Educational films
To support the mentalization training for educational professionals, we produced six short educational films and one evaluation film. Based on examples from everyday professional practice, collected from experts, from supervision and case reflection, director's scripts were written, actors were sought and filming was done with the support of the Ludwigsburg Film Academy and Paradoks Filmproduktion.
The short educational films depict everyday difficulties that require mentalizing and successful or failed reactions to these everyday situations. The aim of each film is to encourage reflection and thus mentalizing as well as discussion. We do not want to and cannot offer a correct solution, but rather use the films to stimulate processes of mentalizing, the practice of which also enables new perspectives in other everyday situations.
Have fun with it!
Work with the educational films in groups.
- Watch one of the educational films together.
- In twos/threes (depending on the size of the group) "murmur" for 3 - 5 minutes. The aim is to collect first impressions, associations and feelings about the film. This step is very free, everything is possible and allowed.
- Now the first associations are shared in the group. Some people can describe their first impressions (depending on time and group size).
- Then the film is shown again - in individual sequences.
- Now the group should think together about what happened to the people in the scene, what was going on inside them and why they acted, made statements, etc. The film can be stopped again and again in order to go into the micro processes.
- In a further step, the reflections are explicitly linked to the mentalization concept. The group considers which aspects of mentalizing could be "seen", where the mentalizing ability broke down, where e.g. an "pretend mode" can be recognised, etc.
- Possibly, a transfer to one's own professional activity can take place. However, this is not about "what would I have done better", but about recounting and discussing similar situations that the participants have experienced themselves.
(A. Turner, 2022)