1. Movies for Mental Health
Washington County Community College
October 11, 2016
@artwithimpact
#Movies4MentalHealth
2. Here’s the Plan
I. Quick introduction
II. Set the stage together
III. Watch short films & discuss them
IV. Make it personal with our panel
3. Brought to you by
• Monthly short film
competition
• Campus workshops
• Global community
(blog, IG, Twitter, FB)
4. Heads Up
• Mental health is personal - YOU are the
expert of your own experience.
• This is a public space - not therapy.
• We’re here for connection, questions and
creating change!
• Films might trigger big emotions - that’s OK!
• Please ask for help if you need support.
5. Some movies that show mental illness:
It’s Kind of A Funny Story
Cyber Bully
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Silver Linings Playbook
Girl, Interrupted
Rainman
Beautiful Mind
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
23 Blast (?)
Ordinary People
6. Characters with mental illness are portrayed as:
Nervous
Depressed
Anxious
Insecure
Scared
Anxiety
Isolated
7. What is mental illness?
Loss of interest
A fight against yourself
Impact on day-to-day life
Can’t focus; get lost from your world
Like you’re in a fog
Like the whole world is against you
Like you’re screaming but no one can hear
you
Endless war you can’t seem to win
8. Mental health vs. mental illness?
We all have different capacities/strategies to cope;
how well are we coping within society’s norms
MENTAL HEALTH IS SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE
[Mental illness more of a diagnosis]
Mental health is where we see ourselves down the
road, and mental illness is where we see ourselves
now
If you have a mental illness it will always be there
alongside mental health
13. In groups of three
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
14. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
You can move toward
substances because of a
situation
A lot of people feel the same
way
Feelings
Lost best friend to suicide: sad,
very anxious
Feelings were readily accessible
16. In groups of three
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
• What have you learned?
17. What did you think… feel… learn?
Thoughts
-Maybe he lost
somebody close to him
-Maybe he’s not taking
his medication
-Maybe had a condition
to see Summer as real
when she wasn’t
-Wasn’t sure why they
weren’t trying to help
him
-Seemed like she did try
to help but maybe didn’t
know how
-Realization but then
went back to what was
comfortable; wasn’t
ready to confront
Feelings
-Felt bad for the guy;
sympathy
-Frustrated with the
people around him; they
seemed belittling; made
them uncomfortable
-Acted as if it was
something he could just
snap out of; stigma
New Insights
-Everyone has
different coping
methods
18. A Film About Love
By Dale John Allen
AWI Winner, November 2015
19. In groups of three
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
• What have you learned?
• What will you do?
20. What did you think… feel… learn?
Thoughts
He killed part of himself; it
was his everyday –
what if they told you to
let go of your
everyday?
This person felt like he
suffered from
depression and was
lonely; no one to talk
to
Brought up the eternal
battle; a fight you can
never win
He didn’t necessarily
want help
Insights
The sense of loss was
huge; not only has
this disorder, but
on top of that has
the sense of loss
Feelings
Felt for him; was relatable
22. Meet the Panel
•Ryan Fernald - WCCC student
•Shelly McPhail - WCCC student
•Emily Levesque - WCCC student
•Susan Mingo - WCCC Dean of Students
•Nichole Cote - WCCC Associate Dean of
Student Affairs
•Clement Deveau - LCSW, AMHC, Program
Director - Behavioral Health Services,
Washington and Hancock Counties
23. AWI Ambassadors
• You’re invited! Continue the conversation, be
a leader!
• Join the AWI Ambassadors FB group and
connect with students across North America:
www.facebook.com/groups/awiambassadors/
• Blog, be a juror for the film competition, run
campaigns, and much more!
24. Thank you for coming!
• Contact us:
– info@artwithimpact.org
–Follow us!
–Submit a film!
http://www.artwithimpact.org/contest
Editor's Notes
Campus organizer (may) introduce facilitator
Brief introduction – welcome, name
Encourage people to come closer
Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and document this event - we’d love to see your photos!
Brief agenda review:
- will give you a brief summary of AWI
- set the stage together, which really means that as a group we’ll have a discussion and provide a context for the topics
- we have four short films from our library to show you, together we’ll discuss the themes
- Make it personal with a panel of campus and community resources to connect you with
- You’ll be doing most of the talking today!
Mention photos - if you would prefer not to have your face in photos please inform us after the event
Add customized sponsor logo(s) on slides
Who is AWI?
- we are a charity dedicated to reducing the stigma of mental illness with transition-aged youth, work in regions throughout North America
- we have been working primarily in California since 2011 and in the last year and a half expanded to three areas of Canada, as well as the New England area in the U.S. (if applicable)
- We host an ongoing monthly short film competition where filmmakers anywhere in the world can submit a film on the topic of mental health, these are juried and monthly winners receive $1,000 cash prize (will tell you more about that at the end of our time together)
- We then take these winning films and facilitate discussions in our postsecondary Movies for Mental Health program (you’ll see what this is all about today) and run a high school program that teaches media literacy to youth and allows them to make their own short films on mental health
- Also a part of a larger global community, release blogs twice a week on feature length films, or film festivals related to themes of mental illness
Brought to you by:
- mention any nonprofit partners or corporate sponsors
Want to explain what I mean about this statement…
Mental health is personal and our experiences are different, we all come from different backgrounds and cultures – you are the experts on YOU and know yourself better than anyone else
We don’t often talk about mental health; as a society we don’t tend to talk about issues/experiences related to this theme, so sometimes we don’t know HOW to talk about these topics. First and foremost keep yourself safe today, don’t feel compelled to share anything you’re not comfortable with. This is a new space and you might feel ready to share but might not know what responses you’ll have, and it is a public space with no guaranteed confidentially so be mindful of the space that we are in before you disclose.
Some of the films might be triggering, meaning they might elicit an emotional reaction. The films are very powerful and it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed, so take the time you need to re-group and be present here. I encourage you to take note of how you’re feeling and investigate that / nurture that after the workshop. We have counsellors in the room today that are here to help you if you need to step out (say names of counsellors, have them raise their hands in the audience).
Pre-slide: With that in mind, let’s get started by providing a context and setting the stage for the messages we receive in the media.
Ask Q
Think about the characters in the films you shared, what are some adjectives you’d use to describe those characters, how have the characters been portrayed?
We see a lot of extremes here, ie. Really special, really problematic
1 in 5 of us, 20% of us have a diagnosable mental illness, consider how these labels influence us. (Optional to save until next slides)
We use the term often, let’s work together to craft definitions according to your thoughts
For us in this room at this workshop it doesn’t matter what anyone says, we don’t need clinical definitions but how do we define and what does it feel like for us.
What is mental health, especially as it relates to mental illness? Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably and that can influence how willing we are to discuss these topics.
Helping think about themselves as more than a disease.
5 in 5 of us have mental health, it is a universal experience, something we can agree we need to nourish and take care of, influences all aspects of our lives
Show here: More Than A Mental Illness, Anosognosia, OR Destigmatize Mental Illness
Mention brief blurb about the film – won our competition in <YEAR>, sentence about the filmmaker (can be based on acceptance videos on website)
Segue theme of film – stigma- into next slide
What the film really addressed here is stigma. We know stigma exists and we talk a lot about it in relation to mental illness, but how would you really define it?
Discuss stereotypes v. stigma - stereotypes can be negative or positive, stigma is always negative
Stigma is false
Stigma easily internalized and we believe them about ourselves
Ie. all girls are bad at sports v. all boys are good at sports (neither is true but one is positive)
Stigma can be experienced in a number of ways, and not solely related to mental illness…
Knowing that this is something we have all experienced in some shape or form, how does stigma feel?
Comments/ Questions that can be added about stigma specifically:
- stigma creates barriers to understanding
- stigma defines someone as only one aspect of who they are, when this label doesn’t fit who you are it’s a frustrating feeling
- If someone mentions stereotypes; difference between stereotypes and stigma is stereotypes can be positive or negative, sometimes funny, however stigma is always negative and feels awful, dehumanizing
- There are various types of stigma – cultural and self-stigma; this can snowball and create really negative experiences
- Believing the self-stigma (and it’s completely human to do so) can be dangerous when we internalize, become very hard on ourselves.
- It’s not a true/false, it’s a societal construct
- Impact of stigma in accessing resources (what is?)
Segue into films:
We are here today taking the first step by talking about these experiences, learning through films to combat stigma and learn from one another. These feelings, these byproducts of being stigmatized is why it’s so important to have these supportive and compassionate conversations / listening to one another is an incredibly powerful way to battle stigma
We’re fighting the feelings that stigma brings out in humans that makes people feel they can’t reach out, can’t get help...really hard to break through. This is something that we can work together to fight.
So, on that note, let’s watch the first film!
Mention when film came into library, brief note about filmmaker
When watching the film encourage you to remain aware of how the film makes you feel, and what the film makes you think and we’ll break into groups afterward to discuss.
In an academic environment it can be challenging to discuss feelings and emotions where thoughts are more abstract, but encourage students to challenge themselves
Feelings represent important feedback and it’s important to listen to them.
Turn to your neighbours in small groups and discuss these questions, we will come back together in a few minutes.
Communicate a signal for getting students’ attention?
Can provide an example of a thought and/or feeling to get the group started.
Live document responses, paraphrasing and summarizing
Mention when film came into library, brief note about filmmaker
Invite audience to divide into groups again (maybe encourage new groups?), allow 5 minutes for discussion before coming back together.
Live document responses, paraphrasing and summarizing
Mention when film came into library, brief note about filmmaker
Invite audience to divide into groups again (maybe encourage new groups?), allow 5 minutes for discussion before coming back together.
Transition directly into large group responses, no small group discussions
Thank audience for participation.
After having these conversations and processing new and/or complicated information we can feel a little lost, and here is when we want to provide concrete opportunities to engage and continue this discussion. We don’t often talk this in-depth, we have people here for you to help digest this information and provide information about services.
Fortunate enough to have students sharing stories, panelist experts from your campus, and mental health professionals/ resources in your community here today to inform you of ways you can support your mental health.
Will tell you about ways you can engage with us (AWI) just before we break for good.
Now will invite our panelists to come up, and in the meantime will hand out evaluations which are really valuable to us for improving our programming and keeping it relevant. Will also assist your school in knowing how to better serve you.
Moderate the panel discussion – Introduce all panelists when inviting them up.
Students typically speaking first (check in with them to ensure this is okay for them), indicate which panelist will speak next throughout.
Q&A
Invite students to ask questions to panelists while monitoring time.
Encourage students to view booths or resource tables before leaving
Close out the panel and give (or have volunteer hand-out) panelist thank you gifts
AWI exists to create a community of students, artists, advocates, who want to have these conversations...if you’re interested in staying in touch with us and becoming a part of a larger community of students across N. America who believe in the power of art to subvert stigma
Add personalized email to slide or info@artwithimpact.org
Mention ways students can reach out, contact us with feedback or comments.
Encourage film submissions – we’d love to see your films, competition is ongoing
We are on many forms of social media, reach out!
We have a sign-up list here if you’re interested in learning about other events and workshops, reading our blogs, etc.
I’ll be here if you have any questions for me specifically.
Thank the group again and close out discussion
