When my wife and I saw the preview for this show, I immediately dreaded it. It’s amazing to me that writers with no training in this area or understanding of the research that is available feel competent to write such things.

Mental illnesses can be misdiagnosed, but they can also be systematically assessed in a highly reliable manner.

Sometimes people do respond to “unorthodox” treatments, but far more often, they respond to empirically supported treatments developed through years of thoughtful work on the part of researchers and clinicians.

Perpetuating misunderstandings of mental illness and therapy is not only not helpful, it’s actually hurtful. Perhaps that kind of thing is fun for the writers, but personally, I care more about treating those in need.

I hope you write a review of the first episode! I don’t think I’ll be able to get myself to watch it.

http://www.psychotherapybrownbag.com

Perhaps you want to retract this article? I watched the show last night (no, I hadn’t read your article first.) The show was astonishingly bad. When the doc suggested treating a schizophrenic patient with homeopathy and aromatherapy, I figured the writers must have included Scientologists and others totally clueless about severe mental illness. We can only hope this show dies a quick death; the last thing we want is anyone ‘learning’ about mental illness from this show.

@ Mike - I’m working on the review right now Did you end up watching it? I’m so glad you stopped by. I need to get over to PBB soon. I’ve been so swamped lately.

@ Vicki - Why would I retract it?

Ugh. I watched this show and all I could think was “House knock-off!” The doc is as arrogant as House (oddly, this guy is a Brit, and while Hugh Laurie is British, he loses his accent entirely as House) and even more unconventional to the point of being dangerous. The psychiatry, well, it’s not psychiatry, it is witchcraft.

He rides a bicycle; House rides a motorcycle. House limps; Gallagher appears to have lost part of his leg and walks just fine. There is the stereotypical retinue of a Cuddy-like administrator and doting minions. All of this aside, it is just a BAD SHOW. I hope it goes, and soon, because I love House and don’t want to see him being ripped off.

Finally, there was nothing “misdiagnosed” about the patient at all, and, as far as I know, people with schizophrenia cannot, sadly, function without medication.

I watched it on-and-off flipping between it and the hockey game trying to avoid commercials. My concern with it was not that it perpetuated stigma about mental illness (while it probably did), but rather that it was boring. I am more passionate about hating other shows, such as the Big Bang Theory (what an idiotic peice of crap that is).

I didn’t watch it, but I did read some preview articles and decided I’d rather watch “In Treatment” in reruns, than devote even one hour to “Mental”.

It’s hard to digest a fast food burger when you’ve become accustomed to filet mignon.

Actually, Gallagher was pretty definite about the fact that the schizophrenic patient would have to be medicated for the rest of his life (it was easy to miss that in the scene perhaps, if you were reeling from the aromatherapy line). What he SAID was that the patient might be over-medicated, as his drug treatment had evidently not been changed in 12 years, and seeing as he was already mostly de-toxed, it would be worth trying a new drug therapy, one which may allow the patient some more balance.

I’ll give it another episode before crossing it off my list.

Oh, and Gallagher didn’t lose his leg - he had an experience with a wounded soldier when he was a child which piqued his curiosity about the way the mind works.