by Ennio Ammendola, M.A.
During the holidays, I spent some time with my niece Claudia (5) and my nephew Adrian (7). We decided to watch the action/comedy Big Hero 6, produced by Walt Disney. If you haven’t yet, please consider watching it!
I am not going to describe all the characters; I want to focus on one in particular: Baymax, a robot whose sole purpose is to take care of people. I did not choose the movie independently, but after I did, Adrian asked me, “Uncle Ennio, are you like Baymax?” Frankly, I did not know what to say and then my brain led me to another question: “Is an REBT therapist doing what Baymax does?” I then said, “YES, Adrian, you can say that uncle Ennio is like Baymax!”
I spent several hours thinking what Baymax and an REBT therapist have in common and I was able to generate the following table:
| REBT THERAPIST | BAYMAX |
| Clients come to us when they need help | The character in the movie activates Baymax when he needs help |
| Clients choose us as their personal mental health specialist | Baymax is a personal healthcare robot |
| REBT therapists are trained to maximize clients’ psychological well-being | Baymax has been programmed solely to assist his clients devotedly |
| The entry phrase of an REBT therapist is “Hello, I am Ennio, your therapist, what problem would you like to work on?” | The entry phrase that Baymax uses is, “Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I heard the sound of distress, what is your problem?” |
| An REBT therapist says, “I will help you identify your irrational beliefs and unhealthy negative emotions.” | Baymax says, “I will scan you for injuries.” |
| An REBT says, “I heard a sound of distress.” | Baymax says, “I heard a sound of distress.” |
| An REBT therapist says, “Does it hurt when we discuss this?” | Baymax says, “Does it hurt when I touch it?” |
I feel that Baymax mirrors that of an REBT therapist and this strong belief is totally supported by his final question before he completes his services, “Are you satisfied with your care?…I cannot deactivate until you say, ‘I am satisfied with my care.’”
I believe that an REBT therapist does the same by asking, “Are you satisfied with the therapeutic process? If not, I encourage you to keep working until you reach your goals.”
So I guess after some thought, I am more like Baymax than I initially thought. I wrote this blog to demonstrate that we can already teach children important concepts such psychological well-being, healthy negative emotions, and emotional body scan just by watching cartoons and movies together.
May Baymax be with all of us,
Ennio
