Movie + Discussion Night
Movie + Discussion Night was created and is facilitated by host Carol Becker, PhD. At movie night, we watch and discuss films focused on how people interact when dealing with stressful family events and polarizing public issues. We use the film as an opportunity to learn from the stories and issues presented on screen. We facilitate meaningful discussions about the target issues, inviting participants to share diverse experiences and perspectives, with the intention of learning from one another. As facilitator, Carol Becker, PhD, insures that critical issues relevant to mental health professionals are discussed and brings her own lessons from the film to the group. In addition, she tasks participants to specifically address how they will bring what they have learned back to their work in the mental health field.
The purpose of this program is to increase awareness about issues evocatively presented in films; learn more about the effects of these issues on our world and therefore the people with whom we work; to create: • opportunities to learn from the film and one another • an openness to taking in additional information and developing new ways of thinking about complex, nuanced and often divisive issues that affect our clients • an experience of having a facilitated conversation with ground rules that allows for civil discourse, new learning and are practices that can be used in individual, couple, family and larger systems meetings Program Outline of Movie Night Learning Events: After watching the film, guidelines for a learning conversation are shared, discussed as needed and agreed upon by the participants. Everyone is asked to respond to the first question. Then an open discussion format is used as people reflect on the other questions. The facilitator makes sure that key lessons from the film are discussed. Content areas from are delineated in the description of each event. General Discussion questions: • How does the movie affect how you see and will work with the individual, family and systemic problems it depicts? • What stands out for you in the movie, e.g., acting, the story, particular scenes or images? How is that related to what you are learning from the film that you will apply to your work? • How does the movie enrich or shift your perspective about the issues raised? Are your assumptions challenged? Did it deepen or broaden your views in a way that will change your work? • What are you taking from this conversation? What are you thinking about that you were not thinking about in the same way before? How will you utilize this learning in your work? Target Audience |
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These learning events are designed for helping professionals including, but not limited to, social workers, psychologists, mental health counselors, marriage & family therapists, and nurses. We choose films and design the learning methodology to further develop beginning, intermediate, and advanced helping professionals by expanding their knowledge base on important individual and societal issues for direct practice, supervision, and management positions.
Cost
$55 to participate in the learning discussion and receive 3 CEs. $20 for participation only
Clinician United Members: Contact us for discounted fee of $45
Please register in advance to save a seat. Our venue is limited to 15 participants.
Clinician United Members: Contact us for discounted fee of $45
Please register in advance to save a seat. Our venue is limited to 15 participants.
Movie Night CEs
Participants MUST attend 100% of the program to earn the 3 CEs approved. CE certificates will be given at the end of the event after you are fully paid and have completed the evaluation form. Details for approved professions: 3 CEs have been approved for licensed Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology and Nursing professionals by Commonwealth Educational Seminars. Licensed Mental Health Counselors can earn 3 CEs as Therapy Training Boston has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6707. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Therapy Training Boston is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. For more detailed information about CEs, read this.
Movie Night + Discussion Schedule, Content and Registration
13TH
Thursday, December 6, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
The title of Ava DuVernay’s documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.
Learning Objectives:
Reviews:
“Prisons are the new plantations!” may seem like sloganeering from a far-left protestor, but DuVernay’s effective film draws a strong, straight line from the abolition of slavery to today’s mass incarceration epidemic, explaining its root cause: money.” – Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian
“I’m a criminal justice reporter, and Ava DuVernay’s new Netflix documentary about mass incarceration shocked me.” – Leon Neyfakh, Slate
Thursday, December 6, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
The title of Ava DuVernay’s documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will discuss the impact of political and legislative decisions on African Americans in the prison system to better serve individuals, families and larger systems affected by structural racism.
- Participants will use the film to identify the ways African Americans, and other marginalized groups as well as those in the majority, continue to be affected by institutionalized racism, how it shows up in the work we do and how to bring relevant discussions into client meetings.
- Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in “safe/respectful” conversations such that they can utilize concepts and methods of these practices in their work.
Reviews:
“Prisons are the new plantations!” may seem like sloganeering from a far-left protestor, but DuVernay’s effective film draws a strong, straight line from the abolition of slavery to today’s mass incarceration epidemic, explaining its root cause: money.” – Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian
“I’m a criminal justice reporter, and Ava DuVernay’s new Netflix documentary about mass incarceration shocked me.” – Leon Neyfakh, Slate
Policies:
Please arrive by 6:45 pm to park and get settled before the event starts at 7 pm.
For all event policies, including detailed CE information and special accommodations, read this.
Please arrive by 6:45 pm to park and get settled before the event starts at 7 pm.
For all event policies, including detailed CE information and special accommodations, read this.
Past Movie Nights
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Thursday, October 11, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
In the summer of 1983, in the north of Italy, Elio Perlman, (Timothée Chalamet) a 17-year-old American, spends his days in his family's 17th century villa lazily transcribing music and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). One day Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern, tasked with helping Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.
Learning Objectives:
Reviews:
“Writer James Ivory’s generous, sensitive adaptation of Andre Aciman’s novel reveals these characters and their ever-evolving dynamic in beautifully steady yet detailed fashion. And so when Elio and Oliver finally dare to reveal their true feelings for each other—a full hour into the film—the moment makes you hold your breath with its intimate power, and the emotions feel completely authentic and earned.” – Christy Lemire, rogerebert.com
“As Elio's father says of the art he studies, 'there's not a straight line in any of these statues; they're all curved, as if daring you to desire them.' Call Me By Your Name dares its audience in the same way. It's a swooning new classic and one of the very best films of the year.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Thursday, October 11, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
In the summer of 1983, in the north of Italy, Elio Perlman, (Timothée Chalamet) a 17-year-old American, spends his days in his family's 17th century villa lazily transcribing music and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). One day Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern, tasked with helping Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will discuss and recognize the powerful role of family acceptance of same-sex sexual orientation in promoting young peoples’ well-being to better assist families with this process.
- Participants will identify ways to improve treatment of young people coming out as gay.
- Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in “safe/respectful” conversations such that they can utilize concepts and methods of these practices in their work.
Reviews:
“Writer James Ivory’s generous, sensitive adaptation of Andre Aciman’s novel reveals these characters and their ever-evolving dynamic in beautifully steady yet detailed fashion. And so when Elio and Oliver finally dare to reveal their true feelings for each other—a full hour into the film—the moment makes you hold your breath with its intimate power, and the emotions feel completely authentic and earned.” – Christy Lemire, rogerebert.com
“As Elio's father says of the art he studies, 'there's not a straight line in any of these statues; they're all curved, as if daring you to desire them.' Call Me By Your Name dares its audience in the same way. It's a swooning new classic and one of the very best films of the year.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
THE FLORIDA PROJECT
Thursday, September 6, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
Set on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World, The Florida Project follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) over the course of a single summer. The two live week to week at “The Magic Castle,” a budget motel managed by Bobby (Willem Dafoe), whose stern exterior hides a deep reservoir of kindness and compassion.
Despite her harsh surroundings, the precocious and ebullient Moonee has no trouble making each day a celebration of life, her endless afternoons overflowing with mischief and grand adventure as she and her ragtag playmates—including Jancey, a new arrival to the area who quickly becomes Moonee’s best friend—fearlessly explore the utterly unique world into which they’ve been thrown. Unbeknownst to Moonee, however, her delicate fantasy is supported by the toil and sacrifice of Halley, who is forced to explore increasingly dangerous possibilities in order to provide for her daughter.
Learning Objectives:
Reviews:
“Scene by scene, it assembles one of the most infectious and thrillingly alive portraits of childhood I've ever seen. Imagine a Sunshine State riff on Los Olvidados or Bicycle Thieves, slathered in sherbet hues and sprinkled with Pop Rocks, and you'll get some sense of the strange, sun-scorched beauty of Baker's accomplishment. He has made a dazzling neorealist sugar rush of a movie.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“The Florida Project is honest about the limits of benevolence, and about the wishful thinking that can cloud our understanding of the world. Its final scenes are devastating, and also marvelously ambiguous, full of wonder, fury and clear-eyed self-criticism.” – A. O. Scott, The New York Times
Thursday, September 6, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
Set on a stretch of highway just outside the imagined utopia of Disney World, The Florida Project follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) over the course of a single summer. The two live week to week at “The Magic Castle,” a budget motel managed by Bobby (Willem Dafoe), whose stern exterior hides a deep reservoir of kindness and compassion.
Despite her harsh surroundings, the precocious and ebullient Moonee has no trouble making each day a celebration of life, her endless afternoons overflowing with mischief and grand adventure as she and her ragtag playmates—including Jancey, a new arrival to the area who quickly becomes Moonee’s best friend—fearlessly explore the utterly unique world into which they’ve been thrown. Unbeknownst to Moonee, however, her delicate fantasy is supported by the toil and sacrifice of Halley, who is forced to explore increasingly dangerous possibilities in order to provide for her daughter.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will discuss the impact of poverty on children and parents to better understand, assess and intervene when working with people living with the physical and mental health effects of poverty.
- Participants will use the film and learning discussion to improve their understanding of the effects of poverty on the complexity of mother/daughter and other relationships in these circumstances.
- Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in “safe/respectful” conversations such that they can utilize concepts and methods of these practices in their work.
Reviews:
“Scene by scene, it assembles one of the most infectious and thrillingly alive portraits of childhood I've ever seen. Imagine a Sunshine State riff on Los Olvidados or Bicycle Thieves, slathered in sherbet hues and sprinkled with Pop Rocks, and you'll get some sense of the strange, sun-scorched beauty of Baker's accomplishment. He has made a dazzling neorealist sugar rush of a movie.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“The Florida Project is honest about the limits of benevolence, and about the wishful thinking that can cloud our understanding of the world. Its final scenes are devastating, and also marvelously ambiguous, full of wonder, fury and clear-eyed self-criticism.” – A. O. Scott, The New York Times
THE BIG SICK
Thursday, March 8, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
Kumail is a Pakistani comic who meets an American graduate student named Emily at one of his stand-up shows. As their relationship blossoms, he soon becomes worried about what his traditional Muslim parents will think of her. When Emily suddenly comes down with an illness that leaves her in a coma, Kumail finds himself developing a bond with her deeply concerned mother and father.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will identify tensions that develop between families who immigrate to America (from Pakistan) and the next generation who is born here, in relation to finding a romantic partner.
2. Participants will enhance their knowledge base of inter-generational dynamics in Pakistani families in the U.S. and cross cultural romantic relationships in ways that enhance their understanding and capacity when working with across cultures with sensitivity and humility.
3. Participants will identify ways to facilitate healing through improved family communication and interpersonal understanding when family history and family dynamics affect how people cope in crisis situations and relationships.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these principles in their work.
Thursday, March 8, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
Kumail is a Pakistani comic who meets an American graduate student named Emily at one of his stand-up shows. As their relationship blossoms, he soon becomes worried about what his traditional Muslim parents will think of her. When Emily suddenly comes down with an illness that leaves her in a coma, Kumail finds himself developing a bond with her deeply concerned mother and father.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will identify tensions that develop between families who immigrate to America (from Pakistan) and the next generation who is born here, in relation to finding a romantic partner.
2. Participants will enhance their knowledge base of inter-generational dynamics in Pakistani families in the U.S. and cross cultural romantic relationships in ways that enhance their understanding and capacity when working with across cultures with sensitivity and humility.
3. Participants will identify ways to facilitate healing through improved family communication and interpersonal understanding when family history and family dynamics affect how people cope in crisis situations and relationships.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these principles in their work.
THE COLOR PURPLE
Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson (Danny Glover), things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. This Oscar-nominated adaptation of the novel by Alice Walker is directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will develop compassion for and deeper understanding of the experience of wanting to find one’s own way in the world while being Black in the South in America in order to increase their ability to work well with African Americans.
2. Participants will discuss the impact of abuse on people to improve their perspective and skills in working with clients who have experienced abuse.
3. Participants will discuss the impact of racism on their clients in order to be provide improved support.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these principles in their work.
Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson (Danny Glover), things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. This Oscar-nominated adaptation of the novel by Alice Walker is directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will develop compassion for and deeper understanding of the experience of wanting to find one’s own way in the world while being Black in the South in America in order to increase their ability to work well with African Americans.
2. Participants will discuss the impact of abuse on people to improve their perspective and skills in working with clients who have experienced abuse.
3. Participants will discuss the impact of racism on their clients in order to be provide improved support.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these principles in their work.
LADY BIRD
Thursday, May 3, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
In her senior year of high school in Sacramento, teenage Lady Bird is set on making her way east to attend college in New York City. With help from her adopted brother, Miguel, she begins putting together a plan for her great escape. Her mom, a California nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her - loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will discuss tensions between a mother and daughter as the daughter separates from her mother to develop her own sense of self.
2. Participants will use the film to reflect on and articulate ways to improve their treatment of adolescents daughters and their mothers.
3. Participants will use their reactions to the main characters as a way to think about their emotional reactions to client mothers and daughters in intense relationships and identify how to use themselves to facilitate change.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these practices in their work.
Thursday, May 3, 2018 - 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, 3 CEs
Location: 203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown MA
In her senior year of high school in Sacramento, teenage Lady Bird is set on making her way east to attend college in New York City. With help from her adopted brother, Miguel, she begins putting together a plan for her great escape. Her mom, a California nurse, works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her - loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will discuss tensions between a mother and daughter as the daughter separates from her mother to develop her own sense of self.
2. Participants will use the film to reflect on and articulate ways to improve their treatment of adolescents daughters and their mothers.
3. Participants will use their reactions to the main characters as a way to think about their emotional reactions to client mothers and daughters in intense relationships and identify how to use themselves to facilitate change.
4. Participants will participate in a dialogue format in which they will become acquainted with a methodological approach that includes all voices and invites people to share their experiences and perspectives about difficult and divisive issues in a “safe/respectful” conversation such that they can utilize these practices in their work.