HUMSS - Adam Szymanski

Film, Media and the Therapeutic Alliance

This presentation will introduce listeners into my research onto the changing nature of the psychotherapeutic alliance and what the art of cinema has to contribute to therapeutic media ecologies. “Therapeutic alliance” is a term which refers to the quality of the working relationship between therapist and person in therapy. In recent years the concept of alliance has changed in the profession of clinical psychology to include technological interventions such as computerized therapy programs. My talk will chart the specificities and stakes of this change, and propose how the cinephilic relationship can be valourized for its therapeutic value.