Wordless Wednesday - Eco Chic
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 02/06/2008 - 11:26
Thoughts about Blogging the AGPA Annual Meeting
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 02/05/2008 - 16:37As I get ready for the AGPA annual meeting, there is some discussion on the mailing list of group psychotherapists that I’m on about a blogger being there. Dr. Bob, who has posted comments on the blog here, has asked an important question. How do the group psychotherapists attending the annual meeting feel about being blogged about? It relates back to an earlier discussion about members of the list using material from the group. It relates to boundaries. It relates to narcissism.
For some, the old quote from Oscar Wilde may come to mind,
“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”
For others, perhaps including people who have talked about introversion on the list recently, the opposite holds true.
Some people have some very practical concerns. Can blogs, along with traditional media, be used to elevate the perception of group psychotherapy as a beneficial form of treatment for some patients?
Others may have reactions based on fears about the ambiguous nature of blogs. Within the blogging and journalism communities there are lots of discussions about exactly what blogging is. Is it journalism? What sort of ethics apply to bloggers? Is it the same as applies to journalists?
This leads to complicated decisions by organizations about whether or not they will provide media credentials to bloggers. More and more organizations are, but it remains hit and miss. Since I've been credentialed by many major organizations, getting credentials for me seems easier, but this ties back to the credentialing process and the issues of 'Am I good enough' that seem to emerge in every field.
I will note that my access to the AGPA annual meeting will be essentially the same as that of any other reporter. It might be a little higher based on the trust I've established with some group psychotherapists on the mailing list, but on the other hand, I am committed to journalistic ethics and trying not to damage that trust.
All of this said, I am very interested in hearing people's concerns about a blogger in their midst at the conference. It is something that I have to face where ever I go, and I trust the reactions here will be open and honest and perhaps give me useful insights which will help me be a better blogger.
Most of the above, I sent in a slightly different format to the list.
Dr. Bob responded (and I’m quoting him with permission),
I guess I see bloggers as like critics. Or, more neutrally, like reporters.
So I feel anxious. Self-conscious. Will he pan me? Or give me a thumbs-up? Or not mention me at all? The issue isn't just his opinion, but the opinions of those he influences. And it's not just about me, but about my work. So it's complicated. But we share some interests, and I've read his blog (and posted to it), so overall I'm hopeful. Expectant.
It is interesting to read Bob’s reaction. I don’t usually think about my opinions as being able to cause others anxiety, but I guess I can see that.
There are still a few weeks to go before the AGPA conference, but I am hoping that during these coming weeks I can explore more of my own thoughts about going the reactions of others and learn more from all of it.
Fiona and Barack
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 02/05/2008 - 09:52As many of you know, Kim and I have been loyal Edwards supporters, traveling to New Hampshire, coordinating activities here in Connecticut. When Sen. Edwards suspended his campaign, we were contacted by just about everyone. Obama supporters across the county sent us emails about why we should switch to Obama. Political dignitaries in Connecticut called us up asking us to support Clinton. We even got an email a Gravel supporter.
Many of our friends said they were going to vote for Sen. Edwards anyway, simply to make a statement, or in hopes of getting him more delegates so that he can have a greater say in the discussion about the issues that matter. I’ve voted that way before. I was glad to vote for Gov. Dean in 2004, even though he had ended his campaign and my symbolic vote was unlikely to get much attention, let alone a delegate. I voted for Tsongas back in 1992, even though he was, for all practical purposes out of the race by then.
Yet every election is different. I have mixed feelings about Sen. Obama, just as I do about Sen. Clinton. So, today, I walked into the voting booth with Fiona, still struggling how I should vote. I turned to her and asked if she thought we could still make a difference in our country without voting for Sen. Edwards.
She turned to me and said, “Yes, We Can.” I smiled. Four years ago, Gov. Dean delivered a message of hope and he is still making an important difference in our country. Deval Patrick took up the message of hope with a campaign slogan, “Together, we can”, and he is making a difference.
While I believe that Sen. Edwards message of hope was more substantive than that of Sen. Obama, in the end, I voted for the future and not for the past. I hope Fiona was right, because it is her future that I voted for.
(Cross posted at MyLeftNutmeg)
Thinking about avatars
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 02/04/2008 - 14:15Steven Warburton has an interesting blog post about Loving your avatar: identity, immersion and empathy. In it, he traces the relationship between a typist and their avatar as the typist invests more time and energy in their online presence. At one point in the graph he observes that may want to create an alternative of second avatar. I responded with the following comments:
Let me second the kudos for the fascinating work. I would love to see this expanded upon with some detailed empirical research. (Perhaps you have some details on it.)
Vision quests, Monomyths and blogging a group psychotherapy conference
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 17:06It is the last Sunday of Epiphany, a season in the Christian calendar where we reflect on the Epiphanies we receive about our relationship with God after the celebration of God coming amongst us as a newborn baby at Christmas. The readings were about people heading up to mountaintops to experience God; Moses when he received the Ten Commandments and Peter, James and John when they experienced the transfiguration of Jesus.
Father Peter has spent time with the Lakota Indians and compared these experiences with those of Lakota’s going on a vision quest. It made me think of the monomyth, or hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In the monomyth, as well as in the stories of vision quests and other trips to mountaintops, the story starts with a call to adventure, leads to some experience of the divine or transcendent, and then the hero returns to share the results of the experience in one way or another.
The season of Epiphany ends on Tuesday, as everyone cleans out their larders with a Shrove or Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or carnival before entering into a period of fasting and prayer called Lent. This year, for 22 states in the United States, there will be a primary on Fat Tuesday. I could go off into a long digression about the primary and Fat Tuesday, but I have something else to write about today.
You see, over the past several months, friends of mine from a mailing list of group psychotherapists have been encouraging me to attend the annual meeting of the American Group Psychotherapist Association. Years ago I hired a management consultant to help me navigate some of the political waters of a large matrix managed international bank I worked at. Her training had been in the psychoanalytical study of groups, particularly within the Tavistock Group Relations tradition. I’ve been to a couple Group Relations conferences and several social dreaming matrices that have grown out of these. While I’ve seen the power of groups to be destructive, I do believe in the power of groups to heal, to provide insights, and, well, we shall see what else this coming month.
My whole experience leading up to attending the AGPA annual meeting has felt very much like the beginning of a monomyth. It has started with the call to adventure, friends urging me to attend the annual meeting. I tried half heartedly to find some way in which it could happen. I am not a group psychotherapist. I’m not studying to become one. I don’t have the money to afford attending. Were there volunteer opportunities, scholarships, chances to be on a panel, or media credentials possible? Each option, along with various interesting side diversions ended up in a dead end, so I finally ended up sending out a message that I wasn’t attending.
Then, at the last moment, I received an email from a dear friend that included the address of the public affairs director for the AGPA. It was like the magic amulet a hero often receives on his journey. The next thing I knew, I had a press pass, dinner plans and several people to meet with.
So, now I am on the journey. I don’t want to go in with expectations that are too high. It is an annual meeting. I’ve been to many different types of annual meetings. There are experiential components and I’ve been to large and small experiential groups before. What is different is that I am attending as a blogger. How will I fit together the role of an experiential participant with the role of an observer and reporter? Will this be a vision quest or monomyth, or just another chance to blog and see some friends?
Perhaps a lot of it is in the approach. Perhaps too many of us too rarely look for the opportunities for transformational moments in our daily lives. So, following the old political adage, I will hope for the best, be prepared for the worst, and take what I get.
