Working With Smells and Fragrances - An Emotion Activating Technique from Psychodrama

The olfactory nerve is a distinctive sensory nerve. Uniquely among the cranial nerves, it connects directly to the diencephalon and the emotional brain, bypassing a second neuron.

Fragrances and smells possess a remarkable ability to evoke memories and activate emotions in a profound and sometimes unexpected manner. We are all familiar with the way certain scents can transport us back in time. The writer Marcel Proust famously drew inspiration from the aroma of a pastry dipped in tea to create ten volumes of "In Search of Lost Time."

Liat Ravon is a Danish psychodrama therapist with an international reputation. Her master's thesis, "The Smell of Psychodrama," has generated increasing interest. She has developed a warming-up technique that utilizes smells to establish a direct connection with forgotten or preconscious experiences from the past and childhood. This olfactory "affect bridge" can be employed in various ways to further activate resources and/or actualize conflicts, making it of particular interest for Schema Therapy.

In this workshop, Liat will present the technique and the possibilities of using smells to activate emotions for self-awareness and therapy within a psychodrama framework.

Within the context of Schema Therapy, this technique primarily serves to activate positive schemas and the healthy adult's role as the director and biographer of one's life.

Participants can look forward to an interactive, in-person workshop featuring numerous exercises and elements of self-reflection.