Over-Dependency

The case history of Margaret, a 23-year-old girl who has physical disorders with no physical causes. A psychiatrist shows her the root of her troubles--childhood overprotection and discouragement of her efforts to express herself, resulting in a crippling fear of failure and a complete inability to assert herself. When Margaret understands her problem, she develops new and healthier habits of behaviour.

Dramatizes the factors producing resentment and hostility in personal relationships. In the story of Clare we see how the death of her father and the later remarriage of her mother discouraged her from seeking affectional relationships with others. Although successful at college and in her business career, she feels the lack of fellowship and understanding. The factors behind this emotional inadequacy are reviewed by a psychiatrist.

How and why feelings of depression carry over from childhood to overshadow adulthood are explained in the case of John Murray, an industrious and conscientious businessman. As his case history unfolds we see how persisting reactions to early emotional problems render him incapable of enjoying a happy, normal life.

The story of a young woman's schizophrenic breakdown, and of her recovery in a modern mental hospital. Inherent in the film is an appeal for greater public understanding of mental illness and for the removal of the stigma that still surrounds it. The film presents the case of a seemingly well-adjusted young woman, showing the disintegration of her personality and the psychiatric treatment that follows.

From stage hypnosis to group and individual therapies and long-term conditioning, Captive Minds: Hypnosis and Beyond explores the power of suggestion and its ability to influence behaviour--sometimes for life. By focusing on such disparate institutions as an Indian ashram, a United States Marines training camp, a monastery, and the Moonie cult, the film reveals the striking similarities in the indoctrination methods each uses to achieve long-term effects. It is a film that serves as a reminder that we are all vulnerable to persuasion, and one that provokes serious consideration of the far-reaching implications of any form of psychological manipulation.

A glimpse into the nature of loneliness. Frances Hyland plays the part of a small-town girl who enjoys position and respect in her community as the owner of a successful dress shop, but who wonders if marriage might not have been a better choice. Disturbed by thoughts of what might have been, she resolves to live each day as it comes.

Every summer, Camp Weredale, located in the Laurentian mountains north of Montreal, is home to "system kids," offering them a safe haven and a chance to heal lives scarred by abuse and neglect. Silence & Storm documents two months in the lives of ten kids at this unique summer camp. For some, it was an opportunity to re-learn their capacity to be kids and just play; for others, it was a chance to come to grips with the painful memories that haunt them. Despite backgrounds steeped in pain and disappointment, these young people were able to reveal themselves and express their hopes, fears, anger and loneliness. The result is a sensitive, revealing portrait of an unusual program for youth in care.

This short documentary is a fascinating portrait of the Vancouver Mental Patients' Association (MPA), a unique, democratically-organized advocacy and support group for people who have sought care in the mental health system. While client-centred care and advocacy in mental health are relatively more common now, they were unfamiliar concepts in the 1970s, and this film sheds light on the birth of this nascent movement. The MPA provides support and a space for discussion, which helps those dealing with mental health problems to re-integrate into their communities after sojourns in hospitals or other institutions. Members' comments afford some insight into what has been called the "mental health industry."

A short lyrical document about an ancient Eastern discipline, this film moves from the streets of China, where people practice Tai-Chi daily, to North America, where the same movements are executed by a solitary figure in a park.

A blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.

How a child's emotional development normally keeps pace with his physical growth; the behaviour he exhibits at certain ages. This introductory film ten from one to fifteen years of age and shows the characteristics of each group.