In understanding the long history of using movies as therapy, it might help to understand what therapy is. In the strictest sense of the word, therapy is a therapeutic relationship between an individual, couple, or family and a mental health professional, usually a licensed psychotherapist (sometimes called a Marriage Family Therapist).

Almost every type of these therapies can be done alone, without the presence of a therapist. However, this is not really considered to be therapy, just like doing cognitive behavioral therapy yourself is not technically therapy because there is no therapeutic relationship.

As we all know, many things do not necessarily require a therapist in order to be therapeutic. Watching a movie is one of them. Although discussing the aspects of a movie with your therapist can be therapeutically rewarding, there are personal moments that are experienced when watching a movie that can defy explanation. These are the films that move us and change are lives. Most of us have them - and id we are lucky - we have many of them.

As an exercise, sit down and write out the 10 best films you have ever seen. Then perform a mini Thematic Content Analysis - that is look for themes that the movies have in order to determine why they have meaning to you.

Ways to Watch Your Movies

Over the last few years, the way people watch movies has changed dramatically. There are now many ways that movies are delivered to audiences. When movies became popular in the late 1920’s it was said that stage theatre was obsolete. Theatre did not go away and people had a choice of whether to go to the movies, or to live theater. Although people did both, movies eventually became far more popular than the theater, partially due to the high price of theatre tickets.

In the early days of television, the number of channels was limited and was the number of movies. Today there are hundreds of cable channels with infinite programming and "On-Demand." a way to catch movies fresh out of movie theaters. The video subscription service, Netflix sends films through the mail or provides an Instant Play option in conjunction with wireless devices such as the Roku. Films, like books, can be borrowed free from public libraries or rented from video stores. However, video store, such as Blockbuster, are fast disappearing due to the advent of On Demand and Netflix.

Many people complain that they never get new releases from Netflix. This was my experience. For monthes, I had new releases in my Netflix "cue" and I never received a single new release. And although Netflix offers instant "streaming" of movies directly onto your computer or television (if you have the appropriate wireless device) the movie studios won't allow Netflix or any other company to stream newly released DVDs for many monthes after their release. Additionally, Netflix has a very low number of movies available for streaming. If you search for some of your favorite titles on Netflix, you will see how few if them are available for streaming. So this means that you have to put the title in your cue and wait - sometimes for titles that never come.

Now that Blockbuster is closing all of their brick and mortar stores, their business model is eerily similar to Netflix with the same sever limitations. Enter Redbox, a new DVD rental company that has kiosks in places like local Walgreens and rents films for $1.00. While on the surface this may look appealing, every time I rent a movie for a buck from Redbox, I am helping to put my local video store, Scott's Super DVD Video, out of business. By the way, Scott's always seems to have everything.