Dr. Cohen is clinically trained as a researcher from Pacifica Graduate Institute and Walden University. He has experience as a film/video editor, which includes “A” list work in Hollywood with significant people in the film world. He is a Media Psychologist with Peer Mental Health and staff with the Kolnoam school of video therapy. Dr. Cohen’s clinical experience involves working with people of several populations in various settings, including hospitals and community mental health.
Dr. Cohen is the author and co-editor of Video and Filmmaking as Psychotherapy: Research and Practice. As a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Cohen has experience introducing this material to students in the social work department. The book is the first of its kind, proposing to make films as a part of psychotherapy in comprehensive academic writing. It is also in the national library of medicine. In the 15 chapters, sources came from authors associated with Psychology, Counseling, Anthropology, Social Work, and Art Therapy.
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
- Dr. Joshua Lee Cohen is a Media Psychologist, a film/video editor, and Author/Co-Editor of the groundbreaking book Video and Filmmaking as Psychotherapy: Research and Practice. He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 2013 from Pacifica Graduate Institute. In 2007 He received a Master’s in Science in General Psychology from Walden University and a BA in Film and Anthropology from Colorado College in 1998, where he hosted a seminar on the use of film in therapy from a Dr. Gary Solomon who was pioneering Cinematherapy™. Dr. Cohen trained as an editor as an intern at an ABC news affiliate and later at a training facility in Burbank, Californa. Trained as an Avid and Final Cut Pro editor in Burbank, CA, he both consulted and worked on several high profile projects with filmmakers such as Patrick Swayze and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Doug Pray. In addition to his educational background, he was a university instructor since 2010, teaching introductory psychology and Positive Psychology. His clinical experience so far has been with dual diagnosis chemical-dependent populations as well as DCFS and families who were court-ordered. Within those populations, he has worked with many different kinds of disorders within the DSM, most of which are suffering from trauma, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders. Dr. Cohen has presented his dissertation research on film based therapy at many conventions, universities, and hospitals. He specializes in VR and film/video-based techniques. What is Film/Video-Based Therapy? This form of therapy is about making films with clients, as opposed to cinema therapy, which is about watching movies.
Personal Interests
- Dr. Cohen works in the field of mental health education with clients, groups, and colleagues from around the world and is now studying for licensure to be a clinical psychologist.
- Dr. Cohen has extensive experience doing public speaking. He had presented his knowledge at conferences in the US and Canada, as well as hospital settings. He has made public speeches at addiction treatment facilities, universities, and webinars on topics such as addiction and trauma. Dr. Cohen is also currently on staff at the video therapy school in Israel and has lectured for a class in Haifa. For more info, please visit the following link.
- During his presentation at an addiction treatment facility in 2016, Dr. Cohen introduced relax VR. This virtual reality application was soon to become one of the top 10 apps on the Google Daydream and now available on Android, Daydream View, Samsung Gear VR, iOS, and Pico Goblin.
- Dr. Cohen’s company is based out of Long Beach. His company is called Your Digital Storytelling Project, which involves mostly Therapeutic Advertising tm, but also public speaking, digital storytelling, virtual reality, and a publication. The press of his company includes a radio show, webinars, articles, and presentations at conferences and universities. To see examples of the media, please visit the following website.
http://yourdigitalstorytellingproject.com/
- He is currently working as a Media Psychologist for a company called Peer Mental Health.
https://www.peermentalhealth.com/
- The CEO of Peer Mental Health is the co-founder of Painted Brain, which is partnered with the department of mental health of LA County. Painted Brain is an innovative peer-run mental health art and tech organization that uses a peer model focused on recovery. Painted Brain defines a peer employee as any person with lived mental health challenges and or trauma, including but not limited to social injustice, interpersonal violence, societal exclusion. Painted Brain considers all of its’s employees as peers, where there is no separation from community members to clinicians to executives, all identity with having mental health challenges.
- With the new company, Peer Mental Health, we plan on offering similar services to peers in a new and innovative way. We already involve new elements such as clinical psychology, psychological assessments for those with disabilities and veterans as well as Virtual Reality and Film/Video-Based Therapy. Peer Mental Health is proud to be involving research from Video and Filmmaking as Psychotherapy: Research and Practice, as well as the upcoming book Film/Video-Based Therapy and Trauma: Research and Practice. Peer Mental Health is also associated with the University of Southern California.
Websites
Kolnoam faculty of cinema and video
Peer Mental Health
Your Digital Storytelling Project
filmandvideobasedtherapy
