11

Creating a

Cinema Therapy Group

Over the years I have facilitated and taken part in many differ-
ent groups for healing and personal development. I continue to
be amazed at the transformative power that group members
experience because others witness their process of sharing with
listening presence and empathy.
When I started to include the movie experience in my work
with individual clients, I also decided to use it in groups, rea-
soning that the impact of films as catalysts for psychological
processes dovetailed well with the heightened therapeutic
effects often added by the group dynamics. Group members’
reflections about their emotional response to a movie are an
added component that enriches group therapy. By understand-
ing and sharing what moved them about certain movie scenes
or characters, participants acquire an effective tool to get to
know themselves and others. After leaving the group they are