The film Good Will Hunting dwells upon the story of life of one genius who does not value this quality. Watching the movie, it is possible to consider some theories the therapist uses to get along with the patient. It is crucial to state that there are too many therapists who refused to work with Will Hunting because of a number of reasons, the main of which was the character’s contempt to them. Such behavior is the result of cognitive and psychological problems which lie deep in Will’s mind.
To convince the patient (Will in this case) to cooperate and work together, some specific methods had to be used. Sean Maguire was a specialist who managed to work with Will and help him understand a lot of things. Sean Maguire was the person who helped Will feel better by mean of a number of theories of counseling.
First, Sean Maguire tried to act more like Will Hunting. This was an effective strategy. When Will comes to Sean and tries to behave in the same way he did with the previous five therapists, he meets with a rebuff. This addled Will and did not give him an opportunity to recover from this when Sean used another method. Will’s aggression and contempt can be explained as a defense mechanism.
There is one more theory of counseling Sean uses to. Will was born in a terrible region and this influenced his behavior. Sean was from the same district as Will was, so it was not so difficult for them to get along with each other. Sean could speak the language Will did:
Sean: My wife used to fart when she was nervous. She had all sorts of wonderful little idiosyncrasies. She used to fart in her sleep. I thought I should share that with you. One night it was so loud it woke the dog up. She woke up and went ‘ah was that you?’ And I did not have the heart to tell her. Oh!
Will: She woke herself up?
Sean: Ah…! But Will, she has been dead for 2 years, and that is the shit I remember: wonderful stuff you know? Little things like that. Those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I know about: that is what made her my wife. Oh she had the goods on me too, she knew all my little peccadilloes. People call these things imperfections, but they are not. Ah, that is the good stuff (Good Will Hunting).
This scene is the best for illustrating that these people were very similar in behavior and could communicate on the same topics without inconvenience. Moreover, the first meeting between Sean and Will makes it possible to see that Sean tries to find the common points of interest, books, painting, etc (Good Will Hunting).
This is one of the best ways to get along with a person, to make them understand each other. The unexpected aggression while the first meeting may be considered as another technique used by the therapist (Good Will Hunting).
Thus, it may be concluded that that each action the therapist did, each word he said were one of the counseling techniques he used to make the patient open his heard. Acting like a patient, using the same words, behaving in the same way, thinking similarly were the main techniques which made it possible for Sean to do his job.
Works Cited
Good Will Hunting. Dir. Gus Van Sant. Perf. Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård. Miramax Films, 1997. Film.