A View of the Symbolic-experiential Family Therapy of Carl Whitaker through Movie Analysis

Download
2015-06-01
The movie "Ya Sonra" is evaluated in respect to the basic concepts and principles of symbolic-experiential family therapy. Carl Whitaker, who called his approach "Psychotherapy of Absurdity" mainly emphasized the concepts of absurdity, experientiality, and symbolism. Based on the hypothesis that film analysis supports and develops theoretical information, this study aims to reveal the theoretical perspective of symbolic-experiential family therapy, and through the method of film analysis, exemplify the assumptions, perspectives, and emphases of therapy. Emotional deadness, pathology as a symptom of development, the focus person of the problem in the family, marriage greater than its parts, blind marriage, flexibility of roles, the role of therapist, seeing family and client, the objectives of therapy, and the techniques used in therapy are among the theoretical concepts of symbolic-experiential family therapy. To this end, these topics were addressed in the movie "Ya Sonra," which is about a woman in her seventh year of marriage who starts to feel that she does not belong in her marriage with her spouse and that she is seen as insignificant by her spouse. Therefore, she becomes identified as the patient in the family. The sensitivity of the spouses increases as the problem becomes more serious, eventually leading her to leave the house. The breakdown of communication between the spouses during the ensuing process finally results in divorce, due to a gradual increase in misunderstandings between the two. The previously described concepts were exemplified through analysis of the film. As a conclusion, it is believed that this study can serve as a resource to specialists by supporting the theoretical information concerning symbolic-experiential family therapy and exemplifying this approach in practice through the method of movie analysis.
EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES-THEORY & PRACTICE

Suggestions

The effect of cinematherapy on perfectionism and related schemas
Aka, Başak Türküler; Gençöz, Faruk; Department of Psychology (2007)
This study aimed to reveal the effect of cinematherapy on perfectionism and related Early Maladaptive Schemas and investigates the contribution of participants’ identification with the film and recall of the film on this process. 34 university students from Psychology Department at Middle East Technical University participated in the study. The participants completed a demographic information form, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, three Early Maladaptive Schema (Emotional Inhibition, Unrelenting Standa...
The family dynamics in nanny-employed families and their impact on the cared child
Akay, Nazlı; Şahin Acar, Başak; Fearon, Pasco; Department of Psychology (2022-5)
The present dissertation is aimed towards examining whether the nanny-child relationship has an impact on the psychological well-being of cared child. In the first study, we have examined relationships among the coparenting dynamics between mothers and nannies, their sensitivities towards the child, and child well-being, through home-visit observation of the mother-nanny-child play interaction. In the second study, through administering an online survey in Turkey and UK, we have sought to explore mothers’ a...
A qualitative study about transmission of religious issues
Sendil, Cagla Oneren; Kucukertan, Nurten Ozuorcun (2012-02-11)
Throughout the childhood, with the help of social, familial and educational agencies, together with views about self and outer world, an individual acquires religious perspective. The purpose of this qualitative study is to discover the individuals' constructions of current life experiences, related psychological outcomes and emotions based on the religion education process. University students in Ankara, were interviewed about their current and past life experiences on religion education process. Findings ...
Boşanma Sürecinde Psikolojik Müdahaleler Üzerine Bir Derleme
Sayan Karahan, Ayşegül (ODTÜ- AYNA Klinik Psikoloji Destek Ünitesi, 2022-2)
Bu derlemede boşanma sürecinde etkili uygulamalara temel oluşturmasına katkı sağlamak amacıyla psikolojik müdahaleler betimsel düzeyde ele alınmaktadır. Bir kriz durumu olan boşanmanın eşler ve varsa çocukları üzerinde olumsuz etkileri bulunmaktadır. Son yıllarda ise buna ek olarak yapıcı ve sağlıklı boşanma kavramlarından bahsedilmektedir. Boşanma oranlarındaki artış ile beraber boşanma sonrası yaşam düzenlemelerine destek ihtiyacı da artmaktadır. Ruh sağlığı alanında çalışanların boşanma sonrası uyum ile ...
The relation of family boundary violation to subjective well-being and trait anxiety among adolescents
Bektaş, Ceren; Demir, Ayhan Gürbüz; Department of Educational Sciences (2018)
The purpose of the study was to examine the relation of boundary violation to subjective well-being and trait anxiety among adolescents. The sample was consisted of 1305 early and late adolescents (582 male, 723 female) aged between 11 and 18. Boundary Violation Scale, Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Trait Anxiety Form of State-Trait Anxiety Scale for Children and a demographic information form were used to collect data. Pearson correlation an...
Citation Formats
P. Çağ, “A View of the Symbolic-experiential Family Therapy of Carl Whitaker through Movie Analysis,” EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES-THEORY & PRACTICE, pp. 575–586, 2015, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/41413.