Running Head: Girl, Interrupted 1

Cinematic Depiction of the Clinical Treatment of Depression

Alyssa N. ONeill

Methodist University
Girl, Interrupted 2

1. Describe the milieu or setting.

Girl, Interrupted mainly takes place in a mental health facility in the 1960s. There is a specific

art room and musical instruments that are locked in a cage, a living room that isnt often used,

phone booths for personal calls, a nurses station, the TV room where most of the PT spend their

time, an activity board depicting various levels of freedom, and the PT rooms. Some PT have

their own rooms, but the majority share a room with another PT. The rooms each have a lot of

personal belongings; each occupant has their own bed, desk, shelf, and chair. The rooms have

gated windows covered with curtains.

2. Describe the main characters of the movie.

Winona Ryder plays Susanna, an 18 year-old woman admitted with depression after taking a

bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka. Susanna denies this being a suicide attempt and does not

believe she is depressed, but upon admission she is directed to talk about that in therapy. Susanna

came from a wealthy family that wanted her to go off to college and succeed, but she wanted to

be a writer and was portrayed as a disappointment to the family. Her family basically sent her

away to the mental health facility and she went through the motions because she felt like she

should. She was very apprehensive about the process, in denial of her mental health, and

judgmental. Angelina Jolie plays Lisa, a very mental unstable woman that has been in and out of

the facility multiple times. She is portrayed as the villain, but also as someone that every one

wants to be around; she has an addictive personality and is very manipulative. Lisa believes she

is in charge of the facility and disobeys the rules whenever possible. Whoopie Goldberg plays

Valerie, the lead nurse of the facility. Valerie cares deeply about the PT and really facilitates their

open communication, but she has a very strong personality and does not take any games or
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manipulative tactics from the PT. Valerie is a very strict rule follower and encourages each PT to

make their own personal development, independent of the other PT and the friendships they

make.

3. List and define the mental illness that is the focus of the movie.

Depression: an alternation in mood that is expressed by feelings of sadness, despair and

pessimism. There is a loss of interest in usual activities, and some somatic symptoms may be

evident (Townsend, 2017).

4. List the signs and symptoms associated with this mental illness.

Depression: change in appetite, sleep patterns, and cognition (Townsend, 2017).

5. What is the recommended medical treatment for the mental illness that is focused on in the

movie?

Medication; Susanne is given Valium, a benzodiazepine, along with individual therapy.

6. What are the medications routinely given in treatment of this mental illness?

Common medications given are anxiolytics, antipsychotics, sedative-hypnotics (including

barbiturates and opioids), and anti-convulsant mood stabilizers (Townsend, 2017).

Girl, Interrupted 4

7. Are there laboratory testing requirements that are used to determine compliance to the ordered

medication regime? What are they? What are the published normal ranges for these tests?

There are no laboratory testing requirements to ensure compliance; however, valium would show

up on a urinalysis, if needed.

8. Are there required therapeutic ranges to be met to prevent medication toxicity and/or

determine medication compliance?

No therapeutic ranges or toxicity indicated; can be prescribed 2-10mg twice or three times a day

for anxiety (Townsend, 2017).

9. If you watched one of the movies listed which were produced before 2012; describe your

reaction to communication techniques, milieu, professionalism, and treatment modalities related

to the disease. Compare care then to what the care should be now for the mental illness the

movie focuses on.

Care was almost barbaric; there was a lot of use of chemical restraints, physical restraints, and

solitary confinement. However, there were a lot of freedoms with the ability to move all the

furniture, curtains being hung, visitors being allowed in the PT rooms alone, and field trips.

Some of the staff treated the PT more like friends that PT and got more emotionally involved

than would be considered appropriate. The therapists documentation of counseling was

seemingly judgmental and not structured solely in facts; their personal documentation appeared

to be personal reflections and feelings about the PT and not directly related to a diagnosis. The

PT were strip searched on entrance and monitored during bath times. Currently, I do not see a
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prevalence of inpatient care solely for the treatment of depression. If there were inpatient care

isolated from threats of suicide, I would imagine a facility that did not have so much freedoms

and the implementation of more safety features to avoid suicides within the facility. Additionally,

the staff would work harder to ensure medication compliance, maintain positive control over

keys to the facility, and have an increased staff to PT ratio.

10. What increased knowledge and understanding of mental illness and its effects have you

obtained as a result of viewing the movie you chose?

Depression is portrayed as a common mental illness that a lot of people struggle with. This

movie portrayed it in regards to a PT that did not see they were depressed, which was a new view

point. Girl, Interrupted did focus heavily on the implementation of therapy; it was only after

Susanne truly opened up to her therapists, trusted the program, and allowed herself to speak

freely that she was able to acknowledge her mental illness and grow from it. It taught me the

importance of self-awareness and self-motivation for improvement; without those things, a PT is

unable to live their life how they choose and would instead be trapped in a state of depression.

11. How did the illness affected the family unit?

The family unit pushed Susanne into admittance. Susannes father had his friend, who was a

therapist, speak with Susanne. The resulting event was Susannes pickup by a taxi and

admittance to the hospital on a diagnosis she did not agree on. Susanne seemed to have little to

no say in what would happen to her and upon admittance, she was at the mercy of the facility and

the programs it implemented. Susannes family participated in her therapy, but their input
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seemed more important to the therapist that what was said by Susanne. Additionally, there was a

lot of shame associate with her admittance; the family appeared to be socially disgraced and

embarrassed that their daughter was not going to college, but instead off to the mental health

institution. Susannes family did appear to love her tremendously, but it came off as if they did

not know how to handle her mental illness and chose the easy way out of shipping her off.
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References

Producers, C.B., G.K., S.K., C.K., W.R, & D.W., & Director, J.M. (1999). Girl, Interrupted

[Motion picture]. USA: Columbia Picture Corporation.

Townsend, M. C., & Morgan, K. I. (2017). Essentials of psychiatric mental health nursing:

concepts of care in evidence-based practice (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.