This book investigates the therapeutic potential and efficacy of audiovisual languages, deepening the integration of film studies into neuropsychiatry and strategic psychotherapy. Within a theoretical framework including documentary studies, self-representational and amateur theories, and strategic psychotherapy, the book describes the key notions and methodologies for using audiovisual language in clinical therapy practice and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) interventions. The book, a review and update of the Italian Cinema terapeutico: Linguaggi audiovisivi e percorsi clinici, showcases the healing potential of creative participatory processes and self-representations that occur thanks to the relocation and amateurization of the contemporary cinematic experience. The authors propose an experimental therapeutic protocol, Video-Pharmakon, which aims to serve as a new integrated method for taking care of children and adolescents with ASD and their families. The protocol is illustrated in its methodologies and phases and supported through case studies. Scholars and practitioners of art therapy and narrative-based medical approaches, professionals working with clients with ASD, and any other student or professional interested in ASD, psychotherapy, and film studies will find this a valuable resource for current practice and future research interventions.

Unlike any book on the market, Film Therapy introduces a new paradigm in exploring the subtexts of movies and their potential therapeutic dimensions. The book illuminates how feature films can entail psychological components that can facilitate the therapeutic process. By elaborating the key concepts of each film and their psychological and psychotherapeutic discussions, this book provides a demonstration of the films’ practical applications in a therapeutic setting, opening a new world for understanding and exploring the dynamics of films in human interaction. The book powerfully delineates the rarely discussed role of films in psychological realms and argues how films can be educationally inspiring for therapists, psychologists, and educators.

Psychotherapy is an indispensable approach in the treatment of mental disorders and, for some mental disorders, it is the most effective treatment. Yet, psychotherapy is abound with ethical issues. In psychotherapy ethics, numerous fundamental ethical issues converge, including self-determination/autonomy, decision-making capacity and freedom of choice, coercion and constraint, medical paternalism, the fine line between healthiness and illness, insight into illness and need of therapy, dignity, under- and overtreatment, and much more. The Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics explores a whole range of ethical issues in the heterogenous field of psychotherapy thereby closing a widespread perceived gap between ethical sensitivity, technical language, and knowledge among psychotherapists. The book is intended not only for a clinical audience, but also for a philosophical/ethical audience - linking the two disciplines by fostering a productive dialogue between them, thereby enriching both the psychotherapeutic encounter and the ethical analysis and sensitivity in and outside the clinic. An essential book for psychotherapists in clinical practice, it will also be valuable for those professionals providing mental health services beyond psychology and medicine, including counsellors, social workers, nurses, and ministers.

While film and video has long been used within psychological practice, researchers and practitioners have only just begun to explore the benefits of film and video production as therapy. This volume describes a burgeoning area of psychotherapy which employs the art of filmmaking and digital storytelling as a means of healing victims of trauma and abuse. It explores the ethical considerations behind this process, as well as its cultural and developmental implications within clinical psychology. Grounded in clinical theory and methodology, this multidisciplinary volume draws on perspectives from anthropology, psychiatry, psychology, and art therapy which support the use and integration of film/video-based therapy in practice.

Looks at how therapy and the "talking cure" have been portrayed in the movies.

Within this book, Ruth Netzer explores the archetypal components of therapist-patient relations in cinema from the perspective of Jungian archetypal symbolism, and within the context of myth and ritual. Film is a medium that is attracted to the extremes of this specific relationship, depicting the collapse of the accepted boundaries of therapyp; though on the other hand, cinema also loves the fantasy of therapy as intimacy. Through the medium of film, and employing examples from over 45 well-known films, the author analyzes the successes and failures of therapists within film, and reviews the concepts of transference and counter-transference and their therapeutic and redemptive powers, in contrast to their potential for destruction and exploitation within the context of a patient-therapist relationship. This book will be a fascinating read for Jungian analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists with an interest in the link between cinema and therapy, as well as filmmakers and students and teachers of film studies.

Cinema both reflects life and contours life—that is its psychological power. And for decades, clinicians and educators have recognized the value of this power, using it to respectively heal in therapy and educate in the classroom. The Cinematic Mirror for Psychology and Life Coaching mines the illustrative value of cinema, offering therapists and life coaches access to ideas that can motivate and enlighten clients. Although many movie guides exist, this volume complements the available literature by adding positive psychology, mental health, and wellness perspectives to the clinical/educational/coaching mix. The serious intent to cull from cinema its underlying psychological value has motivated noted clinicians, life coaches, and cultural critics to offer science-based analysis and intervention strategies. Readers may add their own movie insights and professional expertise to this rich foundation. The volume covers international as well as domestic cinema in a variety of genres, providing a range of film choices relevant to clients’ lives. Beyond this, it expands on universal concepts of strengths, capabilities, and coping methods. Chapters in The Cinematic Mirror: analyze how movies can create and relieve trauma, challenge Hollywood’s portrayal of the American family, overview the use of movies to examine relationships in therapy, explore the acclaimed Up television cinema verite series as studies in personal growth and social change, reinterprets images of disability in terms of positive psychology, examines models, or the lack thereof, for the American adolescent rite of passage, traces the history of mental illness stereotypes in film. The collective wisdom found in The Cinematic Mirror for Psychology and Life Coaching will bring professionals involved in healing, coaching, counseling, education, and mentoring not only new applications but new appreciation for the transformative power of film. That power already exists. Readers just have to "SEE" it.

Psychiatry and the Cinema explores this complementary relationship from two angles, psychiatrists who have studied the movies and movies that have depicted psychiatry. This second edition has updated this definitive text with a discussion of new trends in psychoanalytically oriented film theory, and an expanded list of movies is analyzed.

Psychology at the Movies explores the insights to be gained by applying various psychological lenses to popular films including cinematic depictions of human behavior, the psychology of filmmakers, and the impact of viewing movies. Uses the widest range of psychological approaches to explore movies, the people who make them, and the people who watch them Written in an accessible style with vivid examples from a diverse group of popular films, such as The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Good Will Hunting, and A Beautiful Mind Brings together psychology, film studies, mass communication, and cultural studies to provide an interdisciplinary perspective Features an extensive bibliography for further exploration of various research fields

This book uses film/video-based therapy to help build resilience in facing personal, communal, national, and global trauma triggers. Offering a rich and diverse range of perspectives on trauma, this volume advocates positive social change using therapeutic techniques in filmmaking as well as film/video-based therapy, in conjunction with expressive art therapies such as drama, dance, music, painting, drawing, and more. Chapter authors address issues in one’s home, community, country, and the world using integrative medicine and advocacy using film/video-based therapy and digital storytelling. The book highlights psychological trauma and how one can cope with the overwhelming triggers in today’s world. It represents an articulate and comprehensive analysis of the ways in which traumatic human experience impacts, and is modified by, film and video media. Representing a rich and diverse range of perspectives on trauma through the lens of a camera, the authors document important examples of moments in which artistic expression becomes human resilience. Demonstrating how the language of film can facilitate watching, processing, and discussing images of trauma in therapy, in the home, in the community, and in the world, this volume will be of interest to educators and mental health practitioners with an interest in advancing psychotherapy and counseling techniques.