November 1, 2012

Shortly after Halloween, professor and Associate Director of the Behavioral Health Counseling Department Robert Chapman, PhD, held a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. In addition to recognizing the holiday by screening the scary movie, Chapman’s intentions also included looking at the film as both a clinical and pedagogical device. He believes that the character Mina’s allure to Dracula in the filmparallels addictive behaviors and alcoholism.

In his personal blog titled “Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Counseling,” Chapman said, “If we look beyond the 'literal' plot of some of these gothic horror tales, we can find a metaphor that has use for those in treatment regarding their addiction.” He suggested that patients struggling with an addiction may experience a breakthrough by visualizing an addiction through media, such as the one shown in Dracula. Students who attended the screening enjoyed the film and participated in Chapman’s discussion. One student spoke highly of the experience, saying, “Chapman does a really good job of showing parallels in the field that many people wouldn’t think of. It provides a more interesting way of looking at addiction.”