The document outlines an event at Beloit College called "Movies for Mental Health" that featured short films about mental health issues followed by group discussions, with the goals of reducing stigma and normalizing discussions around mental health. It provides background on stigma and stereotypes related to mental illness before describing three short films shown that depicted anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. The event concluded with a panel discussion on mental health resources and ways to support those struggling.

1. Movies for
Mental Health
Beloit College
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
@artwithimpact
#Movies4MentalHealth

2. Here’s the Plan
• Quick Introduction
• Setting the scene together
• Mental Health
• Stigma
• Watch and discuss films
• Panel of students and resources

3. Brought to you by…
• Monthly short film competition
• Campus workshops
• Global community

4. Heads Up
• Mental health is personal – YOU are the expert on
your own experience
• Public space – no confidentiality
• It’s okay to feel!
• Films and conversations might be triggering
• Please take care of yourself however you need,
including asking for help

5. What brought us here
today?
Friend thought it would be beneficial
Returning panelist!
Current panelist
Support a current panelist
Kin of current panelist
Believer that people should talk about mh more

6. Mental Health

7. Mental Health
• Mental illness
• Mental wellness

8. Some movies and tv shows that
show mental illness…
Donnie Darko
Big Bang Theory
Orange is the New Black
Degrassi
Beautiful Mind
Inside Out
Girl Interrupted
Hannibal
The Perks of Being A Wallflower
Pyscho

9. Characters with mental illness
are portrayed as…
Unsafe for self and others
Genius with issues
Emotionally unstable
Outcast
Introverted
Dangerous
Romantic/Sad
Negative Qualities
Us/Them

10. Stigma vs.
Stereotype

11. Stigma
•A judgment or stereotype that is:
• Always negative
• Always untrue
• Can be internalized

12. How does stigma feel?
Shameful
Trapped
Suffocating
Lonely
Confusing
Angry
Stuck – Im supposed to act this way

13. A Short Film About
Anxiety
By Lily Rose Thomas + Stephen Isaac-Wilson
AWI Winner, July 2018

14. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?

15. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
Used filmmaking to create a
feeling of anxiety
Calmer
Dogs
Calm part was all nature
scenes
Resources
Noticed that it points out how
hard it was to talk to others
Lower quality videos felt more
personal
Feelings
Jarred by image of woman
coming out of bathtub – good
metaphor but surprising
Brought up feelings of anxiety
Felt reassured – relatable
Felt normalizing
Felt less alone

16. How did the filmmaking
techniques help tell the story?
Lower quality felt more personal
Sound increased sense of anxiety
Symbolism of the veil – coming together and
removing the veil
Fast cuts = racing thoughts
Allowing people to tell their own story vs.
interview/case study

17. Till Death Do Us Part
By Eric Bass
AWI Winner, November 2017

18. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?

19. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
OCD gets lost – not spoken
about
Often a joking thing in media
“Can’t file for divorce”
Therapist didn’t seem to know
what to do
Thought it was pessimistic
“Can’t logic your way out of it”
2/3 funny – clients experience
not funny
Reflects how we joke about
OCD/mh challenges – brings
your focus back to the
struggles
Humor can normalize the
experience
Feelings
Felt frustrated imagining herself
in the character’s shoes –
constant thoughts
Enjoyed the personification of
the relationship
Frustrating to watch his
“mousiness” – say get over it,
but it’s not that easy
Frustrated that the counselor is
insensitive
Frustrating/triggering to see
him leave
Overwhelming when you first
start getting help – feel
defeated

20. Why don’t people get help?
STIGMA
Not always easy to know when you need help
Hard to realize there’s something going on
Exhausting – long search for counselor
Seeing a therapist has a negative connotation
Not wanting to acknowledge what’s going on
Something has to be REALLY WRONG to see
a therapist
Expensive/Insurance
Access/No therapists
Not a lot of preventative mh
Compare to other people
People around you have “advise” about how to
fix- pray

21. Little Elizabeth
By Elizabeth Ayiku
AWI Winner, February 2018

22. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
Sounded like she was talking to
herself and also us/we were in
her shoes
Couldn’t tell exactly what she
was struggling with – maybe
schizophrenia – being kind to
self can be helpful
Felt like a picture of negiotating
trauma – not realizing these
voices are part of ourselves
Felt like a representation of
PTSD – not just military
Feelings
Got chills 5x
Relief/Victory when she
accepted it and decided to
take care of herself

23. What can we do?
Ask for help
Don’t feel guilty about putting ourselves first
Pets
Thinking of ways to find a comfort zone
Be a good listening and try to understand
Stand up against stigma
Be accepting
Don’t try to “fix” – accept

24. Panel

25. Meet the Panel
• Sara Priyanka Alarie – Beloit Student
• Dorothea Pantelios – Beloit Student
• Tara Girard – Director, Beloit Health &
Wellness Center / Counseling Center
• Kaj Anderson – Counselor, Beloit Counseling
Center
• Kari Bell, LPC – Clinical Director, Beloit
Psychotherapy

26. Stay in touch!
Don’t forget to leave your name
and email on the sign-up sheet!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org