Conversations in Practical Theology

Saiyyidah Zaidi & Eric Stoddart in conversation about the benefits of inperson rather than online encounters.

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart discuss uncertainty and its relationship in religious and other perspectives to faith, certainty and doubt.

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart discuss spirituality when it's memory loss and cognitive decline that is of concern.
They make reference to the work of John Swinton whose publications can be found at: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/profiles/j.swinton#publications 

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk about autoethnography - one of the research methods sometimes used in practical theology. 2 November 2023.
Resources:
'Invitation to Research in Practical Theology' by Zoë Bennett, Elaine Graham, Stephen Pattison, Heather Walton. Published by Routledge in 2018. https://www.routledge.com/Invitation-to-Research-in-Practical-Theology/Bennett-Graham-Pattison-Walton/p/book/9781138478565#
'Ethics in Autoethnography and Collaborative Autoethnography' by Judith C. Lapadat in the journal  'Qualitative Inquiry' vol 23, issue 8, 2017. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077800417704462

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk about gardening.

Saiyyidah Zaidi interviews Mandy Carr.

Mandy Carr is a dramatherapist, former senior lecturer and a scholar of Practical Theology on the Cambridge Theological Federation/Anglia Ruskin University Professional Doctorate programme. As a drama and language teacher in inner London secondary schools, Mandy became inspired by the profoundly enabling and democratic theatre techniques of Augusto Boal. She was fortunate enough to train with Boal himself in 1995, before training as a dramatherapist at Roehampton University from 1997-2000.

In her work towards a professional doctorate in Practical Theology, Mandy explores the relationship between religion, belief, spirituality and dramatherapy. In her research project, dramatherapists from different religious/spiritual backgrounds and none, explored the following questions:
To what extent do dramatherapists feel able to express their religious iden22es within the dramatherapy profession?
To what extent do therapists feel competent working with clients from a variety of faiths and none?
What are the implications for future practice?
Along with tradiitonal methods, Mandy invited the therapists to respond to the questions through drama, specifically adapting techniques from Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal, who utilised the arts to help people feel empowered when faced with dictatorship.

Mandy Carr's recent publication:
Dokter, D., & Carr, M. (2018). Dramatherapy and Religion: (Un) Comfortable Bedfellows? in Honour of Dr Roger Grainger. Dramatherapy, 39(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02630672.2018.1436718

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk about making space that is material, psychological, emotional and spiritual.  2 May 2023

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk with Prof. Elaine Graham about practical theology and her recent work. Recorded 6 March 2023

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk about letting go.

Saiyyidah Zaidi and Eric Stoddart talk about jubilees and anniversaries.