A group of USC School of Social Work students traveled to Israel this summer searching for inspiration on how to creatively resolve social conflicts from a country in constant pursuit of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. Looking beyond the four walls of typical therapy sessions, they found new, nontraditional methods, including the use of community-based theatre and art therapy, to help individuals, groups and communities work through their problems.

Clinical Assistant Professor Michal Sela-Amit and Clinical Associate Professor Rafael Angulo accompanied 21 graduate students on a two-week excursion to Tel Aviv. Funded by the Jewish Federation's Tel-Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership, the trip is a collaboration with Tel Aviv University and its theatre department, offering students a comparative perspective on similar social issues approached differently in the United States and Israel.

Sela-Amit said students signed up for the course to learn new expressive practice tools and expand their abilities to assist and empower clients who may be reluctant to use traditional talk therapy.

"They looked at other ways to help without sitting in a room and without talking so much," she said.

As part of the curriculum, students examined how the country's social conflicts, including issues of nationality, race, class and immigration, impact its residents. Social workers in Tel Aviv often work alongside community-based theatre directors to help different groups in the community, including children, adolescents and adults, work through issues of discrimination, marginalization and lack of social skills. This method helps in raising awareness about the lack of social justice in the communities and assists in increasing motivation for social activism.

Students also traveled to northern Israel, by the border of Lebanon and Syria, where they learned how to use play-back theatre methods to help people, particularly children, work through war traumas. Many children have been exposed to violence; some lost parents or other family members in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the wars between Israel and neighboring northern countries.

Sela-Amit said trauma occurs when the person experiencing the event is overwhelmed and unable to cope, process and integrate the event correctly or thoroughly. Expressive therapies work well because they allow people to process information in a non-threatening way and at their own pace, she said.

Play-back theatre enables participants to talk about how an event has impacted them, and others act it out. Social workers then ask participants how they would have wanted the event to end, suggesting they act it out again with the new ending.

Adam Levine, third-year social work student, said the trip was a "very rewarding" and "empowering" experience for him. He particularly appreciated the creativity social workers in Israel used to help individuals work through their problems and hopes to be just as innovative when pursuing his career.

"Play-back theatre allows you to see things from different perspectives and allows profound insight for the participants," Levine said.

Students were exposed to other expressive therapies, too, like the use of paint and art, which also help individuals process their problems.

They visited a ranch where emotionally disturbed children were helped by horseback riding. These kids, who often use violence, learn that while riding the horse, only gentle and clear communication will help them achieve their goals.

The USC group also toured prisons where they observed social workers and community theatre directors trying to rehabilitate prisoners. They studied conflict resolution methods by meeting with Palestinians and Israelis who, fueled by the region's ongoing violence, are dedicated to working together to achieve understanding and resolve the conflict.

"Students learned that it is not impossible to have people get together and talk about peace in the midst of war," Sela-Amit said.

She added that this is very relevant to what is going on in urban areas all across the United States, including Los Angeles, where a constant war between gangs perpetuates violence. She said the goal of the immersion program was to encourage students to think outside the box to empower those they are trying to help.

"But I knew if I didn't empower them by exposing them to different ways of problem solving, they would not be able to empower others," she said.