Ottavio Rosati
Ottavio Rosati
Ottavio Rosati (born 1950) is an Italian film director, psychologist, writer, and producer. He is known for his work in integrating psychology with theatrical and audiovisual media, particularly through psychodrama, video therapy, and experimental formats in television and film.
Early life and education
Rosati was born in Abruzzo, Italy, in 1950 and moved to Rome at the age of three. He completed his classical studies at Liceo Mamiani in Rome and graduated in philosophy from the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1973. His thesis focused on theatre and Carl Gustav Jung’s analytical psychology.
During the early 1970s, Rosati contributed articles to the Italian magazines Il Mondo and Ciao 2001, interviewing figures such as Marlene Dietrich and Ennio Flaiano.
Training and professional background
Rosati trained in both analytical and classical psychodrama, studying at the Moreno Institute in Beacon, New York, and the SEPT institute in Paris. He was supervised by prominent Italian psychoanalysts including Aldo Carotenuto, Paolo Aite, Mario Trevi, and Nadia Neri.
In 1978, Rosati founded the journal Atti dello Psicodramma with the Astrolabio Ubaldini publishing house. He later edited the Italian editions of key works in the field of psychodrama, including those by Jacob L. Moreno, Anne Schützenberger, and Lewis Yablonsky.
In 1990, he became a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist and later founded the IPOD PLAYS School of Specialization in Psychodrama, recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education in 2008.
Psychodrama and socioplay
Rosati developed a theoretical model that integrates Moreno's role theory with Jungian active imagination, Donald Winnicott's concept of play, and the affective neuroscience of Jaak Panksepp. He designed a series of public psychodrama performances and "socioplays", combining therapeutic methods with live multimedia theatre.
Notable works include:
- Il Piombo e l’Oro del Perdono (2005), a sociodrama for peace between Israelis and Palestinians
- Sette Emozioni (2019), based on Panksepp’s theory of basic emotions
- La Scacchiera (The Chessboard), a therapeutic and scenographic tool involving symbolic figurines and interactive storytelling
Media and theatre
In 1991, Rosati created and directed the television series Da Storia nasce Storia (Rai 3), featuring therapeutic dramatizations of autobiographical stories. The series included participation by professional actors and psychoanalysts and was noted for its innovative format.
He also produced and directed documentaries, including:
- Generazioni d’amore (2001), about literary critic Fernanda Pivano
- La moda proibita (2019), about fashion designer Roberto Capucci
Rosati's work has been shown at venues including the Teatro Stabile di Catania, Teatro Carignano in Turin, and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.
Pet therapy and video therapy
Rosati incorporated elements of animal-assisted therapy into psychodrama, working with two cockatoos, Teto and Isis, in therapeutic settings. He also pioneered "bricconaggio", a technique combining solo video therapy with narrative and emotional catharsis.
Theoretical contributions
His model of psychodrama places emphasis on emotional reconsolidation through enacted catharsis and integrates:
- Jacob L. Moreno’s psychodramatic theory
- Jungian and Winnicottian concepts of play and imagination
- Peter Fonagy and Mary Target’s theory of the reflective function
- Jaak Panksepp’s affective neuroscience, particularly the seven basic emotional systems
Selected works
Film and television (director)
Publications
- Psychodrama in Encyclopaedia of the Twentieth Century Theatre (Feltrinelli, 1980)
- Psychodrama, Role-playing, Catharsis and Active Techniques in International Dictionary of Psychotherapy (Garzanti, 2013)
- Four Decades of Plays (Plays.it, 2016–2018)
- "Un matrimonio da fare" Lo psicodramma della coppia di Jacob Levi Moreno (Autore) Ottavio Rosati (Curatore) Di Renzo Editore, 2021
- "Gli spazi dello psicodramma" di Jacob Levi Moreno (Autore) Zerka Toeman Moreno (Autore) Ottavio Rosati (Curatore) vedi tutti Di Renzo Editore, 1996
- Intervista multistrato ad Aldo Carotenuto. Con CD-ROM di Ottavio Rosati (Autore) Di Renzo Editore, 1994
Awards and recognition
- Medal of the City of Catania (1992)
- Jacob L. Moreno Medal for contributions to psychodrama (1994)
- Puccini Prize for interdisciplinary essay on music and psychology (1984)
- “Amici di Luigi Pirandello” Award (2011)
See also
- Jacob L. Moreno
- Psychodrama
- Sociodrama
- Affective neuroscience
- Italian experimental theatre
External links
References
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