The Psych Movie Minute

In this next minute, Izzy walks by her apartment and overhears her ex-boyfriend commenting on her lack of follow-through, which prompts a discussion on the concept of ADHD and all manner of things that go into contribute to not being able to focus.  

In this next minute of The Year of Spectacular Men from 2017, the main character, Izzy, attempts to wake up with a cup of coffee, prompting a discussion on coffee and other stimulants, from over the counter forms, to recreational drugs, to prescriptions medications.  Joining us today is family physician Dr. Charity Kates, MD, who discusses how she thinks about and counsels patients when it comes to caffeine intake. 

In the next minute of The Year of Spectacular Men, our main character, Izzy, gets thrown out of the apartment she was sharing with her (now ex-) boyfriend, Aaron, and crashes at her sister's hotel.  She seems to have left somewhat of a mess, prompting a discussion on some of the things we consider as psychiatrists when confronted by patients with difficulties with impulse control.

In this next minute, when Izzy's boyfriend on screen in The Year of Spectacular Men says she needs therapy, it leads to a discussion on the nature and goals of couples' and family therapy.

In this next minute of the 2017 film, The Year of Spectacular Men, our main character, Izzy, mentions to her boyfriend that she is thinking of moving back home to California, leading to an argument (continued next episode) and prompting a discussion on brain development over the course of infancy, childhood, and adulthood.  The study Dr. Adams mentioned in the show about younger children being more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten is from the New England Journal of Medicine (Nov 2018) and is available here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1806828.  

Joining us for episode 6 is Dr. Stephanie Hartselle, a child and adult psychiatrist based in Providence, RI, as we discuss the next minute in the 2017 independent film, The Year of Spectacular Men.  In this minute, the main character, Izzy, reveals that her father died by suicide.  In the world of mental health, we discuss mortality in its various forms with patients very frequently, but it does not always mean it is without discomfort (for patients, for us, either in the learning process or in bringing it up - which we discuss in this episode).  It's an intense topic, and sometimes it can be hard to know what to do with the responses you may get.  But - preparation helps, as does assistance to help you not worry alone.  Some of the resources we find useful - 1.) The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255 and 2.) The Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741.     

In this next minute, a comment that Izzy, the main character of The Year of Spectacular Men, makes about not knowing "where to go next" leads to a discussion about existential anxiety and some of the decisions students may make when considering what they want to do with their lives and some of the concerns parents may have for them.  (If you haven't seen the 1989 movie, Say Anything, you can see the dinner table scene we refer to in the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvuv2sn5fDQ).

In today's show, we're looking at the next minute of The Year of Spectacular Men where the main character, Izzy, dumps a bag of trail mix on her bag in class, leading to a discussion on inattention, a common issue in pediatrics and child mental health in general.  Our guest today is Kerry-Ann Williams, MD, who does her own weekly mental health show called Black Mental Health Matters.  If you are in the Boston area, you can listen live on Sundays at 1 PM on HEAT 98.1 FM, on the Urban Heat webpage, or over on Dr. Williams' Facebook page.

In this episode, we look at the next minute of The Year of Spectacular Men as on-screen sisters Izzy and Sabrina (who are sisters in real life) talk about how they've dealt with the loss of their father in the film, sparking a discussion about what it means to be in therapy.  Joining us today is avid sailor, teacher, trusted mentor, and child psychologist, Douglas Bernon, PhD, to discuss reflections on the therapeutic process and what is reasonable to achieve within that context. 

In the second minute of The Year of Spectacular Men, we meet Izzy's sister, Sabrina (Izzy and Sabrina are, of course, played by real-life sisters Madelyn and Zoey Deutch) and learn about the death of their father, supposedly due to an accident, leading to a discussion on grief, the loss of a loved one, and how that can sometimes affect mental health down the road. 

In this episode, we official start discussing the very first minute The Year of Spectacular Men and touch on the idea of stigma in mental health and how that plays out in various ways for both patients and mental health providers.

The past year (2020) has been challenging for so many reasons, but something that doesn't get discussed very often is the impact on our mental health.  While we think that should be discussed more openly, realistically, there are many barriers to being totally upfront about this aspect of life.  So, for the next 102 episodes, we'll be guiding you on an informal, conversation tour of the spectacularly diverse world of mental health through a spectacular movie - the 2017 independent film, The Year of Spectacular Men.  Each episode starting with episode 1 will go over one minute of the film and the mental health topics associated with that minute.  We are looking forward to making the journey with you.   Your hosts, Cathleen Adams, MD Joshua Blum, MD