Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Film and television continue to depict psychiatrists as heartless swindlers

Garrett Rossi, MD
Physician
October 30, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

Have you ever watched a movie, television show, or read a book where the villain is a medical doctor? If you are a psychiatrist, you will be alarmed by how many times the villain in these stories turns out to be a psychiatrist. In all fairness, psychiatry has had its share of blunders. However, in recent years psychiatry has made a significant effort to enhance the use of evidence-based medicine and procedures. The diagnostic criteria for mental disorders continue to be revised and updated regularly. New medications and procedures are developing at an increasingly rapid rate. With all of the advances in the field, why does popular media continue to represent psychiatry as a barbaric field with poor patient outcomes and medications/treatments that do not work?

I recently sat down to try and watch the new Netflix original series Ratched. This is the prequel to the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This book and movie are considered by some to be the most damaging to the field of psychiatry ever. The traumatic depiction of electroconvulsive therapy in the movie had a major impact on the availability of ECT. Patients still cite this movie as a reason for refusing what could be a lifesaving treatment. I was shocked to see that not much has changed since 1975 in the depiction of psychiatry in film. 2020’s Ratched represented psychiatry in the same light. Early in the series, there are scenes involving hydrotherapy, a gruesome lobotomy, and the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), resulting in a grisly mutilation scene. I understand the Ratched is a period-specific show, but these are harmful associations that the general public and patients will make with the practice of psychiatry. Honestly, I was disgusted with the series and could not finish it.

There are many other examples of similar representations of psychiatry in film and popular media. These portrayals of psychiatrists could not be further from the truth. Psychiatrists are some of the most empathetic and caring physicians of any specialty. It’s literally our job to help people in their darkest moments. Television series like Ratched perpetuate stigma in the field of psychiatry. If we want patients to feel comfortable talking to us about sensitive topics and trusting psychiatric treatments, we need more accurate modern representations of psychiatric practice in film and television.

Garrett Rossi is a psychiatry resident who blogs at Shrinks in Sneakers.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Go gentle into that good night

October 30, 2020 Kevin 2
…
Next

I'm your doctor. But for only this month.

October 30, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Go gentle into that good night
Next Post >
I'm your doctor. But for only this month.

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Garrett Rossi, MD

  • Free association on lessons learned as a new attending psychiatrist

    Garrett Rossi, MD
  • Marijuana legalization: an unpopular view

    Garrett Rossi, MD
  • Will anyone take the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s approved?

    Garrett Rossi, MD

Related Posts

  • What the police and psychiatrists have in common

    Sara K. Zachman, MD, MPH
  • Allow patients to continue their opioid of choice while starting microdoses of buprenorphine

    Julie Craig, MD
  • Doctors and patients continue to search through the overgrown forest of corporate health care

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Psychiatrists should not be involved in presidential politics. Here’s why.

    Arash Javanbakht, MD
  • As I become a better baker, I hope that I will continue to become a better doctor

    Yoo Jung Kim, MD

More in Physician

  • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

    Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO
  • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

    Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD
  • International doctors blocked by visa delays as U.S. faces physician shortage

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • How I redesigned my life as a physician without abandoning medicine

    Ben Reinking, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Addressing U.S. vaccine inequities in vulnerable communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Addressing U.S. vaccine inequities in vulnerable communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 10 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Addressing U.S. vaccine inequities in vulnerable communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Addressing U.S. vaccine inequities in vulnerable communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Film and television continue to depict psychiatrists as heartless swindlers
10 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...