Mental Health Movie Breakdown: Encanto

This new Disney movie is amazing! Not only does it show the Latinx families, it depicts different mental health topics and can point to some disorders. Often, when teaching, I try to use different pop-culture topics for learning purposes. Let's take a dive into looking at what is going on in the new movie, Encanto.

Abuela- She has not only gone through complex trauma, she is still showing signs and symptoms of it. Her character has gone through so much and it is in turn, showing up in how she interacts with her family members. This character shows how intergenerational trauma can have an impact on not only our family members, but our relationships with others. Intergenerational trauma can be defined as: "the psychological effects that the collective trauma experienced by a group of people has on subsequent generations in that group"

Mirabel- She struggles to feel like she fits in, struggles with her identity, and brings the intergenerational trauma to the forefront. She is also the family member that is able to help talk about that trauma and bring the family together.

Isabela- this character depicts a perfectionist. She is very particular when stating that the tasks she does have to always be perfect (flowers), as well as that everything has to be done a certain way, and she has to be the one that makes it right. When looking at this as a diagnosis, you can assess her initial behaviors and symptoms as obsessive compulsive personality disorder. What are some of the things you see with this character? How would you diagnose?

Luisa- With this character, she is focused on how she looks and her strength. She has to be strong, look strong, and has a lot of others depend on her being this way as well. When looking at diagnosis and how to treat, you can assess this character with body dysmorphic disorder with muscle dysmorphia based on behaviors and symptoms. One other thing that is brought to the forefront regarding this character, is her internal struggle. Not only does she struggle with her muscular appearance, she struggles with anxiety and has a song about it as well. She can also be diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder based on her symptoms she expresses by song when talking about how hard it is to juggle everything everyone asks of her and knowing that something has to give and she needs to maintain her own self-care.

Bruno- This character does very ritualistic behaviors and if they are not done, it is bad luck. Bruno feels as though he is always the bearer of bad news, so to counter this and take some control, he has started to do some compulsive behaviors. Once this character is introduced, pay attention to what they are doing. Based on his behaviors and symptoms, you can better assess that Bruno can be diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Camilo- Not only does this character have the ability to shape shift, when things get tough, this character changes and regresses to a baby (baby-head). Looking at his behaviors and symptoms, one might look to diagnose him with dissociative identity disorder.

Pepa- With always being so emotional and constantly having a cloud over your head and having to remind yourself that everything will be fine and pretend like everything and everyone is always happy, this can also be seen as someone that struggles with depression. Pepa seems to struggle with how she feels and controlling her feelings, as well as masking her depressive feelings. One diagnosis for this character can be Major Depressive Disorder.

If you are a clinician, or professional, what would you diagnose with? What did you see within this movie that stuck out for you? #diagnosis #character #Disney #disneycharacters #encanto #mentalhealth