2 CE Hours available to NYS LCSWs, LMSWs, LPs, LMFTs, LMHCs, LCATs, Psychologists and PsyDs
This film is available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, or Google Play before the event
A discussion will be facilitated via ZOOM by JANIT BLISS, LCSW-R & JANE BLOOMGARDEN, PhD
About the movie
“BEANPOLE”, FILMED IN 2019, BEGINS ITS STORY AT THE CLOSE OF WORLD WAR II IN RUSSIA. IT IS A STUDY OF PERVASIVE DESTRUCTION TO THE INNER AND OUTER WORLDS OF ITS CHARACTERS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME IT RECORDS ITS PERNICIOUS HOLD ON THEIR RELATIONSHIPS AND THE SOCIAL ORDER. THE FILM MOVES BETWEEN HOPE AND SADISM, LIFE AND DEATH, BARRENNESS AND FERTILITY WITH SUBTLE BEAUTY AND RICH SYMBOLISM WITHOUT A SINGLE CLICHÉ. THE DISCUSSION OF THIS FILM WILL ATTEMPT TO EXAMINE THE CORROSIVE EFFECTS OF WAR AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CHARACTER OF MEN AND WOMEN IN A SOCIETY DARKENED BY IT. IT WILL ALSO BE DISCUSSED THROUGH THE LENS OF GENDER.
About the speakers
Jane Bloomgarden, PhD, is Co-Director of the Child-Adolescent-Parent Program at WCSPP and Chair of the Film Night Committee. She is in private practice in Scarsdale, NY, working with adults, adolescents and children.
Janit Dini Bliss, LCSW, is a psychodynamically-informed psychotherapist, and a recent graduate of the WCSPP Couples Therapy Training Program. She has been in private practice for nearly 30 years and has over 40 years experience in Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention, including directing an outpatient program through Yonkers General Hospital in Pelham, NY.
About the event
Attendees will access and watch the film prior to the event and come prepared for an introduction to and formal presentation of ideas generated by the film and a group discussion of the film. The presentation will relate directly to the psychological and societal import of the film and its themes, how they emerge in clinical settings, and how they impact societies. The first hour will focus on that presentation. The second hour will focus on thoughts and questions raised by attendees and will be interwoven with clinical material. Special attention will be paid to the far-reaching effects of war and trauma, the flickering exhaustion of goodness in the context of threatened survival, and the ravages of war long after its formal end. Personal, interpersonal and societal implications will be emphasized.