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The 20th Annual Psychology Goes to the Movies Film Series

Identities in Crisis - Shifting Sands of Self in Society
A classic film and discussion series on contemporary issues in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. A unique opportunity to explore deeper meanings in film, in a public dialogue with psychotherapists and filmmakers.

Time: Friday evenings in March, 7:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
NEW Venue:University Hall Amphitheater, Lesley University

FILMS(5):
Brokeback Mountain(2005)
Friday, March 2nd
Director: Ang Lee
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledgerand Michelle Williams

Brokeback Mountain is the story of two men,Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist(Jake Gyllenhaal), and of the tortured yet irrepressible passion that erupted between them during a summer tending sheep, and of their efforts to sustain their love despite monumental internal constraints and relentless external assaults. Theirs is a story of the courage it takes to live and love as a gay man(or woman) in our society, and it is also, in a broader sense, a parable for all of us as we try to find and sustain our authentic loving and sexual selves in a culture that forces on us increasingly distorted and inauthentic models for those selves.
Presented by: Mark O’Connell, PhD

Daughter from Danang(2002)
Friday, March 9th
Directors: Gail Dolgin and Vincent Franco
Starring Heide Bub, Mai Thi Kim and Tran Tuong Nhu

This award winning documentary presents the riveting and multifaceted story about a brave young woman’s search for identity in the context of international adoption and the Vietnamese war. We become acquainted with“Heidi,” and her double life; raised by her Vietnamese mother during the war, she was fathered by an American soldier, and then “rescued” during the controversial and politically motivated “operation babylift” in 1975. In interviews with her Vietnamese birth family, we learn a different perspective on the desperate relinquishment of a child, and hopes for reestablishing family ties. Heidi’s brave journey, from small town America back to her roots in Vietnam, is captured in beautiful and painful detail as it evolves, raising more questions than answers. The ensuing scenes invite the audience to grapple with the fundamental nature of attachment, the development of cultural identity, and the therapeutic potential of remembering and revisiting.
Presented by: Susannah Sherry, MD

L.I.E. (2001)
Friday, March 16th
Director: Michael Cuesta
Starring Brian Cox, Paul Dano and Bruce Altman

L.I.E. is Michael Cuesta’s award-winning, 2001 film about coming of age in the Long Island suburbs. The story centers on Howie (Paul Franklin Dano), a 15 year old boy, whose mother had recently died in an auto accident on the Long Island Expressway (the L.I.E. of the film’s title). Howie’s father (Bruce Altman) has forgotten that boys his son’s age need supervision. Left to his own devices, Howie’s adolescence becomes a perilous road to navigate, especially when he becomes entangled with Big John (Brian Cox), who is both father figure and sexual predator. The screenplay is riveting, troubling, and complex. The acting is superb. This movie is a natural jumping off point for discussion of adolescence, loss, and human relationships.
Presented by: Judith Yanof, MD

Eve's Bayou (1997)
Friday, March 23rd
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Starring Samuel Jackson, Jurnee Smollett and Meagan Good

Kasi Lemmons’ film Eve’s Bayou occupies the divide between private reminiscence and public recollection. Told through the eyes of young Eve Batiste, the film is a haunting account of a Black Creole family in the Louisiana bayou of 1962. It is a sequestered and self-contained world that few outsiders ever encounter. Eve’s Bayou also tells something of a universal story. The story is an allegory of the secret lives we harbor within. Each of the players struggles with his or her subterranean self. Each is consumed by the urgencies of their passions and the insistent need for recognition. In the end, the film forces us to confront the limits of our abilities to understand ourselves with the clarity we sometimes associate with going to the movies. We don’t know what happened between Eve’s sister and their father though we know, undeniably, that something did. The film leaves us with a much needed respect for the complexity of Black minds and hearts.
Presented by: Kimberlyn Leary, PhD

The Great Santini (1979)
Friday, March 30th
Director: Lewis Carlino
Starring Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner and Michael O’Keefe

Bull Meechum ( Robert Duvall) and his son Ben ( Michael O’Keefe) are at the center of this searing portrait of a family on the brink, set in South Carolina in 1962. Bull dubs himself “The Great Santini”, a peacetime marine training pilot in search of a war, who brings his own tortured battle home to his wife and children. What ensues is a captivating psychological drama as each character struggles to find his or her way through the family crucible. Duvall’s and O’Keefe’s Oscar-nominated performances are powerful and nuanced and provide a springboard for our discussion about fatherhood, culture and ‘masculinity’.
Presented by: Rafael Ornstein, MD

DISCUSSION LEADERS:
MARK O’CONNELL, PhD is a graduate of BPSI, he is on the faculty at MIP, and he has a private practice in Newton. He is the author of two books, The Good Father (Scribner 2004), and The Marriage Benefit (Hachette, 2007).
JUDITH YANOF, MD is a Training and Supervising Analyst in Child, Adolescent, and Adult Analysis at BPSI and is an Instructor in Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. She has published articles on film in psychoanalytic journals.
RAFAEL ORNSTEIN, MD is a psychiatrist with a private practice in Brookline. An advanced Candidate at BPSI he has taught psychotherapy at BPSI and at BIP. An Instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, he supervises psychiatry residents at Mass. General Hospital.
KIMBERLYN LEARY, PhD is Chief Psychologist at Cambridge Health Alliance and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. A psychoanalyst, she is Program Chair at the American Psychoanalytic Association; locally she is on the the faculty at BPSI, PINE and MIP.
SUSANNAH SHERRY, MD is a psychiatrist who treats children and adults in private practice in Cambridge. She is on the teaching staff at Harvard Medical School, affiliated with The Cambridge Health Alliance, with specialties in development and family work.

PRICING:
BIP Member/Student - Film only: $10
Non-Member – Film only: $14
BIP Member – Film & CEs: $27
Non-Member – Film &CEs: $34

Click here to find out about BIP membership.

Series Discounts:
All five films, BIP Member/Student (Films only): $45
All five films, Non-Member (Films only): $65
All five films, BIP Members (Films & CEs): $120
All five films, Non-Members (Films & CEs): $150

REGISTRATION:
All event participants must register in advance. Names of registrants will be held at the door (no confirmation will be sent).
Walk-in, mail, and phone registration is now open.
Space is limited. Please register today to secure your space.

Walk-in:
BIP office hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

Phone:
Call 617.566.2200.
Please have your film selections and credit card and billing information ready at the time of call.

Mail:
Registration accepted by mail. Please indicate Name, Daytime Phone, Mailing Address, License type, state and number, film(s) you will attend, and email address. Payment must be received at the time of registration. Please mail to Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, 1415 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02446.

Online:
Online registration opens soon.

Refund Policy:
Refunds (less a handling fee of $5) will be made for cancellation requests received by 5 p.m., seven days before the film. No refunds will be given for full series registration cancellations after February 15, 2012. All refunds will be made post-series.

Questions?
If you have any questions, concerns, or need additional information (e.g. educational objectives), please call us at: 617.566.2200.



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Continuing Education Credits:
Each film evening offers CE credits. Participants must sign in before the film introduction, attend the screening and post-film discussion, and sign out to receive credit.

Psychologists: The Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, Inc. is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. The Institute maintains reponsibility for this program. Participants receive 3.5 CE credits.

Social Workers and Mental Health Counselors: Applications for 3.5 CE credits have been made to NASW and MMCEP.


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Parking and Public Transportation:

Address:
University Hall Amphitheater, 2nd Floor
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Lesley University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Parking:
Limited paid parking is available behind 1815 Massachusetts Avenue. Parking for attendees will be be a discounted rate of $8.00 per car with proof of attendance.

Instructions from Porter Square Station:
Exit the station on the left and turn left on Massachusetts Avenue. University Hall is one-half block down on your left at 1815 Massachusetts Avenue.

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Lesley Info:

Coming Soon -- Spring Film Discussion Groups


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