emotional skills and executive functioning. It also demonstrates that when providers engage in improv themselves, their impact is greater as evidenced by improved outcomes. Interventions are utilized to teach and providers will leave with ready-to-use skills.

Summary

Therapeutic improvisation is being taught in graduate programs in various fields, utilized in professional settings, school settings as well as clinical settings due to the impact it can have on personal development, therapeutic process and professional outcomes. Executive functioning, social emotional learning and the development of related skills allow youth to function effectively within multiple environments. It allows for the development and practice of self-awareness, emotional regulation, social awareness and social management. These skills are essential as individuals try to navigate their way through school, family and work. Improv mimics real life and offers a controlled environment where you can practice skills and ways to self-regulate, experience failure with low-stakes, and connect to others.

As we know, emotional intelligence grows by increasing the connections between emotions and higher cognitive functions which means experiencing emotions, identifying emotions and then acting on them with intention. In other words, it is learning to slow our brains down in a way that allows us to respond intentionally rather than reacting impulsively. Therapeutic improv does just this. If facilitated well, it creates situations that trains the brain and mind to engage with complex situations through the use of games and exercises. These games and exercises are chosen and facilitated in a way that produces a temporary feeling of uncertainty and stress while at the same time producing a sense of fun and awareness. Learning to manage emotions that emerge during this controlled sense of crisis while playing a game with others is an ideal method for preparing individuals to manage unpredictable, often intense, real-life situations without being distracted by the stress response. Helping others develop these skills is useful in every social service or school setting.

While there is a clear benefit for teaching improv to youth, it is being increasingly used with professionals and taught as a form of mindfulness which allows professionals to be better attuned and connected to clients. Improv is now being offered in medical school and research is demonstrating the improved outcomes in client care when improv is utilized.

This workshop is experiential, and participants will leave with the skills to implement groups in their professional settings.

Evidence

Viola Spolin is internationally recognized for her work in the area of Improvisation with youth. Initially she developed it for her work with troubled youth in Chicago. Since that time, the world of improv as a clinical tool has continued to be used and applied with various populations. Some examples include youth in the juvenile delinquency systems, youth struggling with social skills, anxiety, depression and self-confidence. Therapeutic improv is slightly different than regular improv in that it utilizes specific games to address certain mental health needs or targets a specific populations. Additionally, it is designed and facilitated in a way that allows participants to take the skills practiced and connect them to what is happening in their own lives. The skills needed to engage in improv include things like communication, focus, acceptance, managing time, self-awareness and regulation to name a few. Creating a safe space to engage in improv allows youth to practice different skills and situations in a fun environment with minimal emotional risk. Improv is a way to encourage mindfulness and is often utilized as a mindfulness practice itself. As such, it is being utilized as part of basic curriculum in not only behavioral health programs but also in many medical programs. New research (Fu, 2019) is linking improv to mindfulness and illustrating that the professionals who practice improv as a method of mindfulness are more likely to demonstrate the following: • Attunement: “the ability to know others, self, and situation” • Affirmation: “the ability to validate self and others” • Advancement: “ the ability to enrich others and self through the creation and delivery of ideas” Additional research links provider mindfulness practice to improved outcomes in reduction of client depression, increased perception of empathy by clients and decreased anxiety and depression and anxiety in emergency room personnel. Ghanbari Noshari, (2023)

Additionally, I, as a therapist and group developer have implemented therapeutic improvisation groups in the juvenile detention center, school, partial hospitalization programs and outpatient centers. We are consistently called upon to facilitate these groups and I am consistently called upon to train others in this area.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to understand how improv improves social emotional functioning as well as hone executive functioning in the youth and families they serve.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to recognize the connection between improv, mindfulness and client outcomes and see the value of incorporating improvisational activities into the workplace

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to see and participate in examples of groups and activities that can be implemented in a variety of settings.

Keyword Descriptors

Improv, Emotional regulation, Social skills, Professional development, mindfulness, therapy, group, leadership

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 9:45 AM

End Date

3-4-2024 10:15 AM

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Mar 4th, 9:45 AM Mar 4th, 10:15 AM

IMPROVing Social Emotional Skills through Therapeutic Improvisation

Therapeutic Improvisation is used clinically because of the link between improv and social emotional functioning and emotional regulation. Research demonstrates that engaging youth in improv enhances various social emotional skills and executive functioning. It also demonstrates that when providers engage in improv themselves, their impact is greater as evidenced by improved outcomes. Interventions are utilized to teach and providers will leave with ready-to-use skills.