s01e03: Imagining Together

Cadre

In advance of the second Relational Cadre session, Amy and Kevin dive into another topic in the Playful Connections theme for 2024 ... Imagining Together.

When we imagine together, we have to hold two things in our heads at once: Play is purposeless, and the purpose of play is to connect. Play can use accessible activities like improv, storytelling, and role playing to help us link our imaginations with the possibility for co-creating connection. We can hold a space together where we can be vulnerable with each other and seek mutuality as we try new things, changing each other through our play.

Fostering collaboration and empathy is a team activity, and curiosity is essential. No previous experience or skills are required to imagine; just a willingness to play with someone.

Some resources on this topic include:

Laughing your way to better parenting through playful parenting (article)
http://raisingnerd.com/2018/03/01/playful-parenting/ (1130 words)
David Alger's Rules of Improv (article)
https://www.pantheater.com/rules-of-improv.html (1485 words)
Some Spolin games used in performance (article)
https://spolin.com/?page_id=10 (800 words)

Cadre is a podcast that explores concepts from Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT), a psychological theory that started with Jean Baker Miller, and grew through collaboration and connection in places like the Stone Center at Wellesley College. RCT is built on the idea that people grow through and towards relationships, and that those relationships shape and are shaped by the cultures we co-create. Culture often creates challenges to connection through inequity and hierarchies.

Each year, the Bloomington Center for Connection selects a guiding theme for monthly small-group discussions of RCT concepts.

Amy Makice is the founder of Bloomington Center for Connection and a licensed psychotherapist based in Bloomington, Indiana. Amy offers individual therapy and parent support for people in the Bloomington area, workshops for parents and caregivers, and training on Relational Cultural theory.

Kevin Makice is a user experience designer and enthusiastic gamer who has been steeping in RCT for three decades.

Theme music created by Vlad Gluschenko ("Positive Thinking" and "Serpantine") and downloaded from Soundcloud through Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

https://soundcloud.com/vgl9/positive-thinking
https://soundcloud.com/vgl9/serpantine
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en