- Chapter 08 -
SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH MOVIE THERAPY
Last update:
4. September 2004
SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH MOVIE THERAPY
The basic question in problem solving is connected with three basic elements: with human being and with problems and with interaction between them.
Here are some short and simplifying points of view to this subject.
HUMAN BEING
In human life there are trials and problems, winning of witch gives us more and better life handling skills and make us stronger.
More better and more versatile life handling skills and more experiences we have about different kinds of problematic situations and about solving them the better we can face problems that may come ahead in future. We can learn from problematic situations.
If our life handling skills are too incomplete they lead us quite easily to problematic situations time after time.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- See all different kinds of human beings
- Consider humanity, meaning of life, existence, universe, life and death, moral, right and wrong
- Take wide perspective to existence and dive deeply in humanity
- And so on
PROBLEM
We think often that difficulties or challenges are negative based things, unwanted problems. But we can define those with more positive way, like as possibilities of growing and developing or like as challenges, solving of witch gives us more and better life handling skills.
Sometimes there are coming too much small problems or one single bigger problem seem to be too big to be solved by one person.
Sometimes problems are caused because of too high expectations compared to one’s skills. Just like if a high jumper that in good condition can jump over 180 centimeters is aiming the bar 230 centimeters high. We all know that it won’t work. That person must learn better skills or lower the bar enough.
Sometimes a problem is caused because a person doesn’t trust in one’s strength or capability or is putting that bar much too low. That’s not good either; it causes frustration, self-contempt and anxiety.
Basically a problem is very much a question of definition: when or why we think a situation is like a barrier or like possibility. What good or bad is in it now or in the future?
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Notice what different kinds of problems there are and can be in human life
- What really is a problem and how big it is compared to larger scales and to historic perspective?
- How other people react and how they manage with problematic situations
- Learn more and better problem solving skills
- What really is a problem; just like an old saying tells: I was crying because I didn’t have shoes until I saw a girl without any legs
- And so on
INTERACTION
There’s always an interaction between a human being and the experience of a problem. It has visible or invisible influence in persons every day life and in problem solving.
One interesting question is: what kind of interaction a problem causes to a person and why? In most cases it’s a question of attitude and willpower.
Quite often the existence of a problem and the energy that has been used in finding a solution to a problem is eating vitality and strength of handling in every day life. It reduces environment and exposes like vicious circle to other problems or is making them worse.
Seeing a problem more clear or making it easier to solve it, putting small problems in order of importance, cutting big problems in smaller pieces and making solving schedules makes it much easier to solve problems.
When we have decided what should be changed for the better, why, when and how then we are ready to step into problem solving.
One fact is that we can’t solve all our problems. Then the best result in interaction is to learn live with them and in spite of them. Sometimes unsuccessful or inappropriate problem solving can cause more or deeper problems.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- See and consider how other people are doing with their problems and how and why those problems effect in their life
- Notice what possibilities and alternative ways there are
- Learn from other people’s behavior and their emotions
- Learn more empathy and sympathy
- And so on
SOLUTION
We are usually aiming for decent or good enough life by solving problems. We are looking for that kind of situation where we are happy and feeling well enough.
Usually there are several alternatives to solve problems.
Big problems and a large amount of problems take longer time and more energy to solve them than small problems. It’s just like with fire; it’s easy to put out a small fire but with widespread fire we have to call the fire brigade.
Accidents do happen but sometimes we should check out our alarm systems too. Prevent is one part of life handling.
If a person’s basic life handling skills or problem solving skills are much too weak it’s going to take quite a long time to learn them and the need to lean on outside help is bigger.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn more about humanity and empathy and sympathy
- See how people react in different kinds of situations and what effects it has in their life
- Learn different kinds of problem solving skills
- Learn different kinds of attitude with life
- And so on
KNOWLEDGE
Growing is learning from other people and from the history of humankind.
Adequate knowledge about life, human nature, humanity, social awareness and knowing that difficulties / challenges do belong in human life helps us to put our life in the right place in larger scale and to compare our difficulties with human nature.
Knowledge helps us to put things in their right places. Knowledge gives us more understanding and more peace of mind. We are not so unique at all.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn very much about humanity and humankind and life all over the world
- Learn new things, new way of thinking, new values, new moral, …
- See things in larger scales in different dimensions
- We can see how a single person feels and reacts and how big collectives or nations are behaving
- See what different kinds of possibilities and threats there are
- And so on
ABILITY
In human life we have to learn things through our own experiences. Learning good enough life handling skills helps us to solve our problems easier. The lack of skills puts us more often to problematic situations.
Growing is learning new things and skills.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn different kinds of abilities and skills
- See how other people manage in their life in different kinds of situations
- Learn from other peoples problem solving and from their values
- And so on
ATTITUDE
Our attitude is very important element in problem solving.
Our basic attitude to our selves and our attitude to life guides our behavior. The difference between ”no can do” or ”yes can do” attitudes has reflects in to our every day life and in problem solving.
Willpower (or life-energy = chi like Chinese say) and our vitality have very meaningful effect in our life. Our earlier experiences have important influence but quite often it’s like a symbolic question: are we defining a wall that comes in our way as a roadblock or just a delay.
Attitude is the ultimate guideline to the final result.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn how people react and response in all kinds of situations
- Learn how different kinds of attitude are functioning in alternative situations
- See how people handle their human relationships
- See what basic attitude can mean and where it can lead
- Learn what one person can or can’t do and how it’s done
- And so on
EXPERIENCE
Our earlier experiences help us to put our situation in more decent and realistic scale. If we have solved a problem once the next time will be much more easier to manage with a problem like that.
Experiences of life teach us to solve problems and to put things in right positions and scales.
More experiences we have the better our knowledge and skills are altogether going to be. And it’s much more easier to react on forthcoming problematic situations.
Problem solving skills between an “experienced globetrotter” and a person who has been living in ”a closed bottle” are quite different.
Social skills and the ability of human relationships are very important. Together we are often stronger than alone. Some of us are natural born lonely riders but most of us need sometimes a little help from a friend.
Individual experiences are very important and so are experiences of our close circle of friends and our neighborhood and humankind including the experimental atmosphere.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn from other people’s experiences
- Compare our history and experiences to other people’s history and experiences
- See what possibilities human life can give and where and how to find them
- And so on
TIME
Somehow time has very important therapeutic influence. It works like water with wine: more water you put in wine more weaker it becomes.
A big problem today is smaller after one year and much smaller after ten years.
Time gives us historical perspective and eases the instant pain and anxiety.
Seldom there are instant solutions to big problems.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Travel in time, from the very beginning to the future, through decades
- Have good historic picture of humankind and humanity and put our own situation in large perspective
- See what time and growing can do to human beings
- See how the world and life has changed and how fast it all is changing
- Notice how effective meaning time and different period and age has in human life
- And so on
EXAMPLES
We get most of our knowledge from other people experiences and through models and examples. These kinds of information transfer and travel from a generation to another. When we can have that information and can use it then we have a smaller need to ”invent a bicycle once more”.
Examples give us something to compare our situation with and they can give us more possibilities.
If we live in experimentally rich atmosphere and positive energy and attitude around us then our possibilities with life handling are quite good.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Learn very much about life, humanity and how other people are living their life
- Learn all kinds of life handling skills and problem solving
- Learn more empathy, sympathy, more about other people and more about us
- Learn to face all kinds of emotions in safe way
- Learn from our “grey” or “dark” side
- And so on
REALIZATION
If we realize all those possibilities we have and can have in solving our every day problems then we can have better possibilities in our life. It helps us to have clear enough picture and vision where we come from, where we are now and where we are going.
I have noticed that quite often a dissatisfied person is like lost in life, he/she doesn’t know what is wrong or how it should be, what good there is in life and what bad. Everything seems to be vaguely unsatisfactory.
Realizing is like leading an ocean going-vessel: as a captain you have to know how it all works, from where and when you are leaving and where and when you are going to. As a captain you have to know the shipping lane and schedule. It often helps if you know why you are doing it.
Realizing the connection and cause between things, phenomenon’s and results helps us to understand more about our situation and about solving those problems we should solve.
It takes a lot of thinking and analyzing our and other people’s experiences before the deep realization. Examples are often very good with that.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Take a good and deep look in humanity
- See how other people are living (window dimension) and how we are reacting, feeling, thinking (mirror dimension)
- In fact while we are watching movies we are watching ourselves, our own needs and feeling only our own emotions
- And so on
CREATIVITY
Creativity and elastic mind are two basic elements in problem solving. Seeking for new point of views or problem solving alternatives or finding new possibilities can give us more problem solving and life handling skills.
If we are creativity enough, willing and able to have enough good alternatives and are eagerly trying out new methods maybe then we will find new and better solutions too.
I have noticed that quite often many of those people who have psychiatric problems time after time or chronicle are maybe somehow too “narrow minded” or “wandering blindfolded” in that sense.
Those who reflect often too dogmatic, too much blindly copying or who have too monotonous attitude in life are facing those “basic problems” time after time and often they fall in same or same kind of potholes. In many cases those people have lost too much of their self-confidence and believing in their own strength and possibilities. In many cases they are leaning often and easily to other peoples and institutes help.
Creativity has strong connection to self-esteem and willpower.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- See what all there is to see, feel and do in human life and how it all can or could be done
- Learn more life handling skills and to put things in new order or in new connection
- Learn more skills to express our needs and emotions
- Learn better communication skills
- Have better and deeper touch with us
- And so on
THERAPY
In therapy we are aiming to good enough life and to good enough life handling skills and problem solving.
In therapy we believe in our own possibilities and besides that we use outside help professionally. Depending on from what school a therapist comes from that therapy can differ from paternalistic care to subtly guiding. Behind of it there’s often question of wider philosophy of human mind and behavior.
I think that a good therapist is usually like a good coach or a good guide. In both cases they bring out their well-experienced highly professional visions as an outsider.
Just like in sport coaching the real work is and must be done by the athletic.
In Movie Therapy we can:
- Use all kinds of therapeutic methods
- Use active, interactive and passive movie therapy (active = doing movies of our own; interactive = using playing consoles; passive = using ready movies, videos, TV programs,)
- Use supportive window dimension (take a look at humanity and to this world) or analytic mirror dimension (take a deep look inside our own mind and emotions)
- Have that traditional, good old client – therapist relationship and have very good and powerful third wheel (= movies) with it
- Have much more effective and better possibilities than using only client – therapist communication
- And so on
- The End of Chapter Eight -
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