Description:

Clients often request changes in mood and perspective. Traditionally, changing mood and perspective is accomplished by educating clients about their patterns, encouraging them to change their behaviors and thoughts. But, experiential methods can be more immediately effective.

All art is, by definition “experiential.” And altering mood and perspective is the point of it – whether drama, painting, literature, dance, or music. Movies use multilayered methods for change. The viewer is often unaware of the intricate dramatic, experiential methods that filmmakers use to exert influence.

Social psychology studies the way in which people are influenced outside of awareness – how they respond to contextual markers and demand characteristics without realizing their response or what precipitated it. Couples therapy can be advanced by harnessing effective methods from other disciplines. Concepts from filmmaking and social psychology can advance clinical practice.

Educational Objectives:

1. To list three filmmaker methods that can be used in psychotherapy.
2. Given a therapy goal, describe a method to make it more effective by appealing to the client’s visual system.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*