BACKGROUND: Motion picturescan be used as a therapeutic resource. Cinematherapy proposed a new psychotherapeutic intervention indicating commercial films. OBJECTIVES: A systematic literature review of the characteristics and therapeutic effects of cinematherapy and to identify cognitive-behavior techniques (CBT) in this review. METHODS: With no date limits, we searched the databases: LILACS, MEDLINE, SciELO and PsycINFO. We used the following terms in English and, in LILACS, their equivalent in Portuguese: "motion pictures as topic" AND "psychiatry" OR "psychotherapy"; besides "cinematherapy". A manual search was also done. Accurate inclusion and exclusion criteria were stipulated. RESULTS: Four indexed articles, three books and two no indexed articles. Twenty-five CBT were identified. DISCUSSION: The analysis of data allowed the description of cinematherapy: its characteristics and therapeutic effects. The positive impact of cinematherapy was shown mainly through case reports and personal inferences; only two clinical essays were found. CONCLUSION: The identification of several CBT and the results of some studies have indicated a probable efficacy of cinematherapy. Controlled studies are necessary.
Psychiatry; psychotherapy; cinematherapy; cognitive-behavior therapy; motion pictures
