|
Summary: Deals with film
therapy, the use of movies
as a form of therapy for
psychiatric patients. Role
of movies in couples
therapy; Film recommended
for the therapy of a
verbally abusive father;
Limitations of film therapy.
 After 12 sessions, Jan
Hesley, ACSW, had made
little progress with her
patient Beth. It had been
years since Beth, who was
raped by her father when she
was a little girl, was able
to feel pain or cry about
her childhood experiences.
She began therapy with her
husband's full support
because she had begun to
worry, based on her own
trauma, that he might
sexually abuse their
children.
Hesley asked Beth to think
about watching Bastard Out
of Carolina, a movie about a
girl who had a similarly
traumatic childhood, and she
told her the story line in
great detail. Hesley shared
her own emotional responses
to the character's pain, and
made sure Beth knew she
could call her if she wanted
as she viewed the film.
Beth chose to watch the
movie in small clips and
invited her husband to watch
it with her since she was
scared to relive the agony
she knew lay ahead in the
plot. Beth later shared that
she tried not to feel or cry
but finally let go.
The 13th session saw more
progress than had all 12
sessions in the previous
three months, with Beth
finally discussing her abuse
in emotional detail.
An increasing number of
therapists are relying on
movies to move people toward
breakthroughs faster. In
this age of managed care,
time has become precious:
using movies allows patients
to grow in their own "free"
time.
In fact, it was
standing-room-only at the
movie therapy workshop at
the 1998 Texas Association
of Marriage and Family
Therapy's annual meeting. In
a survey of the attendees,
an overwhelming majority
said they routinely discuss
movies in psychotherapy. An
increasing number of
professors are also using
films to teach graduate
students about personality
types and emotional
disorders, and are
encouraging them to assign
movies to clients. The
growing number of
therapist-authored film
critiques on the Web and the
recent onslaught of related
academic and journalistic
articles illustrate the
impact film therapy is
rapidly making on the field.
 Although people might be
surprised when a therapist
recommends a movie, using
fiction as a clinical tool
is not actually new. Since
the 1930s, when a doctor
named William C. Menninger
first assigned fiction to
psychiatric patients,
therapists have introduced
literature--novels, short
stories and poetry--into the
therapeutic process. Movies
are simply the latest, most
accessible and time-saving
addition to what has become
known as Bibliotherapy.
Movies connect a client's
world to the characters and
plots--furnishing role
models, providing
inspiration and hope, and
offering new solutions to
old problems. They assure
clients that they are not
alone, that others have
experienced hardship and
triumphed.
Clinicians have found movies
particularly effective in
couples therapy.
Richard, a 51-year-old
father, was worried about
his sexual performance and
his relationship with his
wife of 2 3 years. He
believed that she avoided
him by watching TV each
night while doing paperwork.
He said he went to bed early
and expected her to notice
that he was staying awake,
waiting for her to join him.
When she didn't, he became
grumpy and demanding, and
told her he resented her
evening habit.
Hesley, co-author of Rent
Two Films and Let's Talk in
the Morning, recommended
that they watch Bridges of
Madison County together, and
that he observe how the
protagonist, played by Clint
Eastwood, treats his
on-screen lover, played by
Meryl Streep. According to
Hesley, this film helps men
learn what women value in a
romantic and sexual
relationship. Eastwood helps
peel carrots, brings Streep
a beer, reflects on his day
and expresses interest in
her life and dreams. He
values her experiences,
though they are quite
workaday compared to his. He
lights candles and makes
love by the fireplace.
On the way home from work
that day John rented the
movie, and his wife was
pleased that he asked her to
watch it with him. After
both enjoyed the film, she
commented that he had been
nicer to her than usual that
evening. She asked him to
join her another night in
watching an old romantic
movie that she particularly
enjoyed.
At his next visit, John
happily reported that he and
his wife were spending more
time together, that he had
helped her with her
paperwork and that their
intimate time together had
improved. John asked for
other movie suggestions.
 Therapists also use films to
help clients develop the
courage to surprise
themselves, to fundamentally
change their lives.
For some time, Karen, a
client of David Cambronne,
M.A., had been struggling
against a "way of living"
that she found unfulfilling,
saying she was bound by a
form of "golden handcuffs."
She wanted to leave her
husband because he was
financially irresponsible,
emotionally cold and distant
and, at times, verbally
abusive. But her husband was
sociable and popular at his
small business in town, and
Karen was afraid no one in
her community or family
would support her if she
divorced him. Cambronne
encouraged Karen to watch
Titanic, to look
specifically at how the
character Rose learned to
break free of her social
constraints. Karen
identified several
characters who unexpectedly
stood by Rose during her
arduous transformation, and
began to identify people in
her own life who would offer
unconditional love. Karen
soon gained the confidence
to make the changes she
needed, and, to her
surprise, many people
remained supportive of her.
Shirley Hanson, Ph.D., of
the School of Nursing at
Oregon Health Sciences
University, also uses film
to encourage clients to
muster up the courage for
self-improvement. Hanson
tells of counseling a
terminally ill man who had
been estranged from his
family for many years. She
asked him to view the film
My Life, about a young man
who is dying and making a
videotape for his soon-to-be
firstborn child. "The movie
warmed him up and inspired
him," Hanson says. "Our
conversation about the film
resulted in my patient
persuading his aging parents
to come to therapy with him
so he could apologize for
his arrogance and pride
during his younger years.
The reconciliation that
followed was a beautiful
sight to behold."
Many doctors have found that
films can also help families
rebuild after tragedy.
New Orleans-based marriage
and family therapist John
Dawson, Ph.D., treats a
multiethnic population that
is highly dependent on
family for emotional
support. Recently, five
grieving adult children and
their parents came to him
for counseling following the
death of the eldest child.
But the session soon focused
on sibling rivalry and
parent/child relationships.
Dawson recommended they
watch Soul Food because of
its parallel story line.
Most of the family watched
it, comparing themselves and
each other to the
characters, reflecting and
learning about themselves.
One of my own patients, a
verbally abusive father, was
able to learn about himself
and change his behavior
after watching a film and
discussing it with his wife
in a therapy session. Since
direct confrontation seemed
ill-advised, I had asked him
to watch the film The Great
Santini, about an alcoholic
Marine who was unaware of
how his behavior troubled
his family. In the following
therapy session the man
asked his wife, "Am I really
as bad as that guy?" "Not
quite as bad," she answered.
"But close."
He stared out the window for
a while, and then spoke
quietly: "That was my old
man in that movie. I said
I'd never be like him; I
don't want to be." Prior to
the viewing he had always
referred to his father as
"stern but fair." Afterward
he spoke more candidly not
only about his father, but
also about himself.
Following this experience,
he finally began to change
for the better.
 Another patient, John Bard,
had lost his father when he
was a baby. He told
psychologist Mary Gregerson,
Ph.D., of Alexandria,
Virginia, that he was
worried about becoming a new
father himself because an
example was never set for
him. "We are using films
such as To Kill a
Mockingbird, Father of the
Bride, Searching for Bobby
Fischer, On Golden Pond and
Kramer vs. Kramer to explore
the roles and relationships
between father and child. We
are working at developing
what I call `pre-verbal'
guidance for him."
Movies also help clients
illustrate their difficult
life experiences to others,
says Stevan L. Nielsen, Ph.D,
of Brigham Young University.
For example, he uses the
film Distant Thunder--about
a veteran who suffers from
post-traumatic stress
disorder--with his clients
who fought in the Vietnam
War. "Although some
portrayals of disturbed
veterans are off," he says,
"many clients find it
helpful in explaining their
`flashbacks' and `social
phobia.'"
The use of films in therapy
is likely to become even
more commonplace as many
next-generation therapists
are being trained with the
aid of films. Kit Johnson,
Ph.D., at Florida's Barry
University, uses movies to
illustrate hard-to-grasp
concepts to her students.
She relies on Angel Baby--a
film in which a
schizophrenic young couple
are expecting a baby--to
underscore how discontinuing
medication is often
detrimental to a client's
mental health. She believes
that a movie's emotional
power makes clinical
material come alive in the
classroom. She also
encourages students to
incorporate films into their
own practice to motivate
change in clients.
But film therapy does have
limitations. Therapists
should treat films as
icebreakers; too much time
discussing a movie leaves
less time for the issues
that brought a client into
therapy. When choosing a
film, therapists should be
sensitive to the client's
intensity threshold and his
or her compatibility with
particular characters.
Most importantly, not all
movies feature healthy role
models or realistic
scenarios. A poetic film
such as American Beauty
shows a man liberate himself
from a mundane, repressive
life by dropping out of
society--to the point of
neglecting his teen-age
daughter and ogling her
friend--and then
serendipitously happening
upon enlightenment before
his sudden demise. So don't
take movies too literally.
Take them carefully and
thoughtfully. And call your
therapist in the morning.
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
-
The Movie Mom's Guide to
Family Movies, Nell Minow
(Avon, 1999)
-
Screen Memories: Hollywood
Cinema on the Psychoanalytic
Couch, H.R. Greenberg
(Columbia University Press,
1993)
****************
-
One True Thing
A dying woman teaches her
daughter what is truly
important in life. Your
loved ones don't behave at
their best, or you must
choose between loving and
rejecting those who
disappoint you. Make a
habit of forgiving and
learn to love what you
have, rather than dwelling
on what's missing.
-
The Horse Whisperer
A girl's rehabilitation
depends on her horse's
recovery from the accident
in which she was also
injured. You need an
effective model for
healthy relationships or
you have emotional
injuries in need of
healing. Some problems
require time and patience
to solve. We reveal our
pain to others only after
they earn our trust.
-
Dancer, Texas Pop. 81
Four high-school graduates
argue the pros and cons of
escaping the west Texas
town they had always
called home. You're
thinking about what might
have been if you had made
other choices. Or your own
children are leaving home.
For some there's no place
like home; others need to
strike out for the
unknown. We usually make
the life choices that best
suit our own
personalities. Make peace
with what is.
-
Ponette
A resilient child
struggles to understand
the death of her mother.
Well-meaning adults create
confusion for her with
their over-simplified
explanations. You want to
know how to help a child
deal with profound loss.
Young children are quite
literal, Soothing
platitudes meant to give
solace to a grieving child
can sometimes do more harm
than good.
-
Kolya
A single musician suddenly
finds himself responsible
for someone else's child.
Life hands you a job you
hadn't signed on for or
you feel "put-upon."
Undesired circumstances
often help us become
bigger people.
-
Patch Adams
A doctor refuses to
believe that a cold heart
will help him be a better
physician. The
powers-that-be tell you to
ignore your intuition or
you doubt that you are
making a difference in the
world. In healing the
wounds of others, we often
heal our own.
-
Life is Beautiful
A father and his son are
imprisoned in a Nazi
concentration camp. The
father uses imagination
and wit to save his child.
You are beset by forces
that threaten to overwhelm
you. There are moments of
beauty, laughter and hope
even under the most
desperate circumstances.
-
Shakespeare in Love
An Elizabethan
playwright--Shakespeare
himself--is stymied by
writer's block until he
discovers his muse. You've
become hopelessly cynical
about modern life. Life
may not be as simple as
"all you need is love,"
but without love, it's
pretty drab.
-
When A Man Loves a
Woman
A man must learn how he
contributes to his wife's
alcoholism before all
falls apart. You are
tempted to "rescue"
someone. Healthy
relationships set
appropriate boundaries.
John W. Hesley, Ph.D., is
a clinical psychologist in
Arlington, Texas, and
co-author of Rent Two
Films and Let's Talk in
the Morning (John Wiley &
Sons, 1998).
Article published with
permission of
www.psychologytoday.com
|
