Hollywood on prescription

If you're struggling with debt, unlucky in love, or just tired of life, would you turn to 'Rocky' for help? Movie therapy is moving into the mainstream. Natasha Courtenay-Smith reports

His words came as music to the ears of the London-based psychotherapist Bernie Wooder, who for more than a decade has been prescribing films to help alleviate his clients' emotional troubles.

Lacking in motivation? A concoction of Rocky and Lawrence of Arabia will inspire you. Feeling jaded with life? A dose of Don Juan DeMarco before bedtime and you'll wake with your enthusiasm fully restored.

Once dismissed as psychobabble, Wooder's branch of counselling is now being accepted into the mainstream. Three years ago, Wooder began training therapists at Guy's Hospital, London, and last year the Royal College of Psychiatrists deemed his techniques to be a "useful aid" in counselling.

A film buff since childhood, it wasn't until 15 years ago that Wooder's passion and profession collided. Then, during a counselling session, a film sprung into Wooder's mind that seemed to sum up the complicated emotions his client was struggling to articulate.

"This woman had been betrayed by her partner," says Wooder. "As she talked, I found myself thinking about a scene from On the Waterfront. In it, Marlon Brando discovers that his own brother, whom he idolises, is not as honest as he'd thought. His face at that moment expressed all the pain that my client clearly felt.

"I asked her if she'd seen the film and her face just lit up. She said: 'That's exactly it. That is how I feel.' It was so helpful to her to know that I understood where she was coming from. I thought straight away: 'There's something in this.'"

On its deepest level, movie therapy involves encouraging individuals to talk about what films say to them, in terms of the plot, music or even a glance one character gives another. But films can also be prescribed to help individuals out of emotional predicaments.

Wooder describes an insecure businessman who was catapulted to chairman after watching Rocky every night, a client who swears by The Remains of the Day because it hammered home to her what life would be like if she did not make changes, and even a priest who was inspired to go backpacking after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest highlighted his fears about becoming institutionalised.

Over the past few weeks, Brokeback Mountain, as well winning three Oscars, has also been a hit in Wooder's therapy rooms. He has female clients who say the film has helped them realise that their frustration with life is due to the fact that they have never experienced the level of love and intimacy depicted between the two cowboys.

Films can also aid communication between warring couples. Natalya Joseph, 48, turned to Wooder for help when her marriage reached breaking point because of her insecurities about her husband's first wife, who had died of breast cancer four years earlier. "I felt very insecure that I couldn't match up to his first wife," she says. "I also had a difficult relationship with my mother-in-law, who didn't seem to like me. I'd tried to explain it to my husband and we'd ended up having huge rows."

Wooder encouraged her to watch the 1940 film Rebecca, in which the second Mrs De Winter is made to feel inferior to the memory of her husband's dead wife, Rebecca.

"The looks of loathing that the housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, who had adored Rebecca, gave the second Mrs De Winter exactly captured how my mother-in-law made me feel," says Joseph.

"Wooder suggested I watch the film with my husband, pointing out the scenes I thought important. It proved to be a far easier way of explaining to him how I was feeling and how his mother makes me feel. For the first time in our marriage, he understood my perspective. And having seen the way Mrs Danvers was behaving, he could also watch for things his mother did to undermine me."

According to Wooder, anything about a film that seems to resonate is worth exploring. One of his clients, who had been verbally and physically abused as a child and as a result was very introverted, spoke to him about the impact the 1998 film Hope Floats had had on her, despite its being largely about divorce.

"The bit that got to her was one scene in which their daughter is watching her father pack his bag into the car. As he drives away, she lets out the most ear-splitting scream.

"The scream represented the years of distress she'd endured. The scream had broken through to her in a way that I, and no other therapist, had ever been able to. With that emotion finally freed, she was able to open up and eventually move on."

For more information, go to www.themovietherapist.com

Watching brief - the healing power of film

THE PROBLEM: Lack of drive

THE SOLUTION: Iron Will, Rocky, Lawrence of Arabia

Wooder says: "Iron Will is based on a true story and is about sheer determination. The boy's triumph is enough to spur anyone on. Rocky and Lawrence of Arabia show similar successes."

THE PROBLEM: Bereavement, loss or a broken heart

THE SOLUTION: Truly Madly Deeply, Ghost, Great Expectations

Wooder says: "Truly Madly Deeply and Ghost deal with the feelings of the person who is left behind. In Great Expections, the bitterness of Miss Havisham shows what happens if grief isn't worked through."

THE PROBLEM: Debt

THE SOLUTION: The Money Pit

Wooder says: "Laugh your head off at this film and you'll at least find the humour in your situation. Afterwards you'll feel better able to cope."

THE PROBLEM: Insecurity

THE SOLUTION: Shirley Valentine, Muriel's Wedding

Wooder says: "There's a wonderful moment where Shirley is feeling embarrassed by her stretch marks and Costas, her Greek lover, kisses them one by one and tells her that they are what make her a real woman. I've used this film many times to help older women as it gives them a different perspective on beauty."

THE PROBLEM: Boredom

THE SOLUTION: Educating Rita

Wooder says: "After watching this film, one of my clients even handed in their notice at the office job they were sick of. It's all about broadening your horizons.

THE PROBLEM: Relationship rut

THE SOLUTION: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset

Wooder says: "Both films are riveting for those who are looking for meaning in their relationships. Use the film to stimulate discussion about what is important."

THE PROBLEM: An affair

THE SOLUTION: The Bridges of Madison County

Wooder says: "Anyone considering leaving a marriage or an affair can be helped by mulling over all the issues about love and loyalty raised by this film."