Movie Review “K-PAX”

This movie tackles the documentation of Dr. Mark Powell to a psychiatric patient
suspected of hallucinogen intoxication where he calls himself Prot. This patient came to the
Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan due to wrong accusation of theft but is unable to be jailed due
to suspected mental illness. Prot claims to be an extraterrestrial being from the planet of K-PAX
of the constellation of Lyra. In this review, the main point to be discussed is the mental illness
associated with the story.
In a medical perspective, to evaluate the movie is to critique it using Peplau’s
Interpersonal Theory regarding therapeutic communication. In the movie, one can observe the
four phases of Therapeutic communication. When Prot arrived at the institute, Dr. Powell
immediately proceeded to check the patient’s record including his medications. Prot’s case was a
mystery to Dr. Powell and the other health care providers on the facility as he has a peculiar
behavior and he does not respond to the antipsychotic medications given. It is where the Pre-
orientation Phase of therapeutic relationship enters as Dr. Powell analyzes Prot’s medical record
and does initial ideas regarding his patient’s suspected condition. He checked every laboratory
record the facility had conducted regarding Prot. This phase of therapeutic relationship initiates
the bond to be developed between the two protagonists. After checking Prot’s records Dr.Powell
then calls for the initial meeting of them where the Orientation Phase occurs. This is when Dr.
Powell and Prot introduced each other to themselves. Dr. Powell will execute his aim to build
trust with Prot by letting him be comfortable in the office they were in such as letting him have
the apple in the fruit basket. He then realizes that Prot likes to eat fruits. One of the goals of the
orientation phase is to know why the patient sought help. In this meeting of the two protagonists
it is observed that Dr. Powell manifests genuine interest in the case of his client asking curious
questions and executing eye contact to Prot. After the initial meeting, the working phase of the
therapeutic relationship will be implemented. The working phase commenced with Dr. Powell
when he reviewed interviews he made with Prot and explored what could have been the cause of
his patient’s illness and brainstorming on how to promote therapy to cure him. He gathers data
through the recordings of the interview taking notes of signs of stressors of Prot. Dr. Powell will
collaborate with his fellow doctors, nurses and medical staff in identifying the real condition of
the mysterious patient. In this phase we will observe one of the role of nurse (doctor) in the
nurse-patient relationship which was Dr. Powell being an advocate for his patient as he discusses
matters with his colleagues regarding Prot. He defended Prot for not being a danger to anyone as
one of his colleagues suggested experimenting on Prot with untested antiPsychotic medication.
Every session Dr. Powell and Prot conduct, the doctor will observe his patient’s
behavioral patterns including how he eats, talks and how he dresses. In one of their sessions, Dr.
Powell pulled down his office blinds and turned off the lights as Prot entered due to the data he
discovered that Prot has photosensitivity. This behavior of the medical provider manifests the
characteristics of a caregiver as he cares for the comfort of his client. It was the first time Prot
took off his sunglasses and that built more trust from the patient to his health care provider. One
day, Dr. Powell brought Prot to his home where they were doing a small occasion with his
family. It was one of his strategies to know more about the patient. He then finds out that Prot is
triggered with flight response with sprinklers and that’s how he knew one of Prot’s stressors.
Genuine interest from Dr. Powell can also be seen as he recommended Prot with Astrophysicists
as Prot exhibits unimaginable knowledge with space, this is an aim to know Prot’s history if he
was a former Astrophysicist himself.
Dr. Powell decided to resort to hypnosis to gain confession of stressors from Prot. But,
before proceeding he asked Prot beforehand for permission to submit for hypnosis. This is where
Prot revealed his story on how he became ill. Dr. Powell also took his time to reasearch more
about Prot and found out that he was enveloped with depression before and unfortunately killed
his family and attempted suicide by drowning on a river. The suicide attempt was unsuccessful
but it left Prot with delusions that he was an alien from K-PAX. After finding out his history and
stressor, Dr. Powell decided to reveal Prot the truth. That is when Prot told Dr. Powell to take
care of Robert Porter, the real identity of Prot. By July 27, Robert Porter gained back his identity
and Prot has never manifested again in Robert, but he was left in a catatonic State. Dr. Powell
did not officially terminate his relationship with Robert and continued to care for him until he
gained back motor skills.