An Afternoon at the Movies Ended Up Being a Beautiful Representation of Relational Therapy
If you have been around me more than once, you may notice that I tend to quote songs and movies rather regularly. It just speaks to me and helps to connect to others. I have also been a big Disney fan since birth. It was originally special visits as I grew up in an underprivileged family so trips like Disneyland were a big deal. As I got older and lived much closer, I gifted myself a season pass through college and even as a parent. There is nothing better than forgetting your adulting for a bit and escaping to a place full of fun, fantasy, and adventure. Yes, totally an 80’s kid raised on fantasy which has skewed my view of many things, but that is definitely for another day.
A little tradition that I have with my son is any time that there is a vacation day from school, we go out and do something together. We have gone skiing, hikes, the zoo, and the movies. Yesterday, we went at saw Hoppers. Now, before I continue, this could be a spoiler if you have not seen the movie and I have zero affiliation with Disney or Pixar, this is my personal perspective of the movie and my experience. Hopefully, that covers that. We get to the theatre and get settled into our seats in a rather crowded theatre. Popcorn and red vines are secured and we are ready. What I didn’t expect to happen was to be taken on a journey with some Lorax vibes but Hoppers is a beautiful representation of the interconnectedness that we experience on a day-to-day basis. My relational therapy heart is still so full from the experience.
As a marriage and family therapy intern (MFT-I), my training is all about relationships, or systems, and how everything is interconnected. While American’s want that independent, bad ass spirit, we are actually highly dependent on others, our communities, or ecosystems. You are never truly alone. The storyline of Hoppers shows the impact that humans make on the envionment and animals for the sake of saving a few minutes on a commute. It shows how animals depend on the environment and eachother to exist. And it clearly showed the snowball effect when one group makes a decision and the impact it has on others. This is similiar to how a relational therapist views challenges that individuals, couples, and families experience when they enter the therapy room.
Let’s take pregnancy for example. If a woman is pregnant, in some cases she has a passive partner, perhaps children, extended family, co-workers, medical team, and many others apart of her community on a regular basis. If the pregnant women experiences complications, that impacts her passive partner in terms of help her more, caring for kids, and also the impact of now being to help their partner by taking away their challenges, discomfort, and pain. This is similiar to the systemic impact in Hoppers when there were actions that impacted the animals, the environment, and others in the community.
I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, but I do encourage you to go watch it. It shows the ripple effect that each of us have in our relationships and communities, and how some of those actions may cause unintended consequences to others. As a MFT-I, this what my training is in, working with individuals, couples, and families to identify potential cycles or actions that are not working and collaborating on healthier experiences. As in real life and in the movie, it truly shows the importance of how we all need each other to thrive.
Candace Lance is a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern (MFT-I) with Aspire Counseling Services supervised by Stefanie Petersen, LMFT. Candace is seeing new clients in Layton in Davis County, Utah and through telehealth throughout Utah. If you are seeking mental health support, you can reach out to Candace and she can help direct you to the intake team for your initial appointment.
