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Campus Film Distributors CorporationActivity Group Therapy (Part I) (1950)

Shows socially-maladjusted boys 10 to 11 years old being benefitted therapeutically by "acting out" their disturbances upon their environment and each other in a realistic situation with an emotionally neutral therapist and concealed cameras and microphones. A fascinating mental health film produced for professional audiences, depicting truly anarchic behavior.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Campus Film Distributors Corporation
Sponsor: Nathan Hofheimer Foundation, Inc.
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Psychology; Medicine: Psychiatry; Children: Psychology

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - September 28, 2003
Subject: Count the adjectives
Given that this is supposed to be a documentary, the "I don't give a shit" manner the case worker presents the kids profiles and the "I already know" German psychoanalysts, part one of this film would make a better opening for a horror film than an argument for Activity Group Therapy.

We meet the kids and the non-interventionist therapist in part 2. Hilarity does not ensue. No power tools are involved so struggles are not fatal. Effeminate boy arrives late and the therapist welcomes him, but "his movements are not charactersitic of a real boy."

In part 3, the boys break into cabinets of other groups. Therapist waits them out but finally tells them to go home. Destructiveness is evidence of poor "group balance" so one is kicked out and an effeminate sub, whose evidence of trouble is drawing maps of the city's transportation system, is brought in. "Security and growth" ensue while the therapist remains apart from the group. Good thing he put an abestos pad under the hot plate. Then profanity, ie, kids jokes ... and the therapist's acceptance of this is "the ultimate test."

In part 4, masculine identification is helped by outings with typical boy's activities like baseball and weenee roasts. Now Bob no longer wets his bed and Albert is less feminine because he works with hard materials and gave up his interest in housework. Henry is erect and has joined a baseball club. Egos have been strengthened and self esteem built up through "actual situations and interaction" (as opposed to what ... fantasy situations...?).

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - February 9, 2003
Subject: Activity Group Therapy (Full Film)
This film, made for mental health professionals in the 40s, provides a fascinating glimpse into the child psychotherapy practices of the time. A group of psychologically-troubled grade-school age boys is treated with "activity group therapy," which mainly involves letting them loose in a playroom and allowing them to do whatever they want. The film was made with hidden cameras, so what we are seeing are real therapy sessions, not reenactments. The therapist intervenes as little as possible, even when the boys commit such acts as swinging saws at each other, breaking into and ransacking cupboards containing materials for other groups, and starting a fire on a hot plate, and the narrator keeps reiterating that this is how he is supposed to be handling these situations. These scenes make you wonder about the judgement, if not the sanity, of the treatment team. Still, by the end of the film, the group has settled down and you do begin to notice significant improvement in the behavior of individual boys, especially the ones that were initially withdrawn and anxious. Of course, the narrator tells us that the group is carefully "balanced" in terms of individual personalities, and that the therapist keeps a watchful eye on things and is prepared to intervene if things get seriously dangerous. And it's obvious that these boys, though psychologically troubled, are not seriously violent delinquents. Still, it is doubtful that such a permissive form of therapy would fly in today's mental health system. And though I can see and acknowledge its effectiveness in this case, I still am not totally convinced that it's a good idea. Another interesting and dated aspect of the film is the repeated concerns that some boys are "effeminate." Effeminancy seems to be defined in this film as being quiet, bookish, and concerned with personal appearance. I will acknowledge that this free-for-all form of therapy seems to be effective in diminishing those qualities in the boys. Overall, this film is a fascinating document of one aspect of mental health treatment in the 1940s. It's films like this that epitomize the concept of "historical interest"where else but ephemera can you observe such unusual glimpses of the past as this?
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****+. Overall Rating: *****.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - December 12, 2002
Subject: Albert is cutting wood.. He Is Less Effeminate..
( Full Film! ) Join us now as we're presented to what appears to be the TV reality show 'Big Brother' only with socially maladjusted teenage boys. Activity Group Therapy, which, yes, I had to participate in, when I was a kid, is somwhat puzzingly presented here, as total agression and mischief is seen as progress. One kid starts a fire in the kitchen during the latter groups, and the kids join in, watching it burn, but the counsellour watching the group will not intervene until 'only neccessary'. When will that be? Soon, the kids calm down after the first initial outbursts, the psychiatrists see this as progress. I see this as the beginning of becoming a sociopath.

Shotlist

A report on the selection of cases for activity group therapy, the conduct of the therapeutic sessions and the personality developments of a group of emotionally disturbed boys during treatment. Shows socially-maladjusted children ten to eleven years old being benefited therapeutically by "acting out" their disturbances upon their environment and each other. Presents Henry's anxiety hysteria. Bob's aggressiveness, and Albert's effimacy in a realistic situation with an emotionally neutral therapist and concealed cameras and microphones. Argues for encouraging boys to form a club and work things out for themselves. Recommended for use only by individuals or groups professionally concerned with psychiatric, social, and medical fields.
Sound not in synch with picture.

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