In the newly released crime caper Forensic, a psychological thriller set in Mussoorie, psychologist Ranjana Gupta is a serial killer. Rehearsed by actress Prachi Desai, Gupta is shown as a charming and unassuming woman who is enrolled as a children’s counselor at a school; her job is to establish channels of communication with the children and instill confidence in those who cannot overcome her fears and anxieties. Instead, her climax shows her committing horrible crimes against little girls and killing them in cold blood on her birthday. Such a negative portrayal of a mental health provider is utterly disturbing as it can further discourage parents and children from seeking help, thus widening the gap between provider and seeker in a country where one in five people requires therapy at least once in his life. lives according to a government report.
Forensic is not the only film guilty of such irresponsible and negative portrayal of mental health providers. Lately, there has been a line of entertainment content across all platforms, especially in the movies, where the role of the psychiatrist/psychologist has been reduced to someone who is witty, intriguing, and in extreme cases, scary. Although there have been many such films from the Bollywood stable that have dealt with the topic of mental health, it is the portrayal of the medical provider that has varied widely. Take, for example, the movie Atrangi Re, that not only addresses the issue of mental health in a casual way, but trivializes the role of therapists.
The Hindi or Bollywood film industry has been the face of Indian cinema for several decades and over the years we have learned that any idea, thought and message that is channeled through Bollywood creates a lasting impression on the society. In recent decades, Hindi cinema has experimented a lot with the mental illness plot, but the idea of mental illness and the understanding of who is a mental health professional remains controversial.
According to Ramakrishna Biswal of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, “The portrayal of the mental health professional, primarily a psychiatrist, in films such as damini (1993), dilwale (1994), and kyon ki (2005) proved to be Mr. Evil, unprofessional, insensitive, unscientific, apathetic, comical, and a boundary-breaker. Patients in movies released around the same time, such as Khilona (1970), sadma (1983), dilwale (1994) were shown to be childish, naive, violent, destructive, ignorant, reckless”. As far as treatment methods are concerned, psychotropic medications were shown to be ineffective, primarily harming the patient or as a tool to erase memory. Psychiatrist performing lobotomy, no longer the treatment for a severely mentally ill patient, has been shown in the film kyon ki. An incorrect representation of ECT has also created a widespread stigma among the community.
Then there came a time when Bollywood started producing movies that beautifully portrayed a patient’s struggle with himself and also with society, and his achievements. “The therapist was portrayed in a more no-nonsense manner, with attributes such as sensitivity, empathy, and concern for the patient’s well-being. The depiction of an overt and covert message that the family is important in the patient’s journey to recovery was a huge leap for Hindi. had taken over cinema,” says Biswal in an article titled ‘Mental Illness in Indian Hindi Cinema.’ This was the phase that followed the previous one, when movies like Par Taare Zameen (2007), Kartik calling Kartik (2010) and My name is Khan (2010) were released. These films dealt with the portrayal of the mental health professional in an “empathic, polite, helpful and sensitive manner, and the method of treatment also underwent a change with a focus on one-on-one intervention, including other parties”. Interested as family. , community, workplace, etc.” In the next decade it was Dear Zindagi, seven years later in 2017 in which, Biswal observes, the story of a middle-class urban woman suffering from depression, carefully brings back scenes one by one where lifestyle adversities and the memory of childhood isolation leave the protagonist depressed. The film then proceeds by breaking down the stereotypical thoughts that are prevalent about mentally ill patients and therapists. The film is the first of its kind to have successfully portrayed the therapeutic relationship between mental health professional and patient. A therapist, as a facilitator of the therapeutic process, comforts the client in a non-directive way than by giving advice or instructions.’
On the other hand, one is forced to ask the question: does a therapist actually walk with a patient on the beach? Or would he or she have a scientific approach? That part seemed to be a flawed representation of psychologists and psychiatrists.
One of the most moving and memorable moments in Hollywood film. jester is when a mentally low Joaquin Phoenix asks his psychiatrist why she never listens to him. Frustrated, he kills her. What comes up is the notion that just when one is desperate for a fair hearing, after all, one cannot open one’s heart in therapy, because, well, for all you know, you may not be heard! Psychologists and psychiatrists have been portrayed in hundreds of movies for nearly a century. They are most often depicted as doctors working in various settings such as psychiatric hospitals and mental health facilities. Many recent movies have included psychologists as main characters. “Are these representations accurate? They are getting better? Are old stereotypes diminishing?” asks Saybrook University’s Danny Wedding in an article titled “The Portrayal of Psychologists in Movies,” as he discusses the stereotypes and misconceptions that influence the public image of psychologists. mental health and how films are produced. Balanced and unbalanced representations.
Relatively little has been written about the portrayal of psychologists in movies. Two of the most eloquent scholars in this area, Glen Gabbard and Irving Schneider, are psychiatrists with strong links to psychoanalysis. Both Gabbard and Schneider have documented that movies are often inaccurate in their portrayal of mental health professionals. “Direct effects include misconceptions about what actually happens in a therapy session. This can result in false or faulty expectations, decreased interest in seeking treatment, or decreased motivation. It can also prevent people who would benefit from therapy from seeking help. Movies can also influence students who might be considering a career in a field like clinical psychology,” said Gabbard, who documented the negative correlation between the number of medical students majoring in psychiatry and negative public images of the media psychiatry.
According to a 2011 research paper, titled “Representation of psychiatrists in Hindi films released in the first decade of the 21st century” by Girish Banwari of the psychiatry department of the ESIC model hospital in Ahmedabad, “there is a dearth of systematic research that specifically focuses on the portrayal of psychiatrists in Hindi cinema.” He analyzed 26 Hindi films released between January 2001 and March 2010 that portrayed 33 ‘psychiatrist’ characters in a leading or supporting (but significant) role and concluded that, “The Representation of psychiatrists in Hindi films released in the first decade of the 21st century is unflattering. Hindi movies portrayed psychiatrists as male, middle-aged, and friendly in their attitude towards patients. 42.4 percent of them were clinically incompetent, and only 30.3 percent could make an accurate diagnosis. 39.4 percent of them violated professional ethics. Eight (24.2 percent) violated nonsexual boundaries, while five (15.2 percent) violated both sexual and nonsexual boundaries. The most common clinical/treatment setting was outpatient (53.8 percent) “, and pharmacotherapy was the most common treatment modality used. Treatment outcome was described as positive in only 23.1 percent of films analyzed” . “Indian cinema, an influential mass medium that captivates millions across the country and beyond, has a fantastic disconnect from reality,” writes Banwari.
“At least when it comes to the portrayal of psychiatrists, which continues to be caricatured, they are viewed negatively by the community, and the unsavory portrayal of psychiatrists in popular cinema can only perpetuate prevailing negative perceptions. Psychiatrists professionals The media often contradict this accusation by claiming that media representation only reflects what the masses want to see, and accurate representation generally does not sell,” Banwari explains.
“Another aspect that is often seen is how movies use the term psychiatrist to refer to what would be more accurately identified as the role of a psychologist or a counselor. There is also no denying that Bollywood would have viewers believe that the behavior unethical or falling in love and having a relationship with one’s counselor is the norm in therapy A movie that fits that kind of portrayal is khamoshi (1969), in which Waheeda Rehman, a nurse who treats patients with mental problems, falls in love with the character of Dharmendra, a patient,” says Kalpana Swamy, Hindi curator and cinephile.
Several Hollywood movies have cast real psychologists to play roles as film psychologists and that could be an important learning for decision makers in Indian Hindi cinema. In one flew over the cuckoo’s nest (1975) the role of the psychiatrist was played by Dean Kent Brooks, MD, a bona fide psychiatrist who was serving as the director of the Oregon State Hospital in 1975 when the film was filmed there.
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