Disney Pixar’s newest feature film, “Inside Out,” provides viewers with the typical humor, plot, colorful characters and redeeming ending that Disney is known for. However, this movie digs deeper into how our emotions and feelings impact and regulate our behaviors.

Since being professionally trained in the TBRI ® (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) model of parenting, I have become more aware of how trauma, adjustment and the broken cycle of need impacts brain development. “Inside Out” thoughtfully and playfully brings to life how our brain functions and how every part of the brain plays a part in regulating our emotions and behaviors.

The main characters of the movie are Joy, Sadness, Fear/Worry, Anger and Disgust. They are the feelings inside the head of the character Riley — an adolescent girl who is experiencing a huge change and adjustment in her life when her family relocates to another state. Her memories and “personality islands” start to break down when Fear/Worry, Anger and Disgust are suddenly put in charge of “headquarters” because Joy and Sadness are lost in another part of her brain. Rather than Joy trying to keep Sadness from “touching” or affecting Riley’s memories and emotions, both Joy and Sadness have to work together as a team to find their way back to headquarters. Once they figure this out, Riley is able to lean into her sadness — allowing her parents to empathize with and comfort her. This allows her to experience joy in being comforted and loved. As a therapist who works mainly with kids who come from hard places, this is such an important message for both parents and children to receive.