Lay Summary

An analysis of a popular children's film, Encanto, was undertaken as a potential avenue for accessible mental health care (e.g. psychoeducation) about intergenerational trauma. The film provides a simplistic exploration for children and their families to begin a conversation around a complicated topic, and has implications inside the therapy room. Mental health care needs to meet children and families where they are at, and in a digital world, that can be through movies, music, and other forms of media.

Background

In an ever evolving world, mental health care must reimagine itself to align with the times. The mental health care system must adapt to incorporate new technologies, shift from traditional individual therapy sessions as the gold standard for healing, and join children & youth in their world of multimedia consumption. Popular films, as one example, can serve additional purposes for children and families outside of pure entertainment. In recent years, films like Inside Out, Coco, and Soul are providing families with a foundation to have conversations about difficult topics spanning from grief to relationships to emotions.These films are helping children and families explore complex psychological topics, teach emotional literacy, and allow children to relate to characters like themselves. Encanto has recently joined the ranks of those movies with a new topic: intergenerational trauma.

Methods

Using up to date trauma literature, this analysis is a conceptualization of how mental health professionals, teachers, child care workers, parents, and other professionals can understand a piece of popular media to support healing of trauma within families.

Results

Intergenerational trauma is reported in communities around the world from Holocaust survivors to occupants of war struck zones to families touched by natural disasters. It is a topic mental health professionals should be well-versed in for clinical work to provide ethical care. Through an examination of Disney’s Encanto, this talk will investigate the gentle introduction and exploration of intergenerational trauma represented within the Madrigal family. This will include defining intergenerational trauma, distinguishing from historical trauma, recognizing family scripts/roles, and discussing components of healing depicted throughout the film.

Conclusion

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and mental health care may have to be a hybrid delivery, considering popular media for cinematherapy could lend itself to supporting powerful changes in children and adolescents that happen outside of the therapy session. The film Encanto can provide clients with a way to see themselves and their families that can be encouraged by mental health professionals for viewing as not only a normalizing/destigmatizing act, but also as a processing tool for therapeutic work. It can be a tool to use in session with film clips or songs with clients as well. Using a film as a companion tool in their healing can provide both distance and a sense of play to navigate an often-painful topic.