Parents now have a tool to talk to their children about a complex subject matter that removes the stigma associated with emotions, normalizes feelings, and shows, in a fun and light way, that WE ALL (girls AND boys) have complex emotions.
In fact, I am willing to say that for those who are willing to see beyond the surface of this movie, Inside Out completely changes the game in mental health therapy. Now if I were working with those same families, I would absolutely make watching Inside Out A FAMILY PART of their therapeutic homework, complete with a worksheet for the client and their family to identify and name their emotions, give them personalities, decide what they look like, etc. Unfortunately, that success sometimes didn’t translate at home easily, simply because the family didn’t understand the language that their child and I had created to discuss their emotions (even if explained during the session). I have done this technique with many clients in various ways to help them separate and understand each individual emotion so that they are better able to identify, name and get control of whatever emotion was causing them problems (in my practice, it was typically anger or anxiety) with great success.
Gone are the days of “I feel… because…” Inside Out shows that just because you feel one way doesn’t mean you know exactly why you feel that way, which is why communicating feelings to others is so complicated (especially in Couples Therapy).Įxternalizing emotions is not a new concept for me, it’s just really hard to execute when it’s your own child. ‘Sadness’ is at my control panel making my tummy hurt because I want to stay with you.” Inside Out gave her a way to externalize her feelings and use an easy to understand language to discuss and explore how she was feeling that we had never had before. She IMMEDIATELY understood EXACTLY what I was asking and replied, “No, momma. On the way to daycare, I asked her if “Fear” (a character in the movie) was at her control panel making her stomach hurt.
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