By Athanasios Komianos
With Alberto Boarini we had something in common, the same remarkable mentor, Roger Woolger. Alberto, for the last years in his practice, he conducts sessions by employing psychodrama and transgenerational therapy. We had been exchanging scarce messages during all these years, until about two years ago when he visited with me in Athens, and we had a great time together. At that time, we discussed the prospect of organizing a training of mine in Brazil. Alberto is a fan of the ancient Greek culture and healing practices and thus had the motive to bring this knowledge to the West. So, finally we got everything set up for March, right after the end of the carnival. The title of the workshop was The Origins of Psychotherapy, and it dealt with the methods of Enkoimisis and dream interpretation the first two days and then we slid into my favorite topic of spirit attachments.
Like India where the slums of the poor lie next to the rich districts, so are the Brazilian favellas next to the other neighborhoods seen throughout the way to our destination which was located in the mountainous area of Campos do Jordão, a town located at an altitude of 1600 meters with a very pleasant weather and surrounded by beautiful forest reservations. The architecture there could probably remind you of Switzerland. This town is a vacation destination with a lot of hotels and accommodations. I was deeply impressed by the Brazilian cuisine. Each day we ate at a different restaurant. The food was fabulous and far cheaper than Europe and most of the restaurants were very classy.
There were more than twenty attendants at my workshop and most of them were psychologists, psychiatrists, parapsychologists, one homeopath, one osteopath to give you a sense of the quality. One third of them were former students of Roger and some were of Hans TenDam as well. The training was very intense, painful and revealing. We all came out of it wiser. Most impressed with the hospitality and warmth of the Brazilian people. Despite the language barrier they all made a great effort to share their experiences and insights. In this I must recognize that without the help of my translator Debra Ganc, this workshop would be impossible. Alberto’s organizing efforts were superb, and everything moved smoothly and without disruptions.
I cannot help but express my tempting thought that Brazil would be a very decent choice for the next world congress, if Alberto would be willing to take the organizational burden upon his shoulders. There has not been a congress of Regression therapy there since 2008.
P.S. After the workshop I visited Rio de Janeiro and there I visited their notorious Museum of Tomorrow (Museu do Amanhã). Surprisingly, the theme of the exhibition was about sleeping and dreaming and many of the topics that I covered were there in full exposure. Alberto and I were deeply impressed.
