Working with individual clients and my cinema therapy group,
I have observed how these various practices and the power of
films can enhance and complement each other.
Movies work on many levels. I use them in three different
ways: Prescriptively(using films to model or illustrate specific
desired qualities or behaviors), Evocatively(using films for self-
discovery), Cathartically(using films to find emotional release).
The Prescriptive Way
This approach is based on the assumption that watching a
movie can put us into a light trance state, similar to the state
often achieved via guided visualizations. In therapy this kind of
trance work is designed to help clients get in touch with a
mature and wise part of themselves that helps them overcome
problems and strengthen positive qualities.
As you have already learned, certain films had this kind of
effect on me. Early in my life films helped me increase my self-
esteem and work with anxiety. They also taught me to connect
with and strengthen my courage and determination. Many of
my clients experienced amazing results in a similar way when
they watched movies under my guidance.
I concluded that a combination of watching certain films
with conscious awareness combined with effective therapeutic
methods helps to reach deep layers of the psyche to bring about
healing and growth. Using the Prescriptive way, specific films
are recommended as a kind of teaching tale, to model problem
solving, or to access and develop an undiscovered capacity.
They also can be chosen to demonstrate the wrong way of doing
things so the viewer can learn by proxy. In Chapters 4 through
7 you will be introduced to some applications of this approach.
The Evocative Way
Another way of utilizing movies in a therapeutic and growth-
provoking manner borrows from dream work. Films can be
“Ancient sages and
contemporary
psychologists alike
insist that music, art,
and drama are potent
transformer of
consciousness.”
Marsha SinetarBasic Discoveries 15