An interview with Mark Steenbarger, Point of View Story
A Revolutionary Step in Healing Trauma
“I feel like the girl in the dinner from that film,” the survivor spoke up, breaking the silence. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. She hadn’t shared much before, and had been sullen and quiet. As they sat in a circle and discussed the short film they just watched, she began to speak. She shared some of her story with them for the first time….and her healing began.
Healing from complex trauma human trafficking survivors experience takes a long time. It also requires different kinds of therapeutic interventions. We shared recently about training our staff receives in attunement and remaining a non-anxious presence so they can build trusting relationships with survivors. We utilize art therapy, equine therapy, movement, sand trays, the ropes course, and more.
We’ve also been able to include therapeutic films in our program, thanks to the revolutionary work Point of View Story is doing. We show these short videos (around 7 minutes) made specifically with survivors in mind. They help approach difficult themes survivors experience like shame or an abuse that takes away their power.
We sat down recently with Mark Steenbarger, the filmmaker behind these stories, to share more with you about why film is so impactful in healing trauma for human trafficking survivors.
Stories Have Power
“Stories have power,” Mark says. “When you and I hear the same story, we get different things out of it. That multi-dimensional feeling that a story gives us is powerful. When we hear a story we create our own conclusions and our imaginations are engaged.”
As an actor working in theater and improv, Mark knew the power of story to connect with an audience. He began using improv as a tool to work with women coming out of addiction and incarceration. He saw the women, court-ordered to be there, come into the room unengaged. By the end of the hour, they were on their feet, excited. He realized it was giving them legitimate life skills for engaging with society, going in for interviews.
When he and his wife began working with trafficked youth in Indianapolis, he saw young people being trafficked multiple times a day, sometimes for the gain of their own parents. He wanted to do something to help them, the way he had with the improv groups. “I couldn’t do live shows with them, so film became the natural medium to explore.”
Mark began working with a therapist, Emily Taylor-Ginger, to build stories around areas where girls were getting stuck. Therapists and others like Dr. Snyder would communicate places where clients were struggling to break through. Emily would then help the team at Point of View Story come up with a film concept that addresses that issue. Fascinated with the parables of Jesus, and the way he would answer a question with a story, Mark realized stories can open up people to come up with their own answers to hard questions.
Learning about the neuroscience of film, Mark discovered that when we engage with a movie, our motor neurons are activated. “Film has this unique value,” he said. “Sympathy is sparked by engaging with a visual. We all learn in different ways. But all seven types of learning are engaged by film. It activates us in a way nothing else does.”
Stories Can Heal
The films are the conduit through which a conversation can begin. Point of View Story creates films with certain themes in mind. “Ten different outcomes may come from one film,” Mark says. Therapists and other organizations like Uncaged working with people impacted by trauma can utilize the films to help guide healing conversations.
At The Sanctuary, Dr. Vanessa Snyder is using the films in the programs to help human trafficking survivors find lasting transformation. “There is no resolution to the story,” Dr. Snyder says. “The video guides the conversation wherever it needs to go. It’s a conversation starter for groups to get into discussions. The survivors are able to connect with their own experience through the film,” she continues.
Mark shares that the films can give people a vocabulary to talk about what they can’t yet name. They can point to an emotional wheel and say, “This is how I am feeling after seeing it.”
“It’s working,” Mark exclaims. “We’re seeing film move the needle for people in the way other therapies can’t.” Mark expressed how he longs to see more people have access to this important tool. “There are therapists sitting next to people in hour-long sessions asking people to share their thoughts. In processing what they experience watching the film they are doing just that. I want to get these films in the hands of the Dr. Snyder’s of the world.”
At Uncaged, we’re grateful for this incredible tool to help survivors work through the complex trauma that takes many different methods to begin to unravel. Check out more at the Point of View Story website today!
Comments