Background: Cinematherapy and video treatments are artistic therapeutic techniques by which the individuals are exposed to their psycho-physical difficulties through the stories of the characters on the screen who are coping with the same issues that the patients are. Although these techniques are increasingly common within modern art therapies, there are neither comprehensive classifications of the different approaches nor agreement on their effectiveness. We performed a scoping review, describing different methodological approaches and outcome measures in cinematherapy and video treatments.Methodology: We searched articles in PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. We included: (i) articles in which subjects were treated for their difficulties with videos or films, (ii) articles written in English. Review articles and papers describing a research protocol without data collection were not included.Results: We analyzed 38 studies. Thirty-six reported a positive effect of the treatment. Seven studies used classical cinematherapy, adopting a qualitative approach to measure the therapy outcome. Thirty-one studies used different video treatments, 8 of which were defined as randomized controlled trials with specific objective therapy outcomes. Studies were mainly focused on behavioral and psychological difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Schizophrenia.Conclusion: Studies using video treatments more often rely upon structured experimental designs; on the contrary, those who used classical cinematherapy produced descriptive results. A more standardized methodological approach in terms of experimental design, procedure, and objective outcome measure is needed to provide evidence on the effectiveness of these techniques, promoting its application in the clinical field.

Background: Several subjects affected by cancer experience a significant level of multidimensional disease. This longitudinal study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of psycho-oncological support using Cinema as an emotional mediator and to promote perceived well-being by personalized psychological treatment. Methods: Thirty women diagnosed with gynecological cancer watched 12 movies and participated in a psychotherapy group co-conducted by two psychotherapists. Patients completed nine questionnaires at T0 (baseline), T1 (3 months) and T2 (6 months). Results: Patients observed significant improvements (CORE-OM: p < 0.001) in psychological well-being. The results showed statistically significant differences, even in several other dimensions, such as Anxiety (STAY-Y1-2: p < 0.001), Empathy (BEES, p < 0.001), Coping (COPE: p < 0.001), QoL (QLQ-C30, p: 0.026), couple relationship (DAS, Satisfaction: p: 0.013; Cohesion: p: 0.004) and alexithymia (TAS-20, Difficulty Identifying Feeling: p: 0.002; Externally-Oriented Thinking: p: 0.003). Conclusions: The data show that cinema, as an innovative psychological approach, could be a valid instrument to support patients in oncological pathways as well as facilitating the process of recognizing themselves in other patients and communicating about their own feelings.