Expression Module 

Project Plan
Gabriella Willis & 11/29/2020

Description

I have chosen to major in psychology because of my own experiences. Because I fell

into such a deep place in my life, I needed to find a way to change. I was deeply rocked
by a group of psychologists who have taught me so much and they have ignited my love
for psychology as a whole. Learning more about the human brain is invigorating, so I
would like to make a documentary to highlight the stereotypes and knowledge needed
in regards to the realm of psychology. I will interview various people and note their
experiences with or without therapy. I will then come to a conclusion based on these
results.

Project Medium (Multimedia)

I will be taking my phone and recording an interview with each of seven people. Each
person will be asked the following questions: Have you ever been to therapy? If yes,
how did it affect you? If no, would you ever go to therapy? What is your perception of
therapy? Do you know anyone who has been to therapy? Have you noticed positive or
negative effects? What were they?

I have provided a list of questions in case of uncomfort. This reflects who I want to be in
my profession because it involves research into the perceptions and stigma around my
chosen field. I would like to know various thought processes on therapy so I can have a
deeper understanding of what and why people have certain ideas on it.

*After trying this medium, I decided to change it*

After interviewing ten people, I did not get any information. Instead, only 1/10 people
answered the questions, while others remained silent, stared at me, or said no to every
question. This provided a large challenge before me and I realized I would not be able
to salvage the project. Therefore, i changed my medium to spoken word poetry. I
decided to tell the story of how I began seeing a psychologist, the effects it had, and
who I want to be as a psychotherapist. I chose this alternate medium because it allows
for deep storytelling and visualization of what is being said. I hope to show people that
they can use what they have learned and been through to change the world. I believe
this medium shows this best.

Potential Benefits of Multimedia

The benefits of creating a documentary are many. The most important one is that
people enjoy talking about what they think. People also enjoy watching documentaries.
Documentaries also allow room for representation of opinions that people would not
normally share. Posing conversational material for watchers is also an important factor
and benefit. This will make people think deeply about the stigma they trust.

Potential Challenges of Multimedia

A big challenge of creating a documentary is choosing a focus group willing to fully

participate and be honest. Representing psychotherapy within a documentary must be
done in a clear and concise way, which will be very difficult because responses may be
random or different from the question. Not to mention that, I do not have a licensed
psychologist to join in on the documentary. With this being said, I will be sure to utilize
focused questions and implement my research within the documentary.

Draft / Completed Project Outline (or storyboard)

1. Choose 5 people to interview

a. Ask the following questions
i. Have you ever been to therapy?
ii. If yes, how did it affect you?
iii. If no, would you ever go to therapy?
iv. What is your perception of therapy?
v. Do you know anyone who has been to therapy?
vi. Have you noticed positive or negative effects?
vii. What were they?
2. After interviewing, organize the answers of each person in focus group.
3. Create an organized outline to place the answers
a. Consolidate recording
b. Edit and shorten answers as needed
4. Add research to documentary
a. Stigma around psychotherapy
 b. Statistics on psychotherapy
5. Record commentary
a. Address recorded concerns on therapy
b. Address recorded pro ideas on therapy
c. Summarize overall views on therapy
6. Create transitions

Artist Statement

After the frustrations of my first focus group rejecting to answer the questions for the
documentary, I moved onto a different group. Within the second group of people, they
turned the questions into a joke and chose to answer in comical ways. Because this did
not align with the vision I had and with the appropriateness expected, it was pertinent to
revisit my choice of medium. I came to the conclusion that the best way to express who
and what my professional vision included would be to articulate it in a spoken word
poem. Although it is difficult to focus on psychology within this project medium, I saw it
as a challenge to conquer. I made it a point to describe where I was years ago, before I
found my passion for psychology. This story plays an integral role in what kind of
psychologist I will be one day.

I was able to start from the beginning of my journey to get to where I am today, which I
believe to be an asset to my profession. Without many struggles and finding myself in
despair, I would have never found my true calling, psychology. When I believed that I
had no chance of ever coming out of the rough times I was in, I found hope in learning
more about how the human mind works. I began to study different ways the mind reacts
to different situations and worked hard to find out more about the way my own mind
works. Because this picked me up when I was down, I want to share what I have
learned with the world and change lives like my psychologist has.

Psychology is a complex study with many different ends to it. The opportunities to learn
are endless. The studies on this subject are constantly changing and building upon the
next. I believe that spoken word poetry really reflects this because each line and word
builds upon the last. The story tells of an experience that led to a beautiful passion that I
will hone to teach people what I believe everyone needs to know.