Cinematherapy Revisited: 95 Movies (and TV Shows) about Depression, Anxiety, Grief & Loss, Divorce, Disability, Parenting & Other Really Tough Things You Might Need Counselling For

While they are probably not considered “Cinematherapy,” I love superhero movies, time travel and other fantasy and science fiction. In fact, I love them as much (usually even more) than the next middle-aged woman. Give me Doom Patrol, X-Men, and Star Trek: Discovery any day. Yes, escape has its own therapeutic effect; escape is my jam. I am a true movie buff and a tv fangirl. At last year’s latest Terminator movie, I literally pumped my fist in the air and cheered when Sarah Connor showed up!

But sometimes you need a movie that feels a little too “real”. Those movies can be hard to watch. But they’re important, because they get you out of your comfort zone. For more reminders of why they are important, read my post from two and a half years ago. (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) In that post, I said I was starting a new series … then never came back to it. … Well I’m back!!!

One of the ways my collecting hoarding tendencies takes shape is in my Netflix “to watch” list. I wish I could sort it into categories the same way I do my Pinterest boards.One of the categories would be called “Cinematherapy”. I haven’t seen most of what’s on the following list myself. (More posts to come on that!) It reflects my interests (both personal and professional) in parenting, aging, illness and more. In this post I’m re-starting my blog series, and sharing my complete “to watch” list.

One Idea To Get Your Cinematherapy Journey Started

Right now, my husband and I are halfway through “The Land of Steady Habits” (2018, on Netflix). It’s about male depression, loneliness, divorce and family breakup, parenting, and addiction. It feels very real, and it got 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. And it’s funny! When we started it, I was really hoping the family in the movie would get back together, but I don’t think it’s heading that way. However, it’s working for us is because we can watch something that feels so close to home, while staying at a safe arm’s length distance. We can get uncomfortable, but not too uncomfortable. Getting brave about being uncomfortable is imperative for personal growth and development. That’s what watching movies mindfully (ie. Cinematherapy) can do for us.

95 Movies (and TV Shows) on Tough Things to Help You Grow

So put the escape aside for one night, and be brave! Get a little uncomfortable. Additionally, know your limits and do your own research. (For example, if you just had a parent die in the last six months, you may (?) not want to watch a movie about a parent dying.) Finally, if you are wondering how to make the most out of your movie watching experience, check out my first Cinematherapy post and scroll down to “How to Watch a Movie with Mindful Awareness”. (And don’t forget to scroll to the end to see what’s next on this series!)

MOVIES TO STREAM ON NETFLIX

• The Leisure Seeker (Aging, Dementia)
• Sister Cities (Family estrangement, aging, suicide)
• The Meyerowitz Stories (family estrangement, men aging)
• Our Souls at Night (aging, loneliness)
• Marriage Story (divorce)
• The Fundamentals of Caring (Physical disability)
• A Kid Like Jake (gender nonconformity, parenting)
• Brain on Fire (seizures, psychosis)
• Wonder (stigma, parenting)
• Like Father (family estrangement)
• Ben is Back (addiction, parenting)
• 6 Balloons (addiction, parenting, caregiving)
• The Last Laugh (aging)
• To the Bone (eating disorders, body image)
• The Land of Steady Habits (divorce, midlife, depression, parenting)
• What They Had (Caregiving, aging, dementia)
• Concussion (brain disorders, concussions of course!)
• Kodachrome (aging, family estrangement, grief)
• Nappily Ever After (perfectionism, anxiety)
• Phil (depression, suicide)
• 100 meters (terminal illness)
• Paddleton (terminal illness, euthanasia)
• Irreplaceable You (terminal illness)
• The Discovery (death, afterlife)
• The Lighthouse of the Orcas (parenting, autism)
• Asperger’s Are Us (Autism, documentary)
• Crip Camp (disability, documentary)
• Cracked Up (Childhood abuse, PTSD)
• Unrest (chronic fatigue, documentary)
• Silver Linings Playbook (Bipolar Disorder, anxiety)

MOVIES TO STREAM ON AMAZON PRIME

• The Age of Anxiety (doc, 51 min)
• After Everything (terminal illness, relationships)
• The Sabbatical (burn out, depression)
• Jacob (suicide, grief and loss, post traumatic strength)
• Melissa (parenting, cyberbullying, suicide)
• No Letting Go (parenting, anxiety and depression)
• Beautiful Boy (parenting, addiction)
• Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (disability, addiction)
• A Big Love Story (body image, relationships)
• The Descendants (grief and loss, parenting)
• Cake (chronic pain, depression, parenting, grief)
• Little Miss Sunshine (depression, family dynamics) *Also on Crave
• The Soloist (Schizophrenia, burnout)
• Robot and Frank (Dementia)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (anxiety, men) *also on Crave
• An Unfinished Life (men and depression, grief and loss) *also on Crave
• My Sister’s Keeper (parenting, illness, anxiety) *also on Crave

STREAM NETFLIX TV SERIES

• Love on the Spectrum (reality show, autism and dating)
• After Life (grief and loss)
• Atypical (autism, adolescence)
• Living with Yourself (Burnout, Depression, self-improvement)
• Special (LGBT, disability)

RENT ON ITUNES/APPLE TV OR YOUTUBE

• World’s Greatest Dad (depression, suicide, parenting)
• The Hours (depression, women)
• Helen (depression, women)
• It’s Kind of a Funny Story (depression, anxiety, perfectionism, adolescence)
• A Separation (Dementia, caregiving)
• Inside Out (Anxiety, Childhood) *also on Disney+. Highly recommended!
• Anomalisa (depression, men)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Anxiety, adolescence)
• A Beautiful Mind (Schizophrenia, anxiety)
• A Fantastic Fear of Everything (anxiety)
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi (anxiety, perfectionism, parenting, aging)
• Forgotten Plague (chronic fatigue, documentary)
• Ordinary Love (terminal illness, marriage, caregiving)

STREAM ON CRAVE (Mostly Movies)

• Away From Her (Dementia, caregiving)
• The Wife (Divorce, aging)
• The Tale (childhood trauma)
• Diagnosis Bipolar (parenting, bipolar, documentary)
• Bipolar Rock n Roller (documentary, men, bipolar)
• I Know This Much is True (schizophrenia, caregiving) *an HBO miniseries, not a movie, based on the book by the same name
• Pain and Glory (chronic pain, aging)

MOVIES TO STREAM ON CBC GEM APP (or https://gem.cbc.ca/)

• Love, Scott (Disability, LGBT, documentary)
• An Audience of Chairs (bipolar, child apprehension, parenting)
• Away From Her (dementia, caregiving)
• Empire of Dirt (childhood trauma, Indigenous)
• Goalie (chronic pain, addiction, family breakup)
• Hector & The Search for Happiness (depression, men)
• How She Move (addiction, grief and loss)
• Man Running (euthanasia)
• Meditation Park (infidelity, divorce)
• Minding the Gap (family violence, childhood trauma)
• My Life Without Me (terminal illness)
• Mouthpiece (grief and loss, women)
• Pretend We’re Kissing (anxiety, loneliness)
• Still Mine (dementia)
• The Other Half (bipolar, grief and loss, relationships)
• Tom at the Farm (grief & loss, LGBT)

MOVIES TO STREAM ON CTV APP (or on https://www.ctv.ca/movies)

• Stepmom (divorce, parenting, grief and loss)
• Reign Over Me (PTSD, grief and loss)
• Girl Interrupted (anxiety, adolescence)
• The Skeleton Twins (depression, attempted suicide, siblings, childhood trauma)

What do you think? Is there anything on my list you want to warn me off of?

Where should I start? Is there anything you’ve seen here that was amazing?

What’s missing? Anything I should add?

What’s Next?

Next, follow up posts will be broken into categories. Examples might be “Movies about Autism Spectrum Disorder” or “Movies about Parenting”. I’ll share the Rotten Tomatoes Rating, the year, where you can find it, and a sentence or two on what each is about.

Then, I’ll start watching! When I do, I’ll let you know, from a therapeutic standpoint, my thoughts and impressions. In other words, how might I approach the issues raised by the characters, if they were my clients? Exciting, right? My hope is to deepen your Cinematherapy experience. I’ll keep you posted. (Follow Rainstorm Counselling & Consulting on Facebook to stay notified of upcoming posts.)