~ ~ ~

Using movies to enhance and test our work.

Hi Everyone,

Silvia Hartmann-Kent (from the UK) brings us a quality idea (using movies) for finding aspects, digging up core issues and testing our work.

I've used this myself with great success. For example, I once asked an African-American man (who had many slavery-type negative issues) if he had ever seen the TV series "Roots" (which contained atrocious white behavior towards blacks during the U.S. slavery era).

He said he couldn't watch it because of all the negative emotions and fears it brought up. I then proceeded to apply EFT for him over the phone for this and several related issues.

After several sessions, he had no problem renting Roots and watching the entire thing. Instead of his usual fear-based response, he reported feeling a sense of pride for his race and all they had to endure.

In this instance, watching a movie provided an outstanding test of the work we had done.

Movies offer many possibilities.

For example, traumatized war veterans could watch Private Ryan or the war scenes from Forrest Gump as a way to test the completeness of the EFT process.

Snake phobics could watch the snake scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark for the same purpose.

There are many movies depicting rape, guilt and grief that offer quality assistance in our work.

Further, they are all on video tape and be played and replayed at home or in the office. Professionals might want to consider having a library of movies as an aid to helping clients.

We owe a thank you to Silvia for her insights.

Hugs, Gary

[Gary Craig is Founder of Emotional Freedom Techniques - the "work" he refers to in his original title 'Using movies to enhance and test our work.' The title 'Movies to explore our inner life' is mine (Douglas Eby). The term 'tapping' below is part of the EFT therapy approach.]

~~~~~

Going To The Movies

by Silvia Hartmann-Kent

Isn't it strange how various problems and their solutions seem to come in waves?

I find sometimes that a client comes my way with a most unusual problem that I have very rarely or never before encountered, and before the week is out, three more occurrences of exactly the same thing have appeared as if by magic.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking on the phone to a young man who has been seriously depressed since he was quite young (age 9 or 10) and who has been tapping religiously for about a year now.

This has helped him to a degree so that he has been able to take up a part time job. But, as he put it, the depression was "still lurking just out of arm's reach."

For no good reason, I started to talk about StarTrek and, in particular, Deep Space 9, which is my favourite.

He told me that he had stopped watching it following an episode involving Captain Sisco and his son which had upset him terribly, so much so that he had been crying for three days after seeing it.

Now it has long been my contention that movies and TV are the most wonderful aid in personal development, because your likes and dislikes are so clearly reflected back to you by your own emotional responses to what goes on there on the silver screen.

Many times our deepest angers, fears and all manner of emotions that we can't even put a label to are really out of reach during our every day lives; they are hidden away so that we don't have to deal with them and so we don't even know we have these emotions.

Then we watch a TV show or a movie and all of a sudden - there they are! -- revealed, making their presence known along with their desire to get our attention.

What a perfect opportunity to treat with EFT! What a wonderful, direct link into a system that is just so hard to get into when you are trying from your conscious mind by thinking about it or trying to find words!

I got very excited when the young man mentioned his reaction to the DS9 episode. He remembered its name clearly and I suggested he consider going to BlockBuster and obtaining a copy - luckily, they stock them all and the ones they don't have on the shelves, they can order for you.

The young man, however, was not very excited at the thought of crying for another three days and bringing on another months-long cycle of the blackest depression.

So we had to back up and start with set ups to first get him balanced on the idea of going to the video store in the first place. This took three rounds of straight EFT to accomplish until he was really looking forward to freeing himself of these emotions.

I made him promise that he would not "force himself" at any stage of the whole process, i.e. going to the shop, looking for the tape, finding it, picking it up, bringing it home and then to consider playing it.

He made his promise and we concluded the conversation. I waited for the feedback.

In the meantime, and only a day later, another lady mentioned in passing a very strong negative response she recently had to the movie "Eyes Wide Shut" - a sick feeling that was building up as the story unfolded and became so uncomfortable and physically painful that she had to turn the video off.

She returned it as soon as she could, "because I didn't even want to have it in the house".

This lady is very keen on personal development and a very experienced tapper and therapist so, after discussion with me, she went to work immediately and the very next morning rented the tape again.

She had to tap before she could put it into the machine, using set ups such as...

"Even though I am afraid what I am going to find out about myself"

"Even though this makes me uncomfortable"

"Even though I don't want to feel this pain again".

Then she reports this: "I was sitting ready with my hand on the sore spot and as soon as anything came up, I tapped. Some scenes I re-wound and tapped on a number of times and it was interesting how it seemed as though the emotions wanted to be released - each time, it only took half a round or so to bring it to 0. There was no resistance at all, it was as though my unconscious mind was co-operating completely and we were doing this together."

This, of course, is the wonder of EFT. The fact that no matter how intense or downright nasty the emotions are which got tied into certain subject areas, they can be released quite readily, especially when you are in contact with them.

The video of "Eyes Wide Shut" hit the mark on this lady's present issues with total accuracy and on many levels all at once, which is the perfect place from which to release the emotions.

The fact that she had total control over events by (1) being able to stop the film at any time if it was becoming too uncomfortable, (2) freeze framing certain key scenes and (3) rewinding it and playing it again if necessary to check for aspects, appealed to her tremendously and of course, from my standpoint, it is perfection in therapeutic application.

Lastly, being able to watch it all the way through and get a complete new outlook on the events as they unfold is a brilliant real life test to make sure you have found all the aspects and you really have changed your mind.

The young man also acquired his film and went through much the same stages as the lady did.

It seems quite natural to do it in this way as you are guided by your feelings and working with them, not against them.

He reported a profound sense of relief in spite of much crying and watching his film in sections over a number of days instead of doing it all at once. He said that it was probably the most profound personal development experience he has ever had.

As a parting note, I would suggest that this is an excellent way of dealing with unconscious material by yourself with control and safety.

It is excellent for therapists too, because asking about the themes of movies and shows that have produced such a reaction in the past can be a most valuable entry point into unconscious subject areas.

In therapy, i.e. with another person, you would ask the client to describe the scene that triggered the emotional responses and become the video recorder as you stop, treat, rewind, and play again to test the changes.

Silvia Hartmann-Kent

[The image is from the book Reel Therapy: How Movies Inspire You to Overcome Life's Problems, by Gary Solomon, PhD.]

~~~

For more info, see the Emotional Freedom Techniques site.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

Based on impressive new discoveries involving the body's subtle energies, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) has been clinically effective in thousands of cases for Trauma & Abuse, Stress & Anxiety, Fears & Phobias, Depression, Addictive Cravings, Children's Issues and hundreds of physical symptoms including headaches, body pains and breathing difficulties.

Properly applied, over 80% achieve either noticeable improvement or complete cessation of the problem.

...Often works where nothing else will.
...Usually rapid, long lasting and gentle.
...No drugs or equipment involved.
...Easily learned by anyone.
...Can be self applied.

   Also see more EFT articles.

~ ~ ~

One source of movies is the subscription service Netflix:

  

Mental health...[front page]

Mental health : teen/young adult...

~ ~ ~

Deepak Chopra, MD:
"EFT offers great healing benefits."

Candace Pert, PhD,
Author of Molecules of Emotion :
"EFT is at the forefront of the new healing movement."

Norm Shealy, MD,
Author of Soul Medicine:
"Meridian-based therapies such as EFT...can have effects out of all proportion to their cost and complexity."

Cheryl Richardson
Author of The Unmistakable Touch of Grace :
"EFT is destined to be a top healing tool for the 21st Century"
 
Bruce Lipton, PhD
Author of The Biology of Belief :
"EFT is a simple, powerful process that can profoundly influence gene activity, health and behavior."