Must Watch Psychology Movies / Videos

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psychjunkie

psychjunkie
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I have been taking a look at the must read psychology books. They are all very interesting. I want to know what people prefer and recommend when it comes to movies, documentaries, or any visual media relating to psychology.

Ill start it with:

Following Sean
Director: Ralph Arlyck and Steve Wax
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This looks like a cool thread - would people please include the general subject of the video as well? (For example, autism, schizophrenia, etc.)? I have little to contribute; I haven't seen many films that have been fun to watch but also legitimate from a psychology point of view.
 
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Nobody's said Sybil yet?

Ok, then... Sybil :laugh:
 
As Good as it Gets with Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson. Gives an interesting view of OCD, among other things;)
 
psychmama said:
As Good as it Gets with Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson. Gives an interesting view of OCD, among other things;)
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Never seen it, but I heard it actually was a pretty inaccurate portrayal of OCD. Though I do like Jack Nicholson!
 
BorntoRun said:
Never seen it, but I heard it actually was a pretty inaccurate portrayal of OCD. Though I do like Jack Nicholson!
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Yeah, I thought it was a fun movie for other reasons, but the filmmakers did confound OCD with OCPD and portrayed them as the same disorder, which irks me because it is perpetuating a common misconception.
 
I recommend "The United States of Leland". It's about a quiet teenager who gets put in a juvenile detention facility for killing a young boy with autism (I believe it was autism, it has been a while since I've seen the movie). The film goes into the teen's reasoning for the seemingly senseless murder, and in so doing touches on things like depression as well as several social psychological issues as the community reacts to the murder.
 
A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe. Crow portrays John Forbes Nash, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, who develops paranoid schizophrenia. Great flick.
 
Would I get laughed at if I say Benny and Joon? We watched it in my HS psych class.
 
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It stars Jack Nicholson and it's about what it's like to be in a mental institution. All of the movies people have mentioned look really interesting!
 
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is fabulous.

How about:

Girl, Interrupted
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Happiness
 
I teach among other things, a Psychology II class at a High School and some of my top faves to show to my classes are:

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (a classic)
"Memento"
"American Beauty"
"Girl Interrupted"
"Slingblade"
"Monster"
"Photoshop"
 
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cara susanna said:
Would I get laughed at if I say Benny and Joon? We watched it in my HS psych class.
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I LOVE that movie.
And I actually think it's a pretty accurate picture of what it can be like to fall in love with a schizophrenic (having done it myself once a long time ago, haha)

Since substance abuse is in the DSM I'll assume it counts for this thread. Everybody go watch Requiem for a Dream. It's my all time favourite movie and it's super depressing. I love it.

But in my opinion the most interesting portrayal of mental illness is Fatal Attraction. I wrote a paper about it last year.
 
About Schmidt
A Woman under the Influence
American Splendor
Away from Her
Boy's don't Cry
Clean and Sober
Dirty Filty Love
Finding Forrester
House of Sand and Fog
In America-AIDS
Iris
La Vie en Rose
Leaving Las Vegas
Macarthur Park
Matchstick Men
Misery
Mr. Jones
On Golden Pond
Once Were Warriors
Safe
The Butcher Boy
The Hours
The Lost Weekend
The Savages
The Station Agent
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Ordinary People
 
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Oh, interesting, I didn't know Fatal Attraction was about a woman with BPD.
 
Kids - a disturbing movie for sure, but worth watching if you're interested in adolescents with conduct disorder/anti-social pd.
 
Similar to "Kids"

The Bully - Based on a true story of a group of teenagers who plot to murder a friend who consistently bullies one of the group members. It's disturbing.
 
the devil and daniel johnston -- a documentary about the amazing musician daniel johnston, who is also schizophrenic. as a side note, interviews with his parents give a heartrending looking into the challenges and fears elderly parents with SPMI adult children or adult children with disabilites who still primary caregivers face as they age.

you're gonna miss me -- similar, musician w/schizophrenia doc, but shows family history of illness (wow the interviews with his mom) and the legacy of mi in a family. his mom is the secret star of this doc, and while you see the devistation her own illness has wrought, she's also so creative and fascinating.
 
the entire : "huff" series is pretty good- about a psychiatrist whose patient kills himself in front of said psychiatrist.
 
pingouin said:
Documentaries that are pretty good (both on HBO I think):

I Have Tourette's: a bunch of kids age 8-14 are interviewed about their lives and experiences in having Tourette's. Some pretty darn cool kids in there..
Autism: The Musical: adults help 5 kids with autism put on a musical.
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A) those both look amazing!

B) does anyone have any recommendations for online or movie/doc things to watch to develop my clinical interviewing skills, so show me some good clinical examples? we don't have access to clients until second semester and i'd like the chance to watch some interviews and sessions, at least.
 
psybee said:
A) those both look amazing!

B) does anyone have any recommendations for online or movie/doc things to watch to develop my clinical interviewing skills, so show me some good clinical examples? we don't have access to clients until second semester and i'd like the chance to watch some interviews and sessions, at least.
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You could check out the HBO series "In Treatment".
 
psybee said:
B) does anyone have any recommendations for online or movie/doc things to watch to develop my clinical interviewing skills, so show me some good clinical examples?
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You might just want to watch the TV show "House.":D
 
The Accidental Tourist-Schizoid PD
 
Taxi Driver - mental illness in a vietnam vet, possibly PTSD but they don't really say.
 
I always conceptualized Deniro's character as rather schizotypal in that flick
 
The Unsaid -


I thought it was an excellent movie. About a psychologist trying to help a teenager who is pretty traumatized by watching his father kill his mother.

It has a couple twists in the plot as it develops. I thought it was pretty insightful in that it makes you think about why people do certain things.... and how we're all pretty much capable of anything if the circumstances are right.
 
PsyDGrrrl said:
I'm not sure it's about BPD but more about adolescent adjustment issues.
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It doesn't specifically state that the the main character has BPD, but if you know anything about the disorder it maps on pretty well.
 
Anon15 said:
It doesn't specifically state that the the main character has BPD, but if you know anything about the disorder it maps on pretty well.
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She's also 13, going through puberty and adjusting to a new school and a new town. She clearly demonstrates difficult adjustment, but hardly BPD.
 
PsyDGrrrl said:
She's also 13, going through puberty and adjusting to a new school and a new town. She clearly demonstrates difficult adjustment, but hardly BPD.
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Look in the DSM and get back to me. You can also check out the recent lit. on dx BPD in adolescents if you stuck on the age thing.
 
Anon15 said:
Look in the DSM and get back to me. You can also check out the recent lit. on dx BPD in adolescents if you stuck on the age thing.
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While I agree that you can see BPD in adolescence, I have a really hard time making that diagnosis with a 13-year-old.
 
what about Fight Club? I dont want to say what it is about because it would ruin it for those who havent seen it, but it does portay a disorder in a rather artistic fashion :-D
 
I won't tell you what the psychology related is, because it will ruin the movie.

Identity - Cusack
Tale of Two Sisters (Korean, but an American Remake's suppose to come out next year)
Hide and Seek (not a fan though)
 
It's an old movie, but The Three Faces of Eve is based on a true story of a girl with dissociative disorder. Never saw the movie, but the documentary was pretty interesting!
 
How is it that no one has mentioned "Good Will Hunting" yet? It's a great movie about a boy who was abused and who is coping with an attachment disorder and PTSD (at least, probably also depression and maybe other dx's). It may not be the best portrayal of therapy in terms of it being reality based, but I LOVE this movie and it inspires me every time I watch it.
 
I cant believe no one remembered the movie What About Bob. i dont know about you but i for one would hate to have a patient live with me while on vacation. let me here your thoughts.
 
And speaking of Matt Damon, what about "The Talented Mr. Ripley?" I found the final scenes to be a fascinating example of the narcissism of sociopathy.
 
Yalebound13 said:
I cant believe no one remembered the movie What About Bob. i dont know about you but i for one would hate to have a patient live with me while on vacation. let me here your thoughts.
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Yeah, I used to love that movie when I was a kid. Then I saw it again a few years ago and it scared the %$^# out of me as a future psychologist.
 
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