are simply going through life changes and not those with psychotic illnesses. These clients could leave with the wrong message or have trouble

Transcription

1 Cinematherapy Cinema Therapy Integrated with Psychoanalytic, Cognitive, and Behavior therapies. Stacey McCall Author Note Please send inquiries regarding this paper to Stacey McCall 1955 West Baseline Rd Mesa, AZ Abstract This paper includes discussions on the integration of Cinema therapy with traditional therapies such as psychoanalytic, Cognitive, and Behavioral therapies based on the work of the of Birgit Wolz, Ph.D., MFT. I wrote this paper after taking the first lesson in Dr. Brigit s online Cinematherapy class. This partly a literature review and notes for my upcoming test. If you enjoy this paper I highly recommend checking out her online course. Thanks, Stacey McCall Keywords: Cinematherapy, Cinema Therapy, Cinematherapy + Psychoanalytic, Cinematherapy + Cognitive, Cinematherapy + Behavior therapy. Cinematherapy Expressive Art Therapies 10/17/11 3:49 PM Cinema Therapy This paper views Cinema Therapy as an adjunct tool for qualified psychotherapists and discusses using this tool from three psychological perspectives. The target audience is for professionals within mental health services such as psychology and counseling instructors, therapists, students, and researchers. Cinema therapy is not proper for all clients and therefore should only be utilized under a professional mental health provider at his or her discretion. Cinema therapy is meant for mentally healthy clients that

2 are simply going through life changes and not those with psychotic illnesses. These clients could leave with the wrong message or have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy. (Wolz, 2005). The way that Dr. Wolz uses Cinematherapy is interactive and because of this, I feel that it can be viewed as one of the expressive art therapies. Cinema therapy is simply the use of an entire film or a film clip of certain movie scenes used as an indirect tool within psychotherapy. The psychotherapist recommends the movie or scene and the client watches it at home or in the office, keeping certain questions in mind, and often journals his or her reactions to certain characters and scenes. Then the client and therapist discuss the experiences at the next session. This tool is referred to as either Cinema Therapy or Cinematherapy. It is an outgrowth of Bibliotherapy and was first mentioned in psychological articles as early as Sinetar published (1993) published the first book that specifically discussed the use of Cinema Therapy. Reel Power-Spiritual Growth Through Film (Sinetar, 1993). The first question that may come to mind is Do movies really affect behavior? Bandura s famous experiment with the Bobo doll proved that 88% of children that viewed a movie, where the actor abused the doll, imitated the same behaviors on their doll, after the movie had ended. Eighteen months later 40% of the same children repeated the behavior on the doll without reviewing the film. (Bandura, 1973, p. 72 & Weiten, W. 2008). It has been scientifically agreed upon that cinema, more than any other artistic medium, affects change and this why, the content not the medium, endures the lion s share of criticism over books, TV, or other expressive art forms. According to Wolz, it is most likely because movies surround us incorporating all of our scenses. The music, dialog, images, action, all together often put us into a light hypnotic trance. Now the question is Can cinema therapy become a therapeutic catalyst for positive change perhaps, even, positive social change?

3 This paper assumes that the readers are aware of projection from Freud, Jung, and Gestalt points of views. Projection and projection bias are important concepts within Cinema Therapy however; space limits would not allow information. Depth Psychology and the Movie Experience According to Jung (1964), the unconscious uses symbols to communicate. We can become aware of this communication through dreams and active imagination. Another window according to Wolz, can be how the client responds to a movie scene or character. Depth psychologists can use responses from movies in place of dream interpretation or active imagination. Dr Wolz, (2005) asks Why do Some Therapists Value Working with the Unconscious Mind? As the mind explores the symbol, it is led to ideas that lie beyond the grasp of reason. (Jung, 1964, p. 35). Freud theorized that many of our inner conflicts are caused by duals between our conscious and unconscious desires. (Schneider, J., 2010). Studying symbolism indirectly through movie scenes can help our conscious awareness understand our unconsciousness goals and desires. (Jung). According to Wolz,(2005) Carl Gustav Jung placed introduced the theory of Collectivism and it supports the evolutionary theory. According to his theory, just as our bodies adapt and change for survival so do our minds. In other words, the new generation inherits memories from all of the past generations. We come into the world with certain knowledge of how and why our ancestors struggled, celebrated, and survived. Jung also said that mythic stories make up a collective dream. (Jung, 1927). This is also, why audiences are able to understand the symbolism and messages of the writers, according to Wolz. According to Wolz, (2005) movies actually evolve mythology. Many movies, religions, and beliefs are based on mythology but first let us look at what mythology actually is. Myths are collective group of stories about good and evil, and gods that lack proof or evidence. These stories are used to explain phenomena within cultures. Myths are also used to in fairy tales, books, plays, and screenplays. The individual is linked to the past of the whole species and the long stretch of evolution of the organism. Therefore, our responses to certain movies demonstrate recognition of these deep

4 layers of our unconscious. Films, like myths, tap into patterns of the collective unconscious. Their stories have such a powerful effect on us because they speak directly to our heart and spirit, avoiding the resistance of the conscious mind. (Wolz, 2005). Cognitive Therapy and the Movie Experience According to Ellis, the cognitive model says the following: A situation is a situation. (p. 357). It is the person s reaction to a situation that causes him or her to feel a certain way and not what actually happened. We cannot always control what happens but according to Ellis, we can control our reactions to what happens. The goal of the cognitive model is to give clients some sense of control over their reactions. According to A., Shaughnessy, M., & Mahan, V. (2002) movies are a good teaching tool. If a group of clients watched a depressing scene and then were asked what negative beliefs (Sinetar, 1993). Cognitive Psychotherapist David Burns gives clients a list of negative distortions and asks the clients to pick them out in the movie. Burns (1989) states that the clients enjoy it because it is more like a game than a traditional therapy session. According to Burns, the result is that the clients usually feel more connected and less lonely. I have included Burns list of cognitive distortions on the power point presentation. Burns states that most depressed clients hold Cognitive distortions and are extremely selfcritical and the use of Cinema therapy makes it more enjoyable states, Burns (1989). Behavioral Therapy and Cinema therapy B.F. Skinner is the father of Behavior therapy and today s Cinema Therapists are integrating behaviorist techniques such as Overt and Covert modeling with Cinema Therapy. For example, a shy female client that desires to become a more skilled negotiator, may be asked to watch a film clip of a timid character trying to buy a new car. The character may start timid, then something sparks her, and she begins asserting herself. She ultimately ends up leaving with a great deal and the car of her dreams. The client would see that the character as being similar to herself. She would also witness that the character s world did not end when she asserted herself. This is referred to as a Behavior Rehearsal. Clayton, M. (2008). It is

5 also similar to psychodrama therapy because clients are often asked to rehearse the outcome that they desire and then go out into the real world and perform what was practiced. Cinema therapists have also worked with Systematic desensitization which is used to cure people of their phobias. Clients utilize relaxing techniques and then are shown movie clips displaying the objects of their fear. One clip that I imagine might be useful was from the film Arachnophobia directed by Frank Marshall (2009). It is about an exterminator that has to kill spiders gone wild. These spiders are huge and fearless and the exterminator has Arachnophobia (Fear of spiders) and must conquer his own fears in order to save the world. The scary images of spiders from this movie could be used to stir up the clients fear and simultaneously begin working with behavior treatments to desensitize the client s phobia. Similar behavior therapies include Flooding and Implosion, Response Prevention and or Aversion Therapy. Clayton, M. (2008). Ending where we began I would like to briefly mention Bandura s social modeling and Cinema Therapy. Observational learning occurs when a client is being conditioned indirectly by observing a model. Weiten, W. (2008) & Bandura, A. (1973). In Cinema Therapy, this happens as the client views the characters and begins modeling his or her desired behaviors. I believe that Cinema therapy can be a catalyst for positive change and social change it just depends on what we are watching and with whom we are modeling. References ***Wolz, Brigit (2005) E-motion picture magic: A movie lover s guide to healing and transformation. Centennial, Colorado: Glenbridge. This is a must-have book for anyone that loves movies and/or psychology! Psychoanalytic Jung, Carl G. (1927). The structure of the Psyche. Coll. Works Vol. 8. Presented in The portable Jung, edited by Joseph Campbell. New York: Penguin Books.

6 Jung, Carl G. (1964). Man and his symbols. New York: Dell. Jung, Carl, Carl Jung and Jungian analytical psychology. Provided by an Instructor in a former counseling course. Schneider, J. (2010). From Freud s dream-work to Bion s work of dreaming: The changing conception of dreaming in psychoanalytic theory. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 91(3), doi: /j x. Cognitive From: Burns, David D., MD. (1989). The feeling good handbook. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. Ellis, A., Shaughnessy, M., & Mahan, V. (2002). An interview with Albert Ellis about rational emotive behavior therapy. North American Journal of Psychology, 4(3), Retrieved from Academic Search Alumni Edition database. Lefkoe, Morty (1997). Re-create your life: Transforming yourself and your world with the decision maker process. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, a Universal Press Syndicated Company. Behavioral Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Clayton, M. (2008). Review of The psychology of B. F. Skinner. The Psychological Record, 58(2), Retrieved from PsycINFO database. References Text Books Continued Corey, Gerald., (2009). Theory and practice of counseling psychotherapy (Eight ed.) Richards, Ruth., (2007). Everyday creativity and new views of human nature; Psychological, social, and spiritual perspectives. Washington, D.C. American Psychological Association. Weiten, W. (2008). Briefer version psychology themes and variations (Seventh ed.). Belmont, CA Wadsworth Cengage Learning Wolz, Brigit (2005) E-motion picture magic: A movie lover s guide to healing and transformation. Centennial, Colorado: Glenbridge Expressive Art Therapies Techozoic by Jeremy Clark. Top

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