Health Notes, May 31st 2009, by Sarah Stacey

Movie Therapy

Most of us watch films purely for entertainment but according to psychotherapist and counsellor Bernie Wooder, they can provide an extraordinarily effective resource to help us process problems.  Fifteen years ago, he was trying to enable a client to describe how she felt about a family member who had deceived her.  ‘But it was too painful, she just couldn’t put words to it.’  Finally, Bernie – a film buff since childhood - suggested that the situation resembled a scene in On The Waterfront.  ‘It was the moment when Terry Molloy realises his brother has sold him out for money.  She jumped out of the chair and said “that’s it! It was the betrayal”.’

That moment was a breakthrough not only for his client but also for Wooder, who has since pioneered the use of ‘movie therapy’ as a cathartic adjunct to the therapeutic process (themovietherapist.com).  ‘We build up so many defences that we often don’t know how we feel…  the unfinished business hidden in our subconscious.When I ask a client how a character feels, they will tell me details they can’t reveal about themselves.  Seeing something you identify with on film goes right to the heart in a way nothing else does.’  Once that happens, clients may be able to reveal ‘their deepest truths’.   He can then – over time - help them to identify unconscious patterns underlying problems, and move on.

Among the cases he relates in his book ‘Movie Therapy: How It Changes Lives’, several films feature often, including The Sound of Music,  Shirley Valentine, The Remains of the Day, Life is Beautiful - and Shadowlands.  ‘We need to know we are not alone,’ says the writer C S Lewis, played by Anthony Hopkins.  But, like many of us, he fears getting too close to the woman he loves because of the possibility of rejection.  Watching his journey enabled Coral to understand her own ‘stiff upper lip’ behaviour and start to change: ‘since watching the film, I’ve tried to make a point of telling people I’m close to how much they mean to me.’ 

Wooder himself is not a fan of The Sound of Music – ‘but what Tasha [a profoundly disturbed client who’d been mentally abused by her mother], told me was truly moving’.  The closeness of the seven siblings and the firm but unconditional love they received from Maria, (the young nun who looks after them), helped TAsha escape into a world of happiness and love that she longed for.  ‘They’re sad about the distant relationship they have with their father but not depressed.  They believe they are worth something,’ she told Wooder.  It helped her to accept the reality of her  ‘rotten abusive childhood, with no love’ - a realisation that would, she hoped, eventually allow her to let go of the anger.  Also, having the DVD and remote to hand gave her control: ‘I can decide when I want to see it.  And it’s always there - it won’t let me down.’

Stories have been part of human life since we had language, points out Wooder.  Now films have taken story telling to a new level.  ‘Freud said that images are the language of the unconscious.  Seeing the emotions played out on the screen is a more powerful experience for many clients that talking about an abstract idea.  It gives people a resource that endures.  Movie therapy can help people change enormously and get to who they really are,’ says Bernie.  And it’s accessible to all of us. 

To order a copy of Movie Therapy by Bernie Wooder (Rideau Lakes) from Amazon for £10, with free UK delivery, click here.

A Loaf of Genius
My wheat-intolerant tester is lyrical about Genius, a new gluten-, wheat- and dairy-free loaf, developed by chef Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, mother of two children with food allergies. ‘It’s delicious!  Far and away the best I’ve ever tasted and the cheapest.’  Genius, in white and brown, £2.49 from Tesco nationwide. 

Angelic pressies for new mums
New mums will be charmed with the natural Angelique range of skincare, candles and organic cotton products.  It’s enchantingly packaged and smells heavenly: my tester hung the little Rose and Rose Geranium soaps, £9.79 for three, in the nursery ‘to alleviate nasty smells…’.  We all love the cotton velour ‘My-Booties’, in 100 per cent organic cotton, £18.  And Emily, one, loved being gently rubbed with the Massage Balm, £18, containing olive oil jelly and shea butter (NB warm well in palms before using): there’s full instructions and pictures on baby massage on the site, www.angelique.co.uk

Website of the week: www.kidneyresearchuk.org
Relaunched to give clear information and support to the three million patients in the UK with chronic kidney disease, with downloadable fact sheets and case studies, plus how to apply for Patient Support Grants.