In a new movie, doctors are using feature films in order to encourage their patients to talk more freely about their problems. Supporters of “film therapy (疗法)” say that discussing characters and plot lines from a proper film can help people to understand their feelings better.

One of those using the method is Bernie Wooder, a doctor from Elstree, who charges £45 for a one-hour “film therapy” session. He said, “I was treating a woman who had been badly let down in a relationship, and who was experiencing such strong feelings that it was difficult for her to speak about them. I told her that her situation reminded me of On the Waterfront, when Marlon Brando's character realizes his brother is dishonest and he feels a great sense of betrayal (背叛). My patient identified so easily with him that she started to cry. Watching and discussing the film

unlocked all the feelings she had buried. Each time she watched and cried, she felt better.”

Mr Wooder admits that film therapy does not work for everyone, but says he has used it successfully with about a third of his clients. “Through the films' characters, plots and even music, it allows people to face their problems.” He said that Falling Down, in which Michael Douglas plays the part of an unemployed man who is so frustrated (沮丧的) that he uses violence, was an example of the dangerous implications (后果) of not letting anger go. “I used this film with a patient who was very upset because he was holding on to a lot of the anger he felt towards people who had frustrated him,” said Mr Wooder. “We talked about Michael Douglas's character and the disastrous path he takes, and my patient then realized that he needed to let go of his feelings more regularly so as not to erupt (爆发) like a time bomb.”

Paintings and sculptures can be a feast for the eyes of visitors to art museums, but today their viewing is also an unconventional treatment for people with mental illness.

Last month. a group of Canadian doctors started to write a new kind of prescription (处方), which gives patients free access to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). There, they will have a “relaxing. revitalizing experience” looking at the museum’s collection.

Nathalie Bondil. the museum’s director general. believes that being in contact with culture and arts can help with wellbeing. “In the 21st century, culture will be what physical activity was for health in the 20th century.” she said.

Each prescription will allow not only the patients but also their families or friends to go with them. In the museum. the visitor can appreciate the artworks, and take part in a wide range of activities including drawing, sewing (缝纫) and making a sculpture with recycled materials.

The new treatment is said to be the first of its kind in the world. But there’s increasing evidence that the display of visual art, especially art depicting (描绘) nature, can have positive effects on people with depression, anxiety and self-respect problems.

In 2017, the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing

(APPGAHW) also released a report stating that “the time has come to recognize the powerful contribution the arts can make to our health and wellbeing”.

Is it possible for art to improve overall health? We may not know the answer yet. But one thing is certain, more and more people today are persuaded by the idea that “art is good medicine”.

David Bennett, a 57-year-old man from the US, received the world’s first pig heart transplant in January. He died two months later, on March 9.

It may sound like a failure, but it actually is a big step forward in medical history towards xenotransplantation (异种器官移植) success.

Xenotransplantation has been a hot topic in medical research for many years, as doctors and scientists look for ways to solve the big problem of organ transplant waiting lists. In the US alone, over 100,000 patients are on a list waiting for new organs. Many of them will die before getting their chance to receive a heart, lung or kidney. Therefore, medical science has turned to animal organs.

Doctors have experimented with xenotransplantation since the early 20th century. There are few success stories. Usually, patients’ bodies reject (排斥) the animal organs. Bennett lived much longer than other xenotransplant patients. That’s because scientists removed pig genes that would cause fast rejection. Then they added human genes to help the body accept the organ.

“A lot of new information will come out that will help the field move forward at a faster pace,” Muhammad Mohiuddin, director of the transplant program, told The Guardian.

Aside from Bennett’s gene-edited pig heart, late last year doctors at New York University achieved some success in attaching pig kidneys to human blood vessels outside the body in patients on life support. Meanwhile, at the University of Alabama, doctors managed to actually implant gene-edited pig kidneys into a patient on life support.

Though these recent successes were short-lived, they show that there may be a way forward for xenotransplants.