Mysteries of Mental Illness explores the story of mental illness in science and society. The four-part series traces the evolution of this complex topic from its earliest days to present times. It explores dramatic attempts across generations to unravel the mysteries of mental illness and gives voice to contemporary Americans across a spectrum of experiences.
Funding for Mysteries of Mental Illness is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Johnson & Johnson, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and Draper, and through the support of PBS viewers.
Dr. Igda Martinez | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Dr. Igda Martinez is dedicated to empowering unhoused people and breaking stereotypes. (3m 24s)
Dr. Hooman Keshavarzi | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Dr. Keshavarzi is building psychological treatment processes around faith-based concepts. (4m 3s)
Rosalba Calleros & Alan Alfaro | Decolonizing Mental Health
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A mother's struggle to find adequate mental healthcare for her son with a disability. (5m 22s)
Adriana Alejandre | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Adriana Alejandre decides to change the way the Latinx community views mental healthcare. (4m 17s)
Shelby Rowe | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Struggle against a culture that robs Native people of their identity and sense of self. (4m 55s)
Drs. Fosters-Circle of Life | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Native psychologists push for a move away from self and into the circularity of nature. (3m 24s)
Drs. Fosters-Modern Warrior | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Those leaving the reservation for higher education have tools to protect their community. (4m 11s)
Linh An | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Anthropologist Linh An calls for a just mental healthcare system that dismantles racism. (4m)
Linh An and Sharyn Luo | Decolonizing Mental Health
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A good mental health treatment process must include families and friends. (5m 14s)
Kelvin Nguyen | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Kelvin Nguyen unlearns shame and embraces therapy to help himself and others. (4m)
Paul Hoang | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Well-known in his community, Paul Hoang is teaching people empathetic mental healthcare. (5m 43s)
Natasha Stovall | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Natasha Stovall’s centering of whiteness aims to cure psychiatry’s colorblindness. (5m 51s)
Dr. Vivian Jackson | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Dr. Vivian Jackson’s 6 As and how they tackle the many disparities of mental healthcare. (5m 20s)
Shawna Murray-Browne | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Shawna Murray-Browne’s quest to help BIPOC access ways of nurture, care, and healing. (4m 24s)
Lloyd Hale | Part 2 | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Lloyd Hale’s journey from being a convict to a peer support specialist living in recovery. (6m 1s)
Lloyd Hale | Part 1 | Decolonizing Mental Health
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Lloyd Hale’s story of teenage schizophrenia and the lack of mental health support. (4m 46s)
Idris Mitchell | Decolonizing Mental Health
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How Idris Mitchell’s bipolar disorder put him in an eternal pursuit of beauty and joy. (5m 5s)
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Decolonizing Mental Health
Decolonizing Mental Health calls for a redress of ways we define and treat mental health.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHow to Watch Mysteries of Mental Illness
Mysteries of Mental Illness is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
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Mysteries of Mental Illness
Throughout history to today, we’ve continued to grapple with deceptively simple questions about mental health: what is mental illness? From where does it come? And how can it be treated?
Around one in four people suffer from mental illness; an American is more likely to need services from psychiatry than from any other medical specialty. Yet a diagnosis of a mental disorder still carries a stigma that a heart condition or other physical ailment doesn't, largely because mental illness has been so poorly understood for so long.
Many Americans’ diagnoses have grown more acute during the coronavirus pandemic, and people who had been previously undiagnosed – including many who remain so – are now suffering for the first time from depression and other illnesses that have been exacerbated by the present-day crises. One of the most critical barriers to treatment is the stigma of mental illness.
Join the Campaign
Share your story of dealing with mental illness through textual commentary, a still image, a short-form video — however you feel most comfortable — using the hashtag #MentalHealthPBS on social media.
Funding for Mysteries of Mental Illness is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Johnson & Johnson, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and Draper, and through the support of PBS viewers.