ISPS-US Member Recommended Movies on Mental Illness and Psychotherapy

Another Woman (1988) -- Gena Rowlands moves next door to a psychiatrist and eavesdrops on the problems of his client, played by Mia Farrow.

Antwone Fisher (2003) -- Denzell Washington as psychiatrist treating a sailor with violent behavior, who is forced to face his painful past.

Asylum -- The documentary film on R.D. Laing & the Philadelphia  Association, by Peter Robinson.

Beautiful Dreamers (1990) -- A Canadian doctor despairs over the inhumane treatment of insane patients at an asylum, meets the poet Walt Whitman, and this leads him to discover a drastically different method of caring for, and communicating with, these very special patients..

A Beautiful Mind --Behind the Lines -- A fictional account of WWI /shell shock and the toll that war takes on all who are influenced by it.

Birdy (1984) -- A great portrayal of psychosis and the underlying dynamics (if you look for them). It stars an early Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage.

Chattahoochee (1989) – An American war hero attempts suicide and ends up in a state hospital: his experience supposedly changed the vile conditions of how the mentally ill were treated in the state of Florida.

Dark Days -- (2000). A documentary that centers on the homeless individuals who resided in the tunnels of the NYC public transportation system. It focuses on homelessness and substance abuse more than mental health.

David and Lisa -- A film from the 1960's shows good examples of the benefit of psychotherapy and the difficulties for the severely ill.

Don Juan DeMarco (1995) -- Johnny Depp plays a man who becomes a psychiatric inpatient treated with only psychotherapy by his psychiatrist (Marlin Brando), who is increasingly pressured by hospital medical superiors to prescribe drug treatment.

Equus – (1977) Stars Richard Burton as a psychiatrist trying to understand a young man who blinded horses during a psychotic episode.

Frances (1983)-- About Frances Farmer--a movie star who ended up having a lobotomy.

Girl  Interrupted – (1999) – Based on the writer’s 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 60’s.

Good Will Hunting – (1997) - Stars Robin Williams as a therapist working with a janitor from MIT who has a gift for math.

The Horse Whisperer – (1998) – The mother of a traumatized girl enlists the help of a unique horse trainer to help the girl’s equally injured horse.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden – (1977) – Based on the novel by Joanne Greenberg, a 16 y/o girl struggles between reality and fantasy.

Inside Outside: Building a Meaningful Life After the Hospital -- Pat Deegan and Terry Strecker helped create this documentary about eight individuals surviving institution and moving back into the community.

Lost Angels – (1989)  Donald Sutherland plays sympathetic psychiatrist treating a youth after having a violent scrape with police.

Man Facing Southeast – (1986) (Span. w/ Eng. subtitles) A young, sensitive man who is from another planet goes to the local asylum since he feels that he would end up there anyway. A good portrayal of a caring psychiatrist and a typical institution.

Manic (2001) -- It’s like a teenage "Cuckoo's Nest", but in a juvenile facility...filmed like a documentary.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest – (1975) - A classic that portrays so many of the underlying emotional dynamics that are still prevalent in the mental health system today.

Ordinary People –(1980).  Touching  portrayal of a troubled family following the death of an older brother, and the therapy of the suicidal younger brother.

Pi – (1998)  A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.

Revolution #9 (2001) – The details of the main characters descent into madness ring depressingly true.

Spider – (2002) A mentally disturbed man resides in a half-way house when his mind gradually slips back into his illness where he replays a key part of his childhood.

Three Faces Of Eve – (1957) – A doctor treats a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Titicut Follies --  (1967)  A documentary of a Massachusetts psychiatric hospital in the 1960's: speaks to how far we've come as a society in the treatment of people with mental health conditions, and how far we need to go.

What About Bob? – A comedy featuring Bill Murray as a client who is persistent in engaging his therapist.