Cinema therapy is a form of expressive therapy, much like art or music therapy. In cinema therapy, a client will watch a movie that depicts a similar conflict to the one experienced by the client. Your therapist will “prescribe” a film for you to actively view and then you will discuss this during a session.
The movie can serve many purposes in helping you understand your presenting concerns. Here is a list of some of the skills that you might gain from cinema therapy:
- Gaining perspective: sometimes, seeing things from a different point of view gives us a fresh perspective on our problems or issues. We might discover new ways of dealing with issues after watching a character deal with similar problems!
- Understanding consequences: movies can show us some of the potential consequences of a variety of activities or behaviors.
- Emotional intelligence: actors and actresses are professionals at expressing human emotion. Watching movies can help us observe and learn appropriate ways to express ourselves to others.
- Developing empathy: you might emotionally connect to some of the characters on screen, which will help you to build empathy for others.
- Diversionary activity: sometimes, engaging in the arts or watching films give us something new to focus on, and novel experiences can be therapeutic in and of themselves. Movies offer many types of sensory stimulation, like auditory and visual sensations.
- Pure enjoyment: you might enjoy movies and this can be a coping mechanism to help you get into a more positive frame of mind!
If you enjoy movies and think that this could be an enhancement for your therapy sessions, speak with your therapist today about movies they might recommend. Others find cinema therapy to be an effective form of self-help. Movies are accessible to anyone from streaming services to local libraries. You can also make this a social activity by watching movies with friends and discussing the movie afterward!
Are you struggling with mental health issues stemming from traumatic experiences or struggles with addiction? Do you think you would benefit from being around others in recovery, who can also identify with what you have gone through? At The Guest House, we can offer many new and innovative approaches to your therapeutic treatment. Call the staff at The Guest House today at (855) 483-7800 for information about our therapeutic approaches and options for you or a loved one!