Cinema therapy or movie therapy is a form of supplemental therapy - like art, music and dance therapy - for medical and mental health issues. It is also used as a form of self-help. Cinema therapy was created and popularized by Dr. Gary Solomon, the first to write on using movies as therapy.
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Definition
Cinema therapy is defined by Segen's Medical Dictionary as:
A form of therapy or self-help that uses movies, particularly videos, as therapeutic tools. Cinema therapy can be a catalyst for healing and growth for those who are open to learning how movies affect people and to watching certain films with conscious awareness. Cinema therapy allows one to use the effect of imagery, plot, music, etc. in films on the psyche for insight, inspiration, emotional release or relief and natural change. Used as part of psychotherapy, cinema therapy is an innovative method based on traditional therapeutic principles.
There are several types of cinema therapy, with varying degrees of entertainment and therapeutic value. Popcorn cinema therapy is primarily cinema entertainment, that may result in an emotional release. Evocative cinema therapy, helps individuals connect with story lines and the movie characters. In the process they "learn about themselves in more profound ways." Cathartic cinema therapy helps a person access their emotions, for instance if they are in a depression, and may be used early stage in psychotherapy.
Overview
Cinema therapy is the use of cinema or movies to manage medical, mental health, and life management. It has been used as a form of self-help and to aid in inmate rehabilitation. Cinema therapy has been said by its proponents to change individual's thoughts, feelings and ability to manage life events. Movies are used in some prisons to help individuals understand what led them to commit and be convicted of crimes.
After viewing the movie, it is recommended to assess one's reaction to the movie, such as: What did you like or not like about the movie? Who did you find to be attractive and unattractive characters? Was there someone in the film that you'd like to be more like?
Like art, music and dance therapy, cinema therapy is supplemental means of therapy to be used within traditional therapy, according to Dr. Bruce Skalarew, a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. He is also co-chair of the Forum for Psychoanalytic Study of Film.
Cinematherapy (one word) as a form of self-help for women using a variety of movies was popularized by the humorous series by Nancy Peske and Beverly West. Cinematherapy inspired a wraparound television show of the same name on Romance Classics (later Women's Entertainment).
Films or movies
Examples of cinema therapy categories and movies are:
Other categories include coping with prejudice, childhood trauma, eating disorders, suicide, family issues and relationships, loss, psychological thriller, and gay and lesbian relationships.
Clinical outcomes
Beyond the entertainment value of leaving isolated hospital wards to view films, it is increasingly believed that patient's recovery is improved by viewing "feel-good" films, or ones that make the patient laugh.
"Laughter is the best medicine and we intend to administer it through cinema. This is a superb initiative which I'm sure will do a great deal to boost patients' motivation to get well," said Dr. Alan Maryon-Davis, a top health consultant.
Gary Solomon, PhD, MPH, MSW, and author of The Motion Picture Prescription and Reel Therapy states that viewing television or film movies "can have a positive effect on most people except those suffering from psychotic disorders."
MediCinema
MediCinema is a UK-based registered charity that places cinemas in hospital buildings and screens films for patients, caregivers and family members during the patient's hospital stay. The first installation was the St Thomas' Hospital in London in 1999. It allows individuals to leave what can be isolating rooms and wards for a period of entertainment.
Another of the other complexes is at Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court. The Health and Welfare Director at the Royal British Legion, Sue Freeth, stated "Rehabilitation is not only a huge physical challenge, but involves recuperating mentally as well. This excellent new facility will assist our brave Service personnel in doing just that."
Chicago Institute for the Moving Image
Chicago Institute for the Moving Image (CIMI) uses creation of films as a means for therapy for individuals in therapeutic care with depression, amnesia, schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses. Writing, producing and directing movies "provides a certain amount of therapy, organization, and order that people with psychological diseases need, and it helps the therapist see what the conflicts are within their patients lives," said CIMI's executive director, Joshua Flanders. The end result provides a view of the filmmaker's world and has resulted in "enormous breakthroughs".
Film/video-based therapy
Joshua Lee Cohen, author and co-editor of Video and Filmmaking as Psychotherapy: Research and Practice (published by Routledge in 2015), helped to establish a collaborative effort in forming Film/video-based therapy. This form of therapy is about making films with clients, as opposed to cinema therapy which is about watching films.
Perception Enneagram Mirror Neurons
The Center for Studies of Psychology of Art and Expressive Psychotherapy has been studying for years the benefits of Psycofilm method, combining Psychology, Sensory analysis, Enneagram (C. Naranjo) and Mirror Neurons (G. Rizzolatti), with poetry, art and writing. Since the past 10 years the Center has been hosting an event dedicated to the Venice Film Festival and the Rome Festival. Enriched by the viewpoint of experts from different and complementary fields, this special event let us explore the international filmography as an exciting journey. The main texts had seen the contribution of several audiovisual arts experts, like Agiscuola. CONSCOM, MiBACT, intellectuals, academics and critics of international figures, including Giorgio Pressburger, Roberto Barzanti, Juan Octavio Prenz, Graham Cairns, Maciej Stasiowskj, Ernesto G. Laura, Alberto Fasulo, Maurizio Lozzi, Catello Masullo. They all outline the Psycofilm method and they report the beneficial effects of the Psycofilm on Alzheimer's patients and cancer patients. The event also seek to promote culture - and the culture is good. The last of the lyrics from the title "Nostoi Ritorni Cinema Comunicazione Neuroni Specchio" edited by Paola Dei Editions Altravista Preface of Nicola Borrelli" has been proclaimed one of the best essays of 2015 in the Albo d'Oro.