The 4th Psychological Situation Drama Contest took place at Yongman Theatre of Shahe Campus on the evening of December 14, attracting more than 500 teachers and students.
“Combining psychology and drama, we have held the Psychological Situation Drama Contest annually as a stage for psychological education since 2016. The knowledge of psychology is more vividly and profoundly imparted to the audience in the form of contest entries than the traditional classroom education,” said the instructor of the contest from the Positive Psychological Experience Center of Beihang University.
During the contest, six dramas represented vividly the challenges faced by university students and the metamorphoses they may undergo in the process of self-exploration and growth from different perspectives. “Again” adopted a magical expression technique of travelling back in time, telling people to cherish the present instead of sighing for the past. “The Present and Future” showed how a girl’s heart was saved in stories happening in parallel universes. “Nothing Different” is a comedy discussing the similarities and differences among human beings seriously. “Nobody” depicted the twists and turns in the mind of the protagonist, who at first pursued prominence excessively but realized the extraordinary part of the ordinary life in the end. “Journey” thoroughly illustrated the psychology of a patient with depression and emphasized the effect of company in mental healing. “Thief” expounded on the harm of emotional abuse at school and warned people not to underestimate the hidden malice.
All the dramas were created, directed and performed by the students, who integrated the knowledge of psychology into the scripts under the guidance of professional teachers. With careful arrangement of lighting, impressive sound effect and the artistic technique of symbolization, these dramas illustrated the deep motivations and aspirations of contemporary university students in daily life and spread valid knowledge about mental health and psychological intervention methods. They received warm response and applause from the audience.
“Spending one moment laughing and the next crying — I think that is the charm of psychological drama”, “So true”, “I was in the darkness but tonight I see the light”...These were the real-time feedback for the performances from the audience flying over the screen of the theater.
“It is such a feast for eyes and ears! I think Beihang leads the capital city in psychological dramasand today I was really moved by the performances,” said Prof. Tian Baowei, Vice President and Secretary-General of Mental Quality Education Institute of the Beijing Association of Higher Education as well as Director of Mental Quality Education and Counselling Center of Beijing Jiaotong University.
“I consider these stories as both touching and professional. Their multi-layered depiction of patients with depression is particularly real,” said Dr. Liu Haihua, Director of Student Counseling and Mental Health Center of Peking University. Other invited experts in psychology from a dozen of universities also recognized the value of the six dramas from different angles.
“Beihang’s new approach of mental health education is to enlighten students with art under the guidance of positive psychology so as to cultivate positive mental traits in students and tapping their potential. Exploring this approach, we have shifted our focus from problems to development and potential, from the minority to all, and from passive orientation to active experience, aiming to achieve a healthy mental state of self-esteem, confidence, rationality, mildness and positivity and facilitate the coordinated development of mentalstrengthand moral qualities as well as scientific and cultural literacy in students,” said Ma Xiting, Director of the Positive Psychological Experience Center of Beihang University.
“We have been working on the Campus Psychological Drama Project since 2016. This much-loved innovative project has become a major brand of psychology inside and outside the university, bringing good educational effects and attracting wide participation from students. Therefore, we are really grateful to school leaders for their great support and to students for their active participation, and the contributions and professional guidance provided by teachers of the center are also highly appreciated.”
It was noticed that leaders from some schools, Labor Union, Security Department, the Department of Student Affairs and the Division of Graduate Affairs Management of Graduate School came to watch the dramas. As they immersed themselves in the stories together with the students among the audience and sympathized with the student performers, the teachers’ and students’ hearts were much closer.
The contest was hosted by the Positive Psychological Experience Center of Beihang University and organized by Beihang Student Psychology Association. Since early September, it has gone through the stages of planning, publicizing, training and the preliminary. 27 teams signed up for the contest and 10 of them were selected to compete in the first round, after which six made it to the final.
The Campus Psychological Drama Project has become a feature and highlight of the positive mental health education of Beihang University. Beihang has dispatched teachers to learn about psychological drama and drama therapy and actively participated in Beijing University Psychological Situation Drama Contest, in which it won three first prizes. Organized by the university, Beihang students has created over 60 short psychological dramas and staged two original long ones, “Redemption at the Edge” and “Cooled Smile”, which are much welcomed and praised by teachers and students.
Reported by Li Weihua
Photographed by Song Chao
Reviewed by Dong Zhuoning
Edited by Jia Aiping
Translated by Li Mingzhu
