KEY FACILITATORLisa Bany is chief Improv Officer at the Improv Therapy
Group. Lisa is an instructor, director and coach at The Second City.
She has authored numerous books, including On Stage: Theatre Games and
Activities for Kids, which was awarded the Parent’s Choice Approval
Seal for Excellence in Education, has been translated into German and
Korean, and is sold around the world. She started teaching at The
Second City in the early nineties and has directed and taught
throughout the Chicagoland area. Lisa was one of the first teachers in
the Second City Wellness Program where she has taught Improv for
Anxiety, Improv for Parkinson’s Patients and their Caregivers, and
Improv for the Autism Spectrum. A graduate of Columbia College, Lisa
has taught improv with The Association for Applied and Therapeutic
Humor, The National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Arlyn School for
teens with Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
DID YOU KNOW IMPROV STARTED IN SOCIAL WORK!
Improv as we know it began in Chicago in the 1920’s and 1930’s at
the Hull House where Viola Spolin, a social worker, used theatre games
to help immigrants acculturate into society.
Her son co-founded Second City.
What do therapists and improv teachers both say?
* “Stop trying to be perfect.”
* “Stay present in the moment.”
* “Don’t be afraid to fail.”
* “Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.”
* “It’s ok to not know what you’re doing.”
* “It’s ok to be wrong.”
* “Get out of your own head."
* “Stop trying to control everything.”
IMPROV IS AN INTERACTIVE WAY TO ACHIEVE NEUROPLASTICITY (CHANGING THE
BRAIN).
Neural pathways in the brain are like footprints in snow. When we walk
the same path in the snow, we deepen and solidify the path. When
humans do the same action repeatedly we create a neural pathway in the
brain, and the more we do that action, the more we deepen our neural
pathways. Taking the same path every time gets easier and easier.
Starting a new path is harder; in the snow and in our brains.
When it comes to someone with social anxiety, for example, there is
path in the brain for social situations that has the body responding
with symptoms of anxiety. It is the same way with addictions; pathways
in the brain seek a substance over and over again.
Neuroplasticity is changing those paths, and improv is a fun way to
create new neural pathways in a safe environment.
Improv is NOT about practicing or giving attention to the addiction,
mood disorder, or trauma. It is about playfully training our brains to
use the same skills found in healthy coping mechanisms.
Just by doing something new, that in itself changes the brain. We get
to experience emotions, stay in the moment, and embrace imperfection
all while playing. All of these skills are necessary in recovery.
What are you doing for your own mental health? Try improv for
therapists.
Join us for laughter, self-care, and play with fellow therapists. We
welcome all clinicians (interns included)!
We will leave time to process how the communication techniques learned
in these games and exercises have been applied to Dialectical Behavior
Therapy, Group Therapy, Couples Therapy and Individual Therapy.
Our IMPROV FOR THERAPISTS class teaches how to add improv games,
exercises and practices into Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Group
Therapy or Individual Therapy sessions.
We welcome all levels of clinicians. The class is great for therapists
who want to learn how improv can be further engaged in their work as
therapist for movement, drama, recovery, groups and even individuals.
Clinicians will enjoy an hour of laughter and self care with people
who get it.
THURSDAYS
IMPROV FOR THERAPISTS
FOR CLINICIANS ONLY
8 WEEKS
THURSDAYS FROM 1:00PM TO 2:15PM
APRIL 2ND TO MAY 21ST, 2020
$320
CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT:
RIVEREDGE HOSPITAL
8311 ROOSEVELT RD
FOREST PARK, IL 60130
10 CEU CREDITS AVAILABLE FOR THIS PROGRAM!
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22/05/2020 Last update