"Sick" a documentary about teen reaction to forced in-patient mental health treatment

Produced through the social justice program at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, published in 2012.

Histories of mental health care are generally characterized as progress from cruel prison-like warehousing of the insane in the 1700's to modern enlightened, caring, and effective treatment.

Yet, that progress has been punctuated with critical views that suggest that institutional needs often over-ride humane treatment, and this documentary is part of that narrative.

"Sick" is a comparison of the contemporary experience by teens to the concept of "the total institution" as developed by sociologist Erving Goffman in his 1961 collection of essays titled "Asylums".

The initial historical background is a bit slow. The introduction to Goffman's perspective of "the total institution" are introduced about 8 minutes in, the remainder of the video is living history of persons who as teens were involuntary committed to mental health care within the past 15 years.