Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on Stephen Chbosky's New York Time's bestselling novel, follows introverted Charlie through his first year of high school in the early 1990s. Shortly after the film begins, it is revealed that Charlie spent time in the hospital-implied to be a psychiatric hospital-over the summer but has improved. However, no other information about his condition is revealed until much later in the film.
Charlie is portrayed as quiet and a bit of an outsider, only befriending his English teacher on his first day of class and sitting alone at lunch. He eventually finds companionship in a group of unusual and comedic seniors, spearheaded by Sam and Patrick, whom he bonds with over music. With his new friend group, Charlie

As the name of the film suggests, Charlie is a "wallflower." For much of the film, he is socially isolated, his only friends being his English teacher and two eccentric seniors. Later in the film, the audience learns that Charlie's best friend committed suicide the previous summer, contributing to this isolation. Charlie also worries that none of the kids who knew him prior to high school would want to befriend him after he spent time in the hospital. Charlie also turns to drugs and alcohol at some points during the film, presumably both to escape his thoughts and for typical teenage reasons. Charlie's most profound enactment of avoidance symptoms occurs at the end of the film when he nearly commits suicide after realizing what his aunt had done to

Charlie's treatment was based on the ___ model. The audience is aware that Charlie spent time in a psychiatric hospital both prior to the start of the film and at the end of this film. During this time, Charlie undergoes psychotherapy. Though details of this therapy are not shown, it is revealed that Charlie's therapist helps him to remember the details of his sexual abuse; the uncovering of repressed memories suggests the use of psychodynamic treatment methods. Charlie also takes medication for his disorder throughout the film, though the specific type of medication is not revealed. The treatments Charlie undergoes are effective in helping him to manage his disorder. At the end of the film, Charlie is able to leave the hospital and seems to be much more stable. He shares that he is not "picturing things" anymore and on the rare occasion that he does, he is able to turn it