Beautiful Dreamer

"Beautiful Dreamer" is a dramatic sketch that illustrates how Gabriel Maeck, a clinical social worker, structures a therapy session in the way that Gabriel's father, playwright Peter Maeck, designs a play. Gabriel's unique "theatrical" approach casts his client not as an ailing patient, but as an intrepid, even heroic adventurer whose current trials do not reflect shame, guilt, or pathology, but instead show perfectly normal human reactions to abnormal stressors and traumatic prior events. By bridging the creative and psychotherapeutic arts, Gabriel shows his client – and his TEDx audience – a route toward appropriate ongoing care to address mental health issues longer-term.