Meanings
- uncountableThe viewing of thought-provoking or inspiring films as a form of therapy.
Cinematherapy is an innovative way of working with couples and clients.
2010, Victoria Tischler, Mental Health, Psychiatry and the Arts: A Teaching Handbook, Radcliffe Publishing, →ISBN, page 313 more examples
Cinematherapy combines a strategic mix of pop feminism (which presumes female independence and “girl power”) and stereotypes, then, as a primary method of appealing to female audiences.
2006, Barbara Klinger, Beyond the Multiplex: Cinema, New Technologies, and the HomeCinematherapy should be thought of a^([sic]) technique for therapy, not a unique type of therapy.
2012, Skip Dine Young, Psychology at the Movies, Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, page 157While the quantity of controlled research studies on cinematherapy is limited, it is clear that psychologists value the use of movies in clinical practice (Lampropoulos, Kazantzis, & Deane, 2004).
2014, Ryan M. Niemiec, Danny Wedding, Positive Psychology at the Movies: Using Films to Build Virtues and Character Strengths, Hogrefe Publishing, →ISBN, page 23
Origin
Cite this entry
cinematherapy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cinematherapy
“cinematherapy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cinematherapy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cinematherapy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cinematherapy.
Source: cinematherapy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.