If you’ve been in therapy, you know that it can seem a little one sided. Your therapist gets to hear a lot about you and your life, maybe even things that no one else knows, yet you don’t get to hear too much about your therapist. Sure, they may share some things but not much usually. This is obviously for a good reason. YOUR therapy is about YOU, not your therapist. Maintaining healthy boundaries and relational dynamic is important, essential even, in my opinion. That being said, this post is a little “Inside Out”, as I am sharing a little bit about myself (and obviously will connect it to feelings and therapy).
First, I have a sense of humor and like to incorporate that into my therapeutic relationships when appropriate. I am fairly fluent in sarcasm. Two of my favorite things to do include listening to great music and watching a good flick! In fact, watching AFI’s Top 100 Movie list is a task I have been diligently working on for the past 5 years. Although, I don’t think it’s made the cut yet, I strongly believe that the movie INSIDE OUT will make an appearance on that list in the years to come. It is rapidly becoming one of my favorite movies. The movie is delightfully crafty in how it brings simplicity and imagery to the interworking and complexity of human thought, feeling, behavior and memory.
The basic synopsis of Inside Out is this: It’s a story of a 12 year old girl, Riley, as told by 5 emotions in her brain that are in charge of controlling her thoughts, behaviors and memories. These characters include Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness and they are on a tireless mission to help Riley survive and thrive. The movie combines humor, but very real (and serious) tenets, struggles and realities of the human condition that are extremely relatable to anyone. Inside out may be a “kid’s” movie but the themes and content transcend age.
In an effort to not spoil the movie, and in hopes that you will go see it yourself, I will not say more about Inside Out. I have encouraged many of my clients to watch this movie. I believe the way it conceptualize emotions, may be helpful for those who struggle with emotional understanding, who may have turned them off in an attempt to “feel better”, or who need a new way to talk about feelings. As a therapist, I feel this movie provides a helpful way to look at these concepts. So, if you don’t have any plans this weekend and have an hour and half…… get on Netflix and expand your emotional intelligence with INSIDE OUT!!