The Social Atom
In the Healing Room
Module Twelve - 30 minutes
The Social Atom
The Social Atom was developed by J.L. Moreno who formulated a form of psychotherapy called psychodrama, which employed improvised dramatization, role-plays and other therapeutic, spontaneous expressions in healing.
The social atom is a graphic representation of the significant people in our life that shows their relative importance and the psychological/emotional distance we feel from each of them.
Instructions
Make one with your name on it or "ME." Place yourself in the center of a wall by sticking the Post-It there.
Then make a different note for each of the important people, groups, or animals in your life. People who have had an impact on you positive or negative. People in the past and present, alive or dead. As you make a Post-It for each person, group or animal, place it on the wall spaced according to how close you feel to them psychologically/emotionally.
As you place more Post-Its you can adjust the relative distances as you see fit.
When you are finished, take a picture with your phone. You can also draw a picture of this and use triangles for males, circles for females and squares for groups.
Some examples of social atoms:
Take Your Time
Adding Parts to the Social Atom
Mark a Post-It for each part having a response to each person or group. There may be a single part that responds to multiple people. If so, you can make multiple representations of that part so that it can be placed near each person it responds to.
You could even start a second social atom on another wall starting with a specific part as the center with all the people and groups arranged according to the same principles used above. Notice that you could do this for many different parts and each atom may be very different for the different parts.
This can be a useful way of understanding the role your parts play in relationships.
Journal and/or Draw What You Discover
Read On
Feel free to read more in any of the books referenced in your modules. Specific excerpts have been identified for quick reference and easy digestion within modules, but you are welcome to spend more time in these books to expand your knowledge and increase your understanding. Schedule additional time in your Healing Room to use the resources in whatever way makes sense to you.
Alternating Bilateral Stimulation
Having the ABS playing at a volume loud enough to hear it, but low enough that it seems to fade into the background while you learn these skills, is optimal.
Approved Consultant in IFS & EMDR: individual and group consultation via Zoom.