8 Mental Illnesses That Only Exist In Movies

3. €˜Crazy€™ People Cure Patients With Mental Illness Better Than Any Mental Health Professional Ever Could

One Flew Over The Cuckoo€™s Next is a brilliant film, there€™s no denying that. It brings Ken Kesey€™s novel to life and won 5 deserved Oscars as a result. The trouble is, this indicates a worrying trend in movies that suggest mental illness can be cured by dynamic personalities, despite all efforts made by trained, experienced mental health professionals. The aforementioned film suggests: a) The €˜crazy€™ McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson is able to plead insanity to escape a stint prison and convince healthcare professionals that he needs to be admitted to a ward for the mentally instance. b) McMurphy€™s rebel nature is able to unlock hidden secrets in the mental patients (Chief Bromden can speak) and discover innovative solutions to help his fellow €˜inmates€™. c) That mental health professionals are not only unable to spot the difference between real and faked mental illness, but that they are ineffective in helping to treat these conditions. Sure this results in a brilliant villain in Louise Fletcher€™s Nurse Ratched (for an equally intriguing performance watch her many years as Kai Winn in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) I can understand that mental healthcare has taken years to develop, but it takes elements of the profession back to the Victorian Age of Bedlam, and that is not a great thing. Films like Girl Interrupted continue this tradition. Why it might make good drama, it does nothing to support the years of hard work and training that go into the mental health care profession.