Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based ...

Introduction
Popular Culture As a Resource for
Growth and Change
Lawrence C. Rubin
A depressed and disillusioned 32-year-old scours a popular song lyric Web site
so that she can clearly articulate and communicate painful feelings of loss.
A 9-year-old boy who struggles to control anger dramatically describes
and reenacts the most recent episode of Naruto, a Japanese anime character
who has a destructive force within him.
A lonely and alienated 23-year-old college senior spends hours in the
cyber World of Warcraft in attempts to connect with others and experience
the power she feels denied in her day-to-day life.
— From the author’s clinical casework, 2005–2007
Aside from their place as fi xtures in contemporary American popular
culture, what do Naruto, the World of Warcraft, the Billboard Hot 100, 1
and as we shall soon see, The Sopranos, Harry Potter, MySpace.com, the
Wizard of Oz, and perennial board game favorite Candy Land have in
common? An answer to this question begs an even more compelling one
for clinicians: “How can such a seeming diversity rise to a level of coherence
and therapeutic applicability?” In order to answer these questions, I
will fi rst identify important issues related to an understanding of popular
culture, and then address its potential relevance for clinicians as a means
of fostering communication with clients and as a therapeutic resource for
self-expression, awareness, healing, and growth.
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