Cops in the head: connection between theatre of the oppressed and gestalt therapy

Naloga obravnava povezanost med gledališčem zatiranih in gestalt terapijo kot orodjema za samospoznavo in osebne spremembe. V teoretičnem delu najprej predstavim gledališče zatiranih in gestalt terapijo, nato še njune stične točke. Obe se ukvarjata s posameznikovimi notranjimi konflikti – zatiranji, ki se kažejo kot policaji v glavipodobna sta si v svojih filozofijah in načinih dela. Pri obeh se lahko iz novih izkušenj učimo o sebi in spreminjamo svojo realnost. V empiričnem delu sem opisala potek dvodnevne delavnice, v kateri sem združila vaje iz gledališča zatiranih in gestalt terapije. Zanimalo me je predvsem, kako so udeleženci doživeli vaje in kakšen vpliv je nanje imela celotna delavnica. V kvalitativnem raziskovanju sem uporabila metodo odkritega opazovanja z udeležbo. Udeleženci so po delavnicah reševali odprte vprašalnike, ki so se nanašali na vajo mavrica želja. Posebej sem izvedla intervju z gledališkim pedagogom Tonyjem Cealyjem. Rezultati, pridobljeni s kvalitativnim raziskovanjem, so pokazali, da je imela kombinacija obeh tipov vaj na udeležence pozitivne učinke. Gledališke vaje so pripomogle k odprtemu, kreativnemu, sproščenemu vzdušju v skupini. Gestalt vaje so pripomogle k večji pozornosti udeležencev nase. V zadnji gledališki vaji policaji v glavi – mavrica želja se priključijo tudi elementi gestalta v vaji, kjer se soočamo s policaji v glavi ene od udeleženk. V povratnih informacijah so udeleženci izrazili, da je bila delavnica zanje pomembna, saj jim je na kreativen način omogočila nove uvide in spoznavanje ter izraz sebe in svojih potlačenih delov.The paper deals with the connection between the theater of the oppressed and gestalt therapy as a tool for personal self-knowledge and change. In theoretical part I introduce what theatre of the oppressed and gestalt therapy are. Than I present their common points: both deal with the individual internal conflict-reppression, which can be seen as cops in the headthey are common in their philosophies and ways of working. People can learn about themselves from experience gained through theater and gestalt and change their reality. In the empirical part I describe the course of the two-day workshop in which I joined exercises from the theater of the oppresed and gestalt therapy. I was interested how participants experienced particular exercises and what impact had the whole workshop on them. In qualitative research, I used the metod of observation with open participation. Participants filled out open questionnaires after workshops, which were related to the exercise of the rainbow of desire. In addition, I conducted an interview with theater educator Tony Cealy. Results obtained through qualitative research showed that the combination of both types of exercises have positive effect on participants. Theater exercises have helped to create an open, creative, relaxed atmosphere in the group. Gestalt exercises have helped the participants pay attention to themselves. Elements of Gestalt are brought with the last theater exercise Cops in the head - from technique Rainbow of desirethese help bring about the Cops in the head to one of the participants. Through feedback, participants expressed that that the workshop was important to them because it gave them new insight, it allowed them to understand and express themselves and their repressed parts in a creative way. It also enabled the protagonist directly, the rest indirectly, to confront their internal oppressors and take an active role in the process. Through some exercises, participants got more in touch with their healthy sources (playfulness, openness, imagination, creativity, etc.), which has contributed to an understanding of their needs, desires, unfinished gestalt etc. One of the important findings was the fact that we have the power to influence on some of our cops in the head, when we become aware of them