Audiovisual Self-Confrontation: Psychiatric and Psychotherapeutic Uses of Television and Video in (West) Germany 1970s–1990s

The history of television and video therapy in the Federal Republic of Germany is strongly linked to the working group IAAPP (Internationaler Arbeitskreis für Audiovision in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie/International Working Group for Audiovision in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy), which was founded 1977 in West Berlin. Although a mainly German-speaking group, the IAAPP also regularly referred to studies from the U.S., but only selectively adopted their approaches concerning audiovisual practices in psychiatry. Technological and legal conditions for the implementation of television systems in psychiatric clinics were debated and elaborated by the working group and formed the basis for the development of various methods of television and video therapy. The members of the IAAPP were particularly interested in approaches to self-confrontation through video recordings which should induce self-reflection, compliance with therapeutic measures, or a coherent self-image.