The Power of Communication

You can find it in a song, a painting or a sculpture but I found it in a film.

In the film Good Will Hunting the main character Will is a janitor at MIT who happens to have a miraculous gift for mathematics that is eventually discovered by one of the professors at the institute. Accompanying Will’s innate arithmetic intelligence are childhood years full of physical, mental and emotional abuse which has been the source to his constant problems and delinquency with the law. This story is about a boy who finds help through a therapist to acknowledge his past and in the internal pain and struggle it has caused him. His genius mind alone that leads him to amazing job opportunities could be a way for him to find happiness but not until he starts with his history of inner raw pain and lingering ache will he be able to heal and repair himself.

Sean Maguire, Will’s therapist, uses his profession in psychology and therapy to reach out to Will and help him recognize, accept and let go of his past. Will was abused by his foster father when he was younger and as a defense mechanism he repressed these painful feelings and memories. However, all the while these realities stayed locked away in his unconscious. Because Will chooses to forget his abuse he also falls under the defense mechanism of denial, as he tries to acts as if the painful events never really happen. When help seems to get closer, like with Will’s therapist, Will “pushes people away before they can leave him” Sean Maguire says. Rationalization is an other defense mechanism Will acquires. In definition, it is the cognitive reframing of one’s perceptions to protect the ego in the face of changing realities. When Will gets close to someone, for example, his girlfriend, he immediately alters his position in the situation when he feels someone is getting too close to the pain he keeps bottled up inside.

It’s important to know all this about Will Hunting to fully appreciate and comprehend the impact Sean and Will’s communication had on Will’s recovery. Session after session of therapy meetings together Will’s refusal to speak gradually subsided and eventually allowed him to talk to Sean without effort about every day things like the girl in his life, his friends, his math ability, etc. The angles Sean chose to take were both from a professional standpoint and also as a friend. Because their conversations included typical boy topics as far as sports, girls and work go, this easy going approach helped reveal more and more about Will’s inner battle. “It’s not your fault” Sean repeated during one session Will was especially angry. “It’s not your fault” Sean said over and over as he stepped closer to Will until they were face to face. Here, communication and this human interaction finally helped Will expose his feelings that conflicted his heart and mind for all his life. As a response, he cried hysterically, releasing angry tears that have waited what must of felt like centuries to escape.

Communication and conversation has paved a path for Will to take towards acceptance, recovery, balance and stability, and most of all a chance to love and be loved. All of this is considered a gift from the blessed ability we were given to communicate with one another and reach out to each other.