At the Movies: Media Workshops

Film director and screenwriter George Romero, creator of “Night of the Living Dead,” and Steve Schlozman, M.D., will discuss Roman Polanski's classic film “Repulsion.” Discussion will focus on the nature of modern horror cinema, the relationship of horror to psychological distress, the techniques that are central to creating classic horror films, and the pitfalls and potential benefits to having psychiatric illness as a central theme in this film genre.

On a bright spring morning in May, George Heckel, M.D., climbed the stairs to the attic of his home in Rochester, N.Y., and shot himself. Twenty years later, his daughter, filmmaker Sally Heckel, started making a nonfiction film, “Unspeakable,” exploring her father's despondent state of mind and her relationship to this tragic event. Heckel will be joined by psychiatrist Michael Myers, M.D., and writer Carla Fine to talk about overcoming the grief of the death of a loved one by suicide. They are the coauthors of Touched By Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss (Gotham Penguin Books, 2006).

“Patrik, Age 1.5” is a 2008 Swedish film that explores issues of child and adolescent adoption by a gay male couple. After a string of disappointments at the adoption agency, Sven and Goran get what appears to be good news in the form of an infant named Patrik, aged 1.5. But one small typo leads to the arrival of a homophobic and very troubled teenaged punk. The presenters, child and adolescent psychiatrists with expertise in LGBT issues, will engage the audience in discussion of the issues raised in this inspiring film.

Although the humanitarian and rescue responses to man-made and natural calamities are universal, abundant, and varied, the evidence-based consensus has been often lacking. The presenters will share information based on their personal experiences and the scientific literature on disaster psychiatry to encourage participants to use evidence-informed approaches to preparedness and interventions in the aftermath of disaster.

The FREDDIE award–winning AFSP documentary “Struggling in Silence: Physician Depression and Suicide,” underwritten by the American College of Psychiatrists and Wyeth, will be shown, and then suicide-prevention programs initiated at various medical schools will be discussed. Resources will be available that participants can take home to help develop similar programs at their institutions.

“Boy Interrupted” is an exploration by two parents who are documentary filmmakers seeking answers after the suicide of their son at age 15. Dana Perry gathered home movies, photographs, and a variety of different documents to tell the story of her son, Evan: his bipolar illness, his life, and his death, and the impact on those who loved him the most. Rappaport, Perry, and Joanne Harpel of the AFSP will lead a discussion about how this movie can shape psychiatric practice, and Rappaport will speak about the fragile alliance between the teenager and the child psychiatrist.

APA's Practice Guideline for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults now includes a recommendation for a sensitive evaluation of the patient's religious/spiritual beliefs and any important religious influences in the patient's life. APA's Office of Minority and National Affairs recommends several strategies to reduce mental health disparities in diverse ethnic groups. One is to address stigma through programs and foster collaborations between mental health professionals and faith and community leaders. This workshop will educate participants on using the media to address stigma.

In “Rachel Getting Married,” director Jonathan Demme introduces viewers to a world of interpersonal destruction and reconstitution in the context of a family reunion. Kym, the identified family problem, gets a pass from an inpatient addiction rehabilitation center to attend the wedding of her sister Rachel, the trained psychotherapist. Workshop discussants will propose a psychodynamic formulation of Kym based on the complex relationships in the film. The discussants will also explore the role of the psychotherapist in addressing problems in her or his own life as reflected in Rachel's dilemmas.