I do not want to put too fine a point on this topic, one that has been brewing in my head over the last couple of days, but The Fox Network seems to be doing some interesting things with the mental health subculture--at least in its current incarnation in the States. House, which is one of my favorite shows, despite its flaws, has had an ongoing flirtation with mental illness since its inception--whereas with physical disability it is sometimes too cavalier, with mental health, House's relationship to patients with behavioral issues, related to disease or not, this seems to be a little more complex, whether it be with autism, disinhibition, delusion, etc., and this season opener took it head on, but how accurate it is about MH and its treatment, well that is another matter. The writers, both on House, and the new pretty boy one, Mental, they pay lip service to the issue of the complications surrounding diagnosis and treatment, but still, each episode is up in 50 minutes, and off we go to the next case, or the next puzzle.
I think it would be nice if they drew this out once in awhile, and really showed the treatment of MH issues as a complex process--aside from House's monkey on his back.
I actually worked in the trenches of mental illness and integration, and it is not always pretty psychiatrists and patients who get prize keys of revelation; it isn't always neat and clean. I grant that these dramas are entertainment, but I wonder if they should display even more courage now and again, push the envelope a little further.

