Movies can play important role in therapy

The psychotherapist knew that he needed something dramatic and powerful to break through the resistance that his patient was exhibiting in psychotherapy. The patient’s defenses were very strong and his resistance to seeing the horrors of his childhood was impairing the psychotherapeutic and healing process.

It was at this point in therapy that the psychotherapist suggested a homework assignment which is being utilized more and more often by mental health professionals today. He suggested to his patient that he rent a video movie called Radio Flyer. He asked his patient to view this film and said that they would talk about it during their next therapy session.

Radio Flyer is the name of a wagon, the kind you see children pulling each other around in. Two of the story’s primary characters use the wagon to demonstrate how fantasy is used in a child’s attempt to escape the tragedy of child abuse. This powerful and potentially therapeutic film delves into problems of abusive parenting, alcohol abuse, relying on family members for support in time of crisis and, very significantly, the process of denial and its deleterious effect on people’s lives.

CINEMATHERAPY is a relatively new therapeutic approach being used by many psychotherapists and counselors and an extension of bibliotherapy, a technique developed by psychiatrist Carl Menninger, who assigned fiction and non fiction books to his patients in order to help them develop insight and coping strategies. When using a video tape, the individual can view certain segments and important scenes over and over again and used the message in the story to understand themselves and their own lives more accurately.

During the film, the patient is introduced to new ways of looking at problems and finding solutions to difficult real life situations. Often the insights and revelations developed as a result of watching the film, can be used to move forward in psychotherapy sessions, especially when denial and other forms of resistance have slowed or brought the psychotherapeutic process to a halt.

Sometimes, cinematherapy provides the powerful tool of enabling the patient to see that he or she is not alone in the world with his problems. The actors and story have made it possible for the patient to see the potential for other individuals, those in the video, to share the same feelings and experiences that the patient is feeling and experiencing.

At other times, CINEMATHERAPY illustrates a very positive role model for the patient and teaches them how their own behavior can change and result in a healthier and more effective lifestyle.

An excellent resource for those wishing to read about CINEMATHERAPY is Reel Therapy: How movies inspire you to overcome life’s problems by Gary Solomon, Ph.D. This 274 page paperback book was published in April 2001 by Lebhar-Friedman books; ISBN: 0867308346.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2001