We've all watched movies for entertainment, but have you ever considered them to be therapeutic?
Cinematherapy was created by Gary Solomon, Ph.D., a practitioner who first coined the term and practice of cinematherapy. The gist of the concept is to use films with clinically significant themes and examples throughout, and for there to be some level of guidance on how you would like the clients to watch and note reactions to it. This is followed by a session where the clients' direct concerns are addressed, and can be processed between what was happening in the movie and what is happening in real life.
Cinematherapy combines films, human response and therapeutic tools to assist clients in working through various feelings, emotions and traumas. Cinematherapy could assist couples in identifying themes within their interactions and communication, as well as provide an opportunity to see things from different perspectives. A few films that have focused on Black relationships over the years are:
"Love Jones" "Love and Basketball" "The Wood""Why Did I Get Married?"
A more recent film, "Malcolm and Marie," (2021) is indicative of issues I often see in my work with couples. This film focuses on a couple with many issues, constant cycles of conflict and toxicity. Some guided questions therapists could pose to a couple as part of a cinematherapy assignment include:
Did you learn anything about yourself/your partner/relationship from this movie? If you did, what was it?
Did anything that happened in this movie remind you of something that has occurred in your own life/relationship? What was it?
What is the message of this movie? Do you agree or disagree with it? How can you apply it to your relationship?
Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why? What did they do that you could do to improve your relationship? Who was your least favorite character in the movie? Why? How were they a reflection of yourself or your partner?
What feelings did you share with any of the characters in the movie?
Did any of the characters in this movie make you angry? Tell us why.
What were you thinking when you finished watching the film?
It appears cinematherapy could be a meaningful tool in the therapeutic process. My hopes are that more therapists begin to explore modalities that may yield success clinically and are beneficial to the clients.
First published in Black Mental Health Today, Fall 2022 (Vol. 5).