Movies and Mental Illness

Films can be a powerful aid to learning about mental illness and psychopathology - for students of psychology, psychiatry, social work, medicine, nursing, counseling, literature or media studies, and for anyone interested in mental health. Movies and Mental Illness, written by experienced clinicians and teachers who are themselves movie aficionados, has established a great reputation as a uniquely enjoyable and highly memorable text for learning about psychopathology. The new edition has been fully updated to include DSM-5 and ICD-10 diagnoses. The core clinical chapters each use a fabricated case history and Mini-Mental State Examination along with synopses and discussions about specific movies to explain, teach, and encourage discussion about all the most important mental health disorders. Each chapter also includes: Critical Thinking Questions; "Authors' Picks" (Top 10 Films); What To Read if You Only Have Time to Read One Book or Article; and Topics for Group Discussions.Other features of the new, expanded edition include: Full index of films Sample course syllabus Ratings of around 1,500 films Fascinating appendices, such as "Top 50 Heroes and Villains," psychotherapists in movies, misconceptions about mental illness in movies, and recommended websites. Do you want to propose a film for the 4th edition of Movies and Mental Illness? Have a look at the authors' blogspot! They welcome all comments on the films they already plan to discuss, or suggestions for films to include in the new edition!

A winning text for students with pedagogical tips for teachers... Movies and Mental Illness allows educators to weave psychological concepts and issues into a format that naturally engages students and facilitates classroom participation from a shared popular cultural perspective. Empirical data supporting the inclusion of popular film in the curriculum indicates watching contemporary movies can facilitate a wide range of learning outcomes... Abstract concepts, including the wide world of psychopathology, can be brought to life and embodied within movies. Movies grab our attention, stay in our memories, and are often our primary tool for developing narratives of the world.; "Finding the right film is a daunting and delicate task for teachers. Most instructors don't know where to find the material needed to effectively incorporate this essential media tool. Psychology instructors can now breathe a sigh of relief ... Movies and Mental Illness presents a cornucopia of ideas on how to integrate film as a best practice in the education of students, patients, and the public about mental illness. Wedding and Niemiec's text enables every abnormal or psychopathology instructor to ensure the selected films have been vetted to have maximum positive benefits.; "The book is best used as an assigned text in an Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology course but is also very valuable as a reference book used by instructors to build portions of their own syllabi. [It] is especially helpful for instructors trying to incorporate this pedagogy since it provides sample syllabi and gives instructions on how to integrate the use of film within the standard college semester course.; "Movies & Mental Illness serves not only as a resource for academics, but as a psycho-educational resource for therapists interested in utilizing cinematherapy.; "Wedding and Niemiec's fourth edition of Movies and Mental Illness will help many psychologists create the ideal learning experience, where students gain an education relevant to their lived experience and clinicians facilitate a client breaking through resistances and reaching their goals."; Reviewed by Afiya Mangum Mbilishaka and Linda Berg-Cross, Howard University, Washington, DC, in PsycCRITIQUES (2015);; "This is an educational and enjoyable read. It can be used in many ways with students, clients, and patients to educate people about mental illness in almost any setting. The book does a very good job of providing numerous selections that deal with each mental illness and raise critical questions about their portrayal. I would highly recommend this book.; Brett C. Plyler, M.D.(Northwestern Memorial Hospital) in Doody's Book Review Service, 2014;; "An easy to use, well referenced, carefully organized tome. Their compendium is a 'must have' resource to visually demonstrate the symptoms of mental illness, and the effects that mental illness has on individuals, families, and society. Not only do the authors present these conditions visually, they provide a rich context using contemporary diagnostic nomenclature. Faculty will have no problem selecting timely examples to complement lectures and assigned articles. This will be one text that faculty will want to keep close by. An excellent resource!"; Barry Anton, PhD, 2015 President, American Psychological Association;; "I have been a fan of Movies and Mental Illness from the first edition. It is a testament to how deeply mental illness touches almost everybody's life in one form or another."; Steven Pritzker, PhD, Director of the Master of Psychology Program and the Creative Studies Program (Saybrook University, San Francisco, CA) and former Hollywood script writer (Room 222, The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and President of the APA Division of Aesthetics, Creativity, & the Arts.; "What an important chance the movies have to lower the stigma of mental disorders, in general, to raise self-esteem, and to share accurate information, including information about treatment, and to renew hope in life. Movies and Mental Illness helps us find just those films of the greatest value."; Ruth Richards, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychology (Saybrook University, San Francisco, CA) and Lecturer, Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School (Cambridge, MA);

Danny Wedding, PhD, MPH, is associate dean for management and international programs at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University. He is the editor of PsycCRITIQUES: Contemporary Psychology - APA Review of Books, the senior editor for Hogrefe's book series on Advances in Psychotherapy: Evidence-Based Practice, and the coauthor of Positive Psychology at the Movies: Using Films to Build Virtues and Character Strengths. Wedding lectures widely on international psychology and the portrayal of mental illness in contemporary cinema. Ryan M. Niemiec, PsyD, is education director of the VIA Institute on Character, a global nonprofit organization that advances the science and practice of character strengths. He is a licensed psychologist, adjunct professor at Xavier University, and an international speaker. He is author of Mindfulness and Character Strengths: A Practical Guide to Flourishing and coauthor of Positive Psychology at the Movies: Using Films to Build Character Strengths and Well-Being, and a number of articles and book chapters on films. He is film editor of PsycCRITIQUES and received a specialization in film studies from Michigan State University. His website is

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