Professional Log

Title:
Conversations with the Id and Superego
Modality:

Writing/Dramatherapy

Time:

30mins

Facilitator
Information
:

Danielle Jelleyman, training Arts Therapist, BEd

Materials:

Piece of paper and writing pen or pencil/ two empty chairs (assuming client
and therapist are sitting on a chair each to start with).

Goal:

To get the client understanding the impact of the interplay between the id
and the superego, to strengthen the mediating ego.
Therapist and client talk about the attributes of a child and of a parent. The
client remembers themselves as a child (if a child, they remember
themselves as younger than they are), then client thinks of a parental
figure in their life.
Writing therapy- client chooses a problem they are facing and writes what
they want as a child (the id of their personaloity) using their
unpreferred hand perhaps addressing it to the parental figure (the
superego of ther personailty). Then they swap to the preffered hand
and imaginging themselves as the parental figure/caretaker of the
child writes a reply. Again, writing with the unpreffered hand, the
client writes back to the parental figure as the child repeat until
time is up. Discuss what they may have discovered in the writing.
What kind of tone did the parent use, what did the child need.

Method/
Process:

Dramatherapy- allocate a chair to the inner child (id) and to the inner
parent (superego). The client chooses a problem they are facing. The
client choose either the child or parent chair to start with. Therapist
encourages the client to take on the body language of the character
they are playing. Client talks to the invisible parent or child in the
empty chair opposite them, telling what they feel or what they need,
any advice etc. When ready, swap chairs and do the same for the
other chair. Repeat until time is up. Therapist talks with client about
what they noticed and what arose from the conversation. Talk about
what tones and bodylanguage was used and how this may tell
something about the clients inner talk is happening. Talk about what
each part of the person needs- the inner child and inner parent to
problem solve the situation played out.

Outcome:
(including
your
personal
reaction to /
reflection on
participating
in this
activity)

I undertook this intervention by sitting in the chairs and writing. The drama
approach may help clients who are not confident at writiting. I didnt have an
audience or witness at home so I chose the writing option (however, I could
have filmed it). I had already had a lot of inner dialog around this situation,
so had sorted some of the problems out in my head. This was good to make
things concrete however. I am always surprised and impressed that when I
change hands an inner uninhibited wisdom shines through. I can take this
dialog in my mind now and tell my anxious soul that Ive already had this
conversation.