This document summarizes an online event about movies and mental health hosted by Art With Impact. It provides information about the event facilitator, Carly Weckstein, and the agenda which includes watching and discussing short films, a panel discussion with students and resources, and time for mingling and questions. The event aims to use movies to start conversations about mental health, stigma, self-care, and how to support oneself and others. Participants shared reflections on films and engaged in breathing and body scan exercises.

1. #Movies4MentalHealth
@artwithimpact
#Movies4MentalHealth
HOSTED BY:
Sign-in here

2. #Movies4MentalHealth
About Your Facilitator
Carly D. Weckstein, she/they
• Theatre Director
• Intimacy Choreographer
• Sex Educator
• Book Nerd + Cat Lover
IG: @thespomancer

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○ Campus workshops
○ Monthly short film competition
○ Short film production grants
○ Global community
BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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HERE’S THE PLAN
● Setting the scene together
● Watch and discuss films, connect our
minds and bodies
● Panel of students and resources
● Evaluation
(and a chance to enter to win $25!)
● Mingle / Q&A
#Movies4MentalHealth

5. #Movies4MentalHealth
Mental health is personal – YOU are the expert
on your own experience
This is a public, shared space
Some photos will be taken during the panel -
please let us know if you are not comfortable
with that
Please take care of yourself and others
however you need, including asking for help
HEADS UP
#Movies4MentalHealth

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IN JUST A FEW WORDS...
What has self-care been
looking like for you these days?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Hot yoga
● Cook outs
● Music
● Nature hikes
● Journaling
● Art, sketching
● Adopted a pup
● Walking

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MENTAL HEALTH

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Mental illness
Mental wellness
MENTAL HEALTH

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Some movies and TV shows
that show mental illness…
#Movies4MentalHealth
Degrassi Atypical
Monk Girl Interrupted
Sopranos Beautiful Mind
Ordinary People Mommy Dearest
13 Reasons Why United States of Tara
Split Legend of Korra
Silver Linings Playbook Daniel Isn’t Real
Intervention Perks of Being a Wallflower
Better Call Saul Fight Club

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#Movies4MentalHealth
Characters with mental
illness are portrayed as…
unhinged dangerous
unstable murderous
irrational agitated
unreliable disturbing
unaware selfish
weak disconnected
abused

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MH ACROSS CULTURES
Across different cultures and languages, people talk about and explore
mental health in multiple ways.In just a few words, please share: How have
you experienced the concept of "mental health" within your own cultural
communities?
●“Don’t talk about it or you will lose opportunities for jobs later on”; young diagnosis “oh no we don’t want that, that
means you can’t do ___ in the future”
●Sometimes people remove individuals with MI from families/communities, don’t talk about it, institutionalize them
●Message that say that people with MI are more dangerous than the average person
●Now it’s more of a “fad” to talk about MI, idea that some people use it as an excuse, terminology thrown around more
loosely/casually
●“Don’t say anything cause you’ll be called ‘crazy’ or they will take you away”
●Not a concept in a lot of POC cultures, not just that we don’t talk about it but more that folks just don’t know that it’s
an issue or have language to talk about it
●Everything is attributed to a temporary feeling you’re having rather than a chronic condition
●“You’re not depressed you’re lazy”’ / “You’re not anxious you don’t want to focus” à character flaw
●It looks different for everyone, some people are good at masking it, pushing through, you wouldn’t know they are
suffering
●People don’t take the time to understand MH and the range of how it shows up in different people, don’t understand
that everyone’s triggers and coping are different
●Working in the field of MH, getting family who says ”psychology is a pseudoscience” or “medication makes you sick”, or
“all therapists push medication”, having to fight that stigma; sometimes family/friend don’t want to talk to you when they
find out you’re a therapists, ”you’re analyzing me all the time”

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WHAT IS STIGMA?
A judgment or stereotype that is:
○ Always negative
○ Always untrue
○ Can be internalized

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Rompiendo Olas / Breaking Waves
By Adán Ávalos
Voices With Impact, 2021
CONTENT HEADS UP
mention of physical abuse and alcohol use disorder,
description of depression

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IN PAIRS...
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
HOW DID YOU FEEL?
#Movies4MentalHealth

15. #Movies4MentalHealth
SHARE WITH US:
What did you think?
How did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Multi generational trauma is an issue, passing it on vs.
breaking the cycle
● Still unusual to see men be vulnerable with emotions,
especially older Latino men
● Very different relationships with each of his two parents
● “If it was a broken leg you can see it and people want to
help” à but with invisible mental health issues people do the
opposite, don’t want to hear about let alone help
● Sad/heavy that as he’s remembering the moment with his
dad in the past, when he was struck by his dad, that’s one
of the lasting memories he has of his dad
● Trying to tell himself he had a good childhood but that’s
not fully the reality, kept trying to say “I’m fine” but he wasn’t,
tries to hide feelings

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How does stigma feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Sad
● Misunderstood
● Shut down
● Shame
● Small
● Like it’s my fault
● Inadequate
● Defensive
● Numb (felt the bad feelings
too much, now it’s just
numbness)
● Alone
● Angry

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What makes it difficult to
reach out for help?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Lack of resources
● Lack of accessibility
● Denial
● Fear of being judged
● Not trusting a person or a system to actually help
● Lack of awareness
● Asking for help/connections to resources from a parent that
doesn’t believe in MH/MI in the first place
● Wanting to be “strong”, to do it without anyone’s help
● Not wanting to be a burden
● Negative experiences with therapy, struggling to find the right
therapist and right medium (online, in person, group, individual)
● Process of getting help is often exhausting
● Misinformation
● Confidentiality concerns

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BREATHING
EXERCISE

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SELF REFLECTION
HOW WAS THIS BREATHING
EXERCISE FOR YOU?
#Movies4MentalHealth

20. Chained
By Dustin Lowman
AWI Winner, September 2016
CONTENT HEADS UP
post traumatic stress, veteran

21. #Movies4MentalHealth
IN PAIRS...
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
HOW DID YOU FEEL?
#Movies4MentalHealth

22. #Movies4MentalHealth
SHARE WITH US:
What did you think?
How did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Sometimes we are so close to an experience that we can’t
see a way out; if we can take a step back, take a breath,
then sometimes we can see the situation differently and
find a solution
● Keep fighting!
● Different/multiple solutions are present; he could also pull
himself up with the chain; everyone’s brain sees situations
different solutions
● Veterans are often trained to do things on their own, be as
independent as you can, seen as a burden from the
military if you’re asking for help; makes it extra hard to ask
for help when struggling with PTSD
● Being triggered, PTSD feels like being chained
● The key is a symbol for asking for help or helping yourself

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Let’s go deeper…
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Environment/setting looks familiar, similar to some
classic military movies, fighting in the forest
●
● The whole film is done within a kind of military
green palate
● What he was breaking away from specifically was
PTSD from Fallujah, written on the tree
● Very specific placement of where his clothes were
torn to reveal his USMC tattoo; common for vets to
mark identity as veteran on their physical body; the
placement is somewhere that no one would see
unless his shirt was torn there; office job exterior,
hiding the military PTSD underneath

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BODY
SCAN

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SELF REFLECTION
HOW WAS THIS
BODY SCAN FOR YOU?
#Movies4MentalHealth

26. Sal Tran
By Kim Huynh
AWI Winner, March 2018
CONTENT HEADS UP
mentions of: sexual violence, suicide attempts, systemic oppression,
depression, anxiety, substance use, and PTSD

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SELF REFLECTION
WHERE DID YOU EXPERIENCE
THIS IN YOUR BODY?
#Movies4MentalHealth

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What are your impressions?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Finding community with like minded people is a powerful part of
healing
● Both relief and stigma of getting a diagnosis, finding community
amongst other folks with your diagnosis
● A roller coaster, felt it in the stomach, the highs are good but you
know it will dip and that’s scary
● Relatable, finding acceptance in surviving and battling
abuse/trauma
● Importance of sharing your stories to help others, vulnerability as
strength, as teacher/therapist you can tell students “I struggle
too”, provides support and an open door to seek help
● Really struck by how their fourth attempt at suicide thought they
would complete it, but their support system including their
therapist helped; as a therapist/counselor it’s hard to know when
to step in to advocate for clients
● The cycle of living with MI is so real, no cure, you’re life isn’t totally
”fixed” after diagnosis/medication, you live with it, it’s work forever,
it’s your life, non-linear healing, “why aren’t you good/better?”
● Kept it real, meds don’t fix it all, just one toolkit for supporting your
mental wellness

29. #Movies4MentalHealth
How can we support
ourselves and others?
#Movies4MentalHealth
● Let people tell their stories, listen, be present
● Tell your own story, when we share stories with students
that we work with, we model what that can look like and
that’s it’s ok to talk about it, just drop casually in convos “I
go to therapy”
● Be there for other people, be open and let folks know you
are there for them
● Being mindful of others in our lives, practicing kindness
goes a long ways, leading with love instead of shutting
people down/out
● Moving away from the stigma, move away from
internalizing when other people see you as “broken”
because people can’t break, people are not objects, we just
need to figure ourselves out and tend to our wounds
● Leaving the door open, earning trust, reminding people
you’re still here, not rushing people to talk about their MH

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PANEL
Round of applause
for our panel!
#Movies4MentalHealth

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Art With Impact:
Continued Connections
Exclusive community events and spaces
Arts-based discussion trainings
Interview and discussion opportunities
Weekly art + wellness prompts
Scan the QR code to learn more!
bit.ly/awi-cc

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MEET THE PANEL
Reem Abumeri (she/her)
Student, Cleveland OH - Recorded Video
Dr. Christa Banton (she/her/hers)
EdD, MS, LMFT, CCTP
Mental Health Counselor, The Mindful Space
Barstow Community College
Rebecca Calabrese (she/her/hers)
Clinician/Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Transitional
Aged Youth (TAY) Program, Victor Community Support Services

33. #Movies4MentalHealth
Please fill out the evaluation!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org
#Movies4MentalHealth
You can enter for a chance to win $25!
If you are receiving credit for attending this workshop,
at the end of the evaluation, you’ll be prompted to add your
information to a sign-in sheet.
Evaluation responses will remain separate and anonymous.

34. #Movies4MentalHealth
Please fill out the evaluation!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org
#Movies4MentalHealth
You can enter for a chance to win $25!
If you are receiving credit for attending this workshop,
at the end of the evaluation, you’ll be prompted to add your
information to a sign-in sheet.
Evaluation responses will remain separate and anonymous.
bit.ly/bcc-eval

35. #Movies4MentalHealth
Mingle / Panel Q&A
Ask a question or share a
thought!
#Movies4MentalHealth

36. #Movies4MentalHealth
Stay in touch:
Upcoming AWI Events:
● Friday, May 6: Screening of “My Mom” - May 2022 OLIVE Film Winner
● Thursday, May 12: Premiere of 5 winning “Physical Health” films
● Thursday, May 26: My Mental Health Story: Borderline Personality
Disorder
Check out these and future events by visiting our website!
...and don’t forget to sign in if you haven’t already!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org
#Movies4MentalHealth
Register Here