The movie “Ordinary People” was a very entertaining and educational movie. It looked at the dynamics of families and showed the different parts and dependencies. It also examined the type of client/therapist relationship and how it has evolved over time. The following discussion will attempt to explore these aspects of the film more fully. Throughout the film the focus is prominent on family and its dynamics. A traumatic event, the loss of a son, a brother and a friend, has greatly affected the Jarretts. Due to the circumstances in which Conrad, a severely depressed adolescent and protagonist, was present at his brother's death, feelings of guilt had accumulated in this young man. A lot of stress and tension is created among family members due to this tragic incident. This is where the concept of change in one part of the family system impacts other parts. (Duty, 2010) The relationship between Conrad and his mother becomes even more absent because, in the film, it is presented to show that the mother blames and has not forgiven Conrad for the death of his brother Buck. Six months after the death of his brother Corrado attempts suicide with razors in the bathroom at home. His parents admit him to a psychiatric hospital and eight months later, he is trying to resume his "old" life. Conrad is socially withdrawn from his friends due to everything he has experienced and the fact that he has been held back at school due to missing so many days. The importance of his family and support is confirmed here. When considering one of the most important challenges facing families today, the challenge of instilling “in its members a sense of belonging while allowing members to individuate themselves” is… middle of the paper… not exists. The relationship and friendship built in this film are vital to the success of the therapy shown here. This is a great example of a Gestalt therapy approach and helps identify most of the techniques incorporated. The techniques and ways to gently approach but push a client all the way are very helpful to any viewer of this film. Works Cited Duty, G. (2010, December 10). Family systems therapy. Lecture presented at Principles of Counseling Class Notes, Bethany.Miller, F.C. (1999, September). Using the film Ordinary People to teach psychodynamic psychotherapy to adolescents -- Miller 23 (3): 174 -- Acad Psychiatry. Academic psychiatry. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/23/3/174Redford, R. (Director). (1980). Ordinary People [film on DVD