Achieving presence in film and psychotherapy

Abstract

Film‐makers have had to learn how to manipulate static images in both time and space to create an illusion of presence for their audiences. Film editors have discovered the importance of shot length in keeping audiences' attention and evoking various emotions of suspense, confusion, and excitement. Cinematographers shape the experience of witnessing through subjective and objective camera angles, positioning the audience in empty space or inside a character. For psychotherapists who attempt to “be present” for their clients, without the tools of the film editor or cinematographer, achieving presence can be quite an undertaking. Psychotherapists continuously mark their presence with “mm‐hmms” or nods, and they depart the moment to think about and prepare what they will say, without appearing as if they have done so. Unlike film, which stabilizes the relationship between subject and object, psychotherapy embraces the unstable dance of the interpersonal encounter. Nevertheless, in the end, a good film and a good psychotherapy session are able to overcome the barriers to presence and bring us together in a colocated state of consciousness.