Work

Reel worlds: Reconstructing the history of postwar child psychotherapy through fiction film

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: (1950) to argue for the evidential value of staged content of real psychotherapeutic places (Institute of Child Psychology) and practices (Margaret Lowenfeld's World Technique). In the absence of 'real' documentary footage, discoveries of recreated therapeutic spaces within largely forgotten genre films can help reconstruct histories of the 'psy' sciences whilst offering insight into the contestations specific sites and practices provoked. Employing Baron's reformulation from 'documentary' to 'archival document', it demonstrates that content extracted from previously disregarded films can fill archival lacunas whilst expanding both 'what can be said' about the past and how it can be said.

Source: History of Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1177/0957154x261430318

Author: Tim Snelson

Institution: University of East Anglia

Language: English

Topic: Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650

Funders: University of East Anglia, Arts and Humanities Research Council