Bedlam

A must-see film. Extraordinary stories and really eye-opening, bring a tissue box and have someone to hold nearby.

Bedlam goes straight to where the rubber meets the road in the mental health crisis that the country faces - the psych ward of an ED of a major urban hospital (LA), telling the story of day-to-day life from the perspective of both patients and providers. It's real, raw, and compellingly honest, including the filmmaker recounting his family's own struggles with mental health. The lack of a safety net in this country (inadequate funding, no transitions to care or ensuring Rx compliance) is fully exposed and it's hard not to walk away from Bedlam without wanting someone, somewhere to fix the problem.

Bedlam is an excellent documentary that shines a light on everything wrong with how the United States addresses matters of serious mental illness (SMI). People desperately in need of treatment and care for their illness(es) often end up incarcerated, and the criminal justice system is not an appropriate response to mental illness. If you wonder why it is easier to get someone of the mental illness population into a jail cell than into treatment, and if you wonder what can be done to better meet individual and societal needs associated with mental illness, Bedlam is for you.

Even if you don't wonder about these things, Bedlam is a "must watch" film, because it appeals to the humanity in all of us by showing the inhumanity of how mental illness is often treated.

Watch this film, share with your elected representatives, share with administrative leadership in hospital/clinic settings, and share with everyone else in your network. Bedlam is among the most important/powerful films ever made on the topic of mental illness.

I was quite moved by this film. While I had some familiarity with the topic, I in no way understood the extent and seriousness of our society's disfunction when it comes to caring for those with serious mental illness. Not only was the film an eye-opener, I also now better understand some of the mental health-related reforms being proposed to policing. Also, the interplay between the director's family story and the societal story is really powerful. I highly recommend this film.

This documentary does a great job explaining the history of mental health care in this country as well as showing the effects of our current system on the families who deal with mental health issues and on the greater society.