This document summarizes a workshop on mental health and movies. It includes an agenda for the event which involves an introduction, discussion of mental health and stigma, screening short films about mental illness, and a panel discussion. The workshop addresses portrayals of mental illness in media, experiences of stigma, why people may not seek help, self-care strategies, and introduces the panelists. Participants discuss three short films about veterans and mental health, reflecting on themes of struggle, hope, and the importance of social support. The goal is to promote understanding and discussion of mental health issues.

1. Movies for
Mental Health
Mount St. Joseph University
Monday, October 1, 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
#Movies4MentalHealth

3. Brought to you by…
• Monthly short film competition
• Campus workshops
• Global community
#Movies4MentalHealth

4. Where were you right before
coming to the workshop?
#Movies4MentalHealth

5. 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
#Movies4MentalHealth

6. Mental Health
#Movies4MentalHealth

7. Mental Health
• Mental illness
• Mental wellness
#Movies4MentalHealth

8. Some movies and tv shows that
show mental illness…
Black-ish
13 Reasons Why
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Sybil
Psycho
The Soloist
Split
Donnie Darko
The Silver Lining’s Playbook
Criminal Minds
American Psycho
Hannibal
Silence of the Lambs
Good Will Hunting
Atypical
Orange is the New Black
Twin Peaks
#Movies4MentalHealth

9. Characters with mental illness
are portrayed as…
Unstable
Scary
Violent
Quirky
Broken
Betrayed
Stubborn
Distrusting
Dangerous
“Crazy”
Sad
Loner
Veteran
Vilified
Defiant
Deviant
Impulsive
Victim
#Movies4MentalHealth

10. Stigma vs.
Stereotype
#Movies4MentalHealth

11. Stigma
•A judgment or stereotype that is:
• Always negative
• Always untrue
• Can be internalized
#Movies4MentalHealth

12. How does stigma feel?
Demoralizing
Oppressive
Frustrating
Devaluing
Lonely
Limiting
Shameful
Angry
Defensive
Invalidating
#Movies4MentalHealth

13. Chained
By Dustin Lowman
AWI Winner, September 2016
#Movies4MentalHealth

14. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth

15. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
• Liked it (had seen before)
• So much symbolism: Digging a hole to
build a hill to get the answer to his
problems. Once he changed his point
of view, he found an answer
• (speaking from experience): Military
personnel are trained a certain way.
Told not to question. We only know
what we are taught. So used to being
pointed in a certain direction, difficult to
know how to cope on our own. When
we get out, we are thrown out “to the
wolves.” Transition process is touch.
Veterans have a lot of price, don’t like
the thought of needing help. If you ask
for help, you’re weak.
• The chain was symbolic. Huge tree =
size of the issue or problem cannot
easily be moved or taken down.
• The struggle to do it all yourself is tiring
and mentally exhausting.
Feelings
• Stressed on his behalf
• Felt the frustration
• Relief once he figured it out
• Victory
• Desperation
• Hopelessness
• Hopeful (there is a solution)
#Movies4MentalHealth

16. How did the filmmaking
techniques help tell the story?
• Pan shot from the top (overview)
• On outside, looking in (not seen through his
eyes)
• When you first see the key, you don’t see
him. He’s a background image.
• Darkness of the forest
• Camera movements to symbolize the depth
of the experience.
• Differing camera angles (how near or far to
the key).
#Movies4MentalHealth

17. Sal Tran
By Kim Huynh
AWI Winner, March 2018
#Movies4MentalHealth

18. Discuss in groups of three…
• What did you think?
• What did you feel?
#Movies4MentalHealth

19. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
• Film was a darker background
(seemed to represent
memories and experiences)
• Shots in front of the screen
seemed to represent that it’s a
part of who they are, but not
necessarily who they are.
• Liked that Sal uses non-binary
pronouns.
• Liked that Sal shared how
they integrated their learning
(from therapy and elsewhere)
to facilitate healing.
Feelings
• Felt conflicted that their
creativity was portrayed in a
way that reinforces a
misnomer that MI and
creativity are inherently linked.
• Empowered
• More relatable
• Hopeful
#Movies4MentalHealth

20. Why don’t people get help?
• Fear
• Shame
• May not know where to go
• May have gotten help before that wasn’t “helpful” or quality
• Feeling hopeless
• There is a mentally well part of themselves
• Judgment
• Pride
• Barriers to care
• Lack of insurance
• Cultural background
• Own family and values
• Don’t want to run the risk of alienation
• Fear of losing respect, responsibility, job
• Mental status may become public
• May be unfairly punished
#Movies4MentalHealth

21. Mia’s Story
By Vicki Kisner
AWI Winner, March 2017
#Movies4MentalHealth

22. What did you think? What did you feel?
Thoughts
• Really like the shots of Mia
and her friend (“a good friend
can make all of the
difference”)
• Scenes where she is looking
in the distance is “how it feels”
• Looked as if nothing really
mattered.
• Looked as if she lost all hope.
• Very relatable
• Living with MI, you’re more
likely to “burn bridges”
because you don’t know what
else to do (asking for help is
hard)
• Mia’s friend has familiarity with
this issue
Feelings
• Worried
• Felt a connection to Mia’s
experience.
• Understanding
• Empathy
• Felt grateful that friend
reached out to help and didn’t
give up on her
#Movies4MentalHealth

23. What can we do?
• Meditation
• Journaling
• Medication
• Talk therapy (and other therapies)
• Working out/exercise
• Getting enough sleep
• Getting a massage (reconnection to body and
emotions)
• Being cognizant of self talk
• Playing games (to focus on something else when
everything else is too hard)
• Spending time with others
• Being intentional about making time for self-care
#Movies4MentalHealth

24. Panel
#Movies4MentalHealth

25. Meet the Panel
• Sasha Feldman – Student, Mt. St. Joseph University
• Macala Cochran – Student, Mt. St. Joseph University
• James Braga – Clinical Therapist, Wellness Center
• Mark Berninger – Veterans Outreach Specialist
• Barbara Thompson – Community Liaison, Beckett
Springs Hospital
• Michelle Piven – Therapist, Eating Recovery Center
#Movies4MentalHealth

26. Stay in touch!
Don’t forget to leave your name
and email on the sign-up sheet!
@artwithimpact
info@artwithimpact.org
#Movies4MentalHealth