Today we welcome Dan Tomasulo who is a counseling psychologist, professor, and the Academic Director at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI), Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology, an MFA in writing, and a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dan is also the author of several books, including American Snake Pit and Confessions of a Former Child: A Therapist's Memoir. His latest book is called Learned Hopefulness.

In this episode, I talk to Dan Tomasulo about psychodrama and learned hopefulness. Interventions have always focused on helping people recover from trauma but Dan believes we can do more than that through psychodrama. When we re-enact difficult experiences, we can process and integrate trauma in a way that facilitates growth. It also teaches us to perceive obstacles differently, which is integral to learning hopefulness. 

Website: www.dantomasulo.com

Twitter: @drdantomasulo

Topics

01:27 Dan as a stand-up comedian

04:58 Meeting Andy Kaufman

08:33 Dan’s interest in psychology

14:36 American Snake Pit 

21:35 Interactive Behavioral Therapy (IBT)

27:10 What is psychodrama?

34:15 Learned Hopefulness

41:00 Hope activating exercises

45:49 Spiritual psychology

51:55 Hope, optimism, faith