“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”
J. K. Rowling
I recently had the tremendous honor of attending, giving a keynote speech, and presenting a panel at MISTI-Con, a Harry Potter-themed conference that takes place once every two years. It was marvelous. Between the enchanted ball, the wicked murder mystery dinner, and the magical people that attended the con and put it together, it was an unbelievable experience.
“What wouldn’t I give to be normal!”
(Mystique, ‘X-Men First Class’)
I grew up on fiction. It was brain food to me. I generally preferred to read books to just about any other activity. Over the past few years I’ve been incorporating fictional characters into Superhero Therapy. For me these characters hold a deep and personal meaning, after all, some of them actually helped me recover from my own traumatic history.
“My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.”
Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, who volunteers to take her sister’s place in the monstrous Hunger Games, is a hero and a legend. After going through some of the most horrific events imaginable, Katniss attempts to end her own life. What caused her to try to commit suicide? Does Katniss suffer from a mental health disorder? What stops her from dying and what gives her a reason to live?
Most people are afraid of something, whether it’s a fear of public speaking, fear of flying, or fear of insects. In the video below I explore common phobias, face my own fears, take on a flying cat.
“Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”
The Imitation Game, a film based on a true story and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley has already been nominated for 8 Oscar awards. What is it that makes this film so moving and unforgettable?
“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it”
Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
While not many of us have lost our parents to a dark wizard, many of us can relate to a deep deep sense of loss, having lost someone or something that meant a lot to us. That is also the story of Harry Potter. From the very beginning of the series we learn about the terrible loss, depression, and trauma that Harry and later, his friends, endure.
Continue reading Psychology of Harry Potter: Post 3 of 3 (depression)
Anyone who’s read the Harry Potter series and/or watched the movies will probably agree that throughout their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and his friends come face to face with some of their biggest fears on numerous occasions. The series does such an outstanding job of demonstrating how different characters cope with anxiety and fear, that I couldn’t resist using these examples in my work with patients with anxiety. Here is how Harry Potter can be incorporated into therapy and what we can learn from the series about facing our own fears. Continue reading Psychology of Harry Potter: Post 2 of 3 (Anxiety)
Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past 20 years, you’ve at least heard of Harry Potter. An amazing book series by author J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter tells a tale of a young wizard, whose parents were killed when he was 1 year old by a dark wizard, called Lord Voldemort. At the age of 11 Harry discovers his true wizard identity, despite his abusive aunt and uncle’s attempts to keep this from him, and is able to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he learns how to use magic, and meets his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. Over the course of the series, Harry and his friends have frequently had to face monsters and beasts, as well as Lord Voldermort’s followers, and Voldemort himself. Ultimately, it is up to Harry Potter, the chosen one, “the boy who lived,” and his friends to protect the world from Lord Voldemort and his army of dark wizards, who call themselves the Death Eaters.
Continue reading Psychology behind Harry Potter books: Post 1 of 3 (compassion)
By: Harpreet Malla, M.A.
Typically when I see that mental health is featured in film, I have mixed reactions. On one hand, the more mental illness and its existence is talked about or addressed, the better. Stigma, or the negative perceptions and misconceptions we have, are primarily broken down by contact with the thing about which we know so little. On the other hand, when portrayals of the mentally ill are poorly done, they can feed into our existing stereotypes and imbue people with fear or disgust rather than compassion. I can think of many films in which an actress has had a near-melodramatic meltdown in an Oscar bid amid characters that are portrayed unidimensionally as either the antagonists who “elicit” the mental illness or are the supportive, silent sufferer types. This month, however, I was delighted to see not one but two excellent films featuring characters dealing with mental illnesses.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post as the world mourns the death of a brilliant artist, Robin Williams. Williams made many of us laugh at times when it was impossible to laugh, and got many of us through some very dark times with his silliness and humor.
Continue reading Remembering Robin Williams
