10 Most Important Mental Health Awareness Episodes In Star Trek

10. Encounter At Farpoint

A new century. A new ship. A new crew. Star Trek: The Next Generation aimed to differentiate itself in several ways from its predecessor — not the least of which was mental health in the workplace. The Original Series had occasionally featured psychiatrists and experts in "space psychology" elsewhere aboard ship. From its opening scenes, Encounter at Farpoint placed a counsellor at the heart of the bridge.

The character that became Deanna Troi was devised early in development of TNG as "an emotional healer," story editor David Gerrold stated in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years. Her role would be "to support those aboard ship in the job of being the best they can be". The Star Trek: The Next Generation Writer/Director's Guide (the Series Bible) — largely the work of Gerrold — goes on to add that the position of counsellor is,

Of vital importance on space vessels of the 24th century […] Troi is a master in Human and Alien Psychology [sic].

We would have to wait until the second season's The Icarus Factor to pay a visit to the counsellor's office. A sign, sadly, that the character was being underused. But by her very presence, Troi continues to teach us that one's mental health and emotional well-being should be primary from day one on the job.