Virtual ICASSI 2020

Virtual ICASSI 2020

Minsk, Belarus,

Virtual Opening

An amazing response to the Corona Virus 19 pandemic of 2020 was the virtual ICASSI facilitated by the co-chairs of the board. Unpredictable wonders happened as participants “zoomed” in who would not have otherwise been able to attend. Over 300 participants from over 30 countries from China and Japan to Europe (including Malta), North and South America smiled, squealed, and chatted on seeing their old and new friends and teachers.

July 19, 2020 In the Opening Ceremony, Eva Dreikurs Ferguson welcomed the participants with a virtual hug as she and we would have done had we been together in person. Her formal comments reminded us that, her father, Rudolf Dreikurs lived in a time of many changes including World Wars I and II, though not in a worldwide pandemic as we are. However, his life experiences revealed to him (and consequently to us) the unique qualities of democratic living and how it positively contributes to human relationships.

Dreikurs met Adler after World War I and worked collaboratively with him for many years. One significant project was the rebuilding of post- war Vienna, in which a democratic city that included the principles of Adlerian Psychology was developed. The Adler-Dreikurs team built on the tenets of social equality, which hold that each person has value and belongs as an equal in the human community, versus a competitive society that considers people as beings who are inferior or superior.
Eva also gave a history of the ICASSI Summer Schools and how they were organized. ICASSI summer schools were built on the principles of social equality, with chairpersons representing different geographic regions for developing these principles around the world.

July 19, 2020 In her address as part of the Opening Welcome, Marion Balla spoke about “150 YEARS: ALFRED ADLER.” Marion shared direct quotes from Adler himself. Some were very appropriate to our time with the Corona virus challenge: “We are the generation to take action.”

“It is not what is happening; it is how we interpret it.” Social Interest means activity: it means to name social ills and inequities; to embrace cooperation and engage in guiding behavior to the useful side of life. It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. Adler made this profound remark: “They may be my enemies; that I cannot help. But I will not be theirs.” Admirable!

Virtual Plenaries

July 20, 2020 Eva Dreikurs Ferguson delivered “ADLERIAN PSYCHOLOGY IN THE PANDEMIC.” Practical pointers on overcoming isolation included the following:

• Contribute to the community.

• Contribute to the well-being of others in isolation.

• Minimize the suffering, the sense of isolation, the discouragement, the emotional pain.

• Reduce depression, self-pity and feeling sorry by engaging in social interest, which turns us out of ourselves.

• Be reminded that you minimize self-pity with gratitude. When we have self-pity we do not use our potential strengths fully, so we need to avoid self-pity. We can and should understand our feelings, including negative ones, but we need to mix these with hope and encouragement. Just self-pity robs us of our strength.

July 21, 2020 Continuing on the theme of “SOCIAL INTEREST,” Zivit Abramson, described how Adler was influenced by Darwin and the flow of evolution. The human race must cope, and the weakest in nature (physically, mentally, emotionally) are the most vulnerable. In accordance with the needs of the situation, we must act with social interest towards ourselves, others and the situation. One way to define Social Interest is as follows:

•to see with the eyes of another,

•to hear with the ears of another, and

•to feel with the heart of another.

An example of a lack of social interest is a person who says: “It is my choice not to wear a mask.” This is not in the interest of the group. In an argument “state what you believe, not that ‘I’m right and you’re wrong’.” It is also our responsibility to keep ourselves physically and mentally fit so that we may be of use to others, ourselves, and the community.

July 22, 2020 Theo Joosten shared useful information on how “LIFE STYLE” is formed. We use our creative resources to establish a view of ourselves, others and the world, which makes up our life style, and therefore we act in accordance with our goals. Often we don’t know why we are doing what we are doing. With the help of a psychologist one can see what we are up to and discover whether it is useful or not. To discover one’s life style, various avenues are explored with the client including these:

• Family constellation (whether we are first born, middle, only etc.)

• Early Recollections (from age 5 or 6)

• Dreams

• Metaphors like “my husband is a bulldog.”

• Artwork, Drama, play, all of which express one’s private logic (our own personal view of ourselves, others, and the world).

Adler’s Individual Psychology refers to the Indivisible person in Psychology because we are one being, physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically.

July 23, 2020 Anthea Millar brought to us a plenary on “TRAUMA AND GRIEF IN THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC,” acknowledging the collective grief about the death of George Floyd, who died at the knee of an officer of the law. Adlerians abhor racism and other disrespectful prejudices. Adlerians cannot close their eyes to social conditions, and now those that the pandemic has brought about, such as:

• Managers working long hours

• Essential workers in child care, food and sanitation without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Unpaid retail, wait staff, and those in personal service.

• Forgotten prisoners, the homeless, nursing home residents.

Trauma is defined as a shattering sense of personal powerlessness, which many are experiencing with the pandemic.

Antidotes to the isolation challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic are these:

1. Take an active role in our recovery.

2. Engage in collective activity and rituals on line.

3. Get clear, accurate information.

4. Get in touch with your body.

5. Exercise and find a nurturing place in nature.

6. Find or establish routines.

7. Look forward (not back) “What Am I Doing Today?”

8. Find new meanings in the cruelest most challenging situations.

In the follow up portion of the plenary, a question afforded Anthea Millar the opportunity to demonstrate an empathetic response. This was Valuable!

July 24, 2020 Surely in the time of global challenges, “ENCOURAGMENT” is needed. Yoav Shoham shared the Principles of Encouragement:

• Accept persons as they are.

• Demonstrate mutual respect (not hurting, humiliating, while listening carefully). Stop blaming.

• Emphasize the positive in every reality. There is something positive even if we can barely find it.

• Recognize the effort of striving persons.

• Decrease the importance of mistakes and from that, decrease the fear of making mistakes.

• Enable others to take responsibility. (We count on you; we know you have the ability.)

• Believe truthfully in the other person.

• Facilitate a feeling of belonging.

• Progress gradually with short term goals; this ensures success.

• Develop skills in sharing and cooperation; connect with others who share commonalities and values.

July 27, 2020 Rachel Shifron’s presentation on “EARLY RECOLLECTIONS (ER’S) AND SUPERVISION” included questions and a demonstration on the use of ER’s. ER’s show the psychologist the creative power of the individual, their strengths versus their weakness/ helplessness. Rachel stated that “No matter what happens to you, you can always use your resources to do something different.”

In response to a supervisee’s question, Rachel pointed out that to show a client mistakes is not the way to build a person’s beliefs in oneself. Instead, point out effective versus ineffective strategies. One way to facilitate change is to ask the client to retell the ER in a different way in which “you would not feel insecure.” When a person changes/reconstructs an ER, it changes the approach to the presenting problem. Rachel modeled this for us with her supervisee.

July 28, 2020 Karen John, lectured on “DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP,” which is defined as value based and ethical leadership. Adler pointed out that social equality increases social interest, and social equality is better for everyone. A successful democratic leader demonstrates social interest in that he or she is inclusive and inspires the group. It requires building respectful relationships and involves listening to and supporting others (social interest, right?). Democratic leadership has its drawbacks as well, such as poor decision making by unskilled groups, decisions take too long, minority opinions are overlooked, and communication breaks down in times of crisis. However, as Rudolf Dreikurs believed, “There is no ill caused by democracy that cannot be cured by more democracy.”

July 29, 2020 Gerhard Baumer shared his research on “DREAMS AND SLEEP.” The stages of sleep are as follows:

1. Light sleep, which lasts about 10 minutes, blocks sensory connection.

2. Deep sleep lasts about 19 minutes where flashes of light/color may occur and repair takes place; waste is moved from the brain to the lymph nodes.

3. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) our brains are extremely active; we act, see and meet people. We remember small pieces of the dream.

If we are on meds/antidepressants, we may experience few or no dreams at all.

The function of dreams is preparation for the next day. Dreams use metaphors and symbols; not true facts; not common sense; dreams use our private logic. In psychotherapeutic work, Dreams are useful along with family constellation, current atmosphere in identifying the misunderstandings that lead to conflict. They are related to the immediate challenge we are facing.

July 30, 2020 Betty Lou Bettner offered a demonstration using the “CRUCIAL C’S”, which she described as the FOUR ESSENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS:

1. We all have a need for affection/to belong/ to fit in; we need others: to CONNECT.

2. We need to grow and improve. Children will not give up until they feel loved and independent, that is to be CAPABLE. Parental love is best demonstrated with constant encouragement for the child to move toward independence. We are to teach the children to run the washer; parents and children can do jobs together.

3. The need for significance is identified as to COUNT: doing jobs for the family such as taking out the trash, preparing a simple meal, having opinions valued, feeling needed by the family. Social Interest is the key to mental health.

4. The fourth Crucial C is enCOURAGEment. No child, no group, no system can survive without encouragement Concentrate on what goes well. Recognize improvement. Find strengths.

Regarding the current COVID 19 challenge, Betty Lou Bettner recommended we draw on our creativity to find solutions. Of the influences and impacts of Heredity and Environment, our creative power is the most important.

Here’s a quotation for thought: “If you can’t do what you do, do what you can.” Now, that’s encouraging!

July 31, 2020 Marina Bluvshtein discussed “MOTIVATION” as related to locomotion as physical and emotional motion. She used the example of how we came together as teachers and participants to deal with this calamity, of not meeting in person for the summer school due to the pandemic. Of two theories of psychology, Behaviorism emphasizes the past while Adlerian Psychology emphasizes the future. Marina asked some useful counseling questions such as:

1. What is happening now?

2. What is your next courageous step?

She introduced us to the Tri Spoke Wheel of Motivation:

• Knowledge

• Courage

• Contributions

Troublemakers such as these:

• Ignorance can be dealt with via Knowledge.

• Fear can be met with Courage.

• Greed is alleviated by contributions.

The relationship between obstacles and motivation was demonstrated by the examples of Beethoven who was completely deaf and focused on what was within him (not outside of him) and wrote such beauties as “Ode to Joy.” And Dostoevsky who in a labor camp turned inside himself to find motivation in compassion and kindness.

A guest was invited in for a demonstration. “If motivation were an object, what would that be?” she asked. The art of Adlerian-Dreikursian Psychology is in helping our patients to see themselves as they are but also as they may be in the future. In demonstrations such as these, the ICASSI teachers modeled their therapeutic skills and became personable and approachable.

And there you have it, a summary of 12 components in this virtual ICASSI that was meant to be held in Minsk, Belarus. All had hoped that ICASSI teachers, staff, and participants could bring to that challenged country our positive, hopeful, futuristic psychology. It could not be; however, our technological web mistress, Sabine Landscheidt taped the lectures and coordinated the zoom technology so that we could be together. Friends were reunited; counselors, parents, and teachers who otherwise could not have attended were able to “zoom in” for the lectures and the learned follow up discussion. Over 70 participants surveyed in as first timers. As one participant stated, “ICASSI may be on to something with this virtual mode of communication.” We may be able to reach professionals and parents all over the world virtually. ICASSI 2020 will long be remembered as unique, powerful, and positive. What more can we ask?

All videos can be accessed at http://youtube.com/icassi

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