Where Is Your Mind?

Episode 10: "The Innovators"

When you talk about it, you reduce its power over you.

That's much of the idea behind Stories of the Mind, an Austin-made series premiering on PBS, Thursday, May 5, 7:30pm. An outgrowth of the online Mental Health Channel, the half-hour episodes feature three to four stories of people dealing with issues of the mind. It's airing around the nation on PBS, but all 12 episodes can be seen commercial-free online at www.mentalhealthchannel.tv.

"You think of this subject as very much stigmatized in our culture – people have a lot of shame surrounding their struggles," says Scott Rice, creative director for the Mental Health Channel and director of many of the series' episodes. "But these people decided it's important to talk about, and it was relatively easy for them and empowering. It's part of their mental health journey. There's something cathartic about getting on camera. There's power in that vulnerability."

Each episode is themed around topics that include schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, families coping with mental health issues, and veterans facing their own challenges. Rice, who also teaches film at the University of Texas, has a history in narrative film, specifically comedy, and sees the background as a strong fit for the documentary series. "We try to create dramatic visual stories about mental health," Rice says. "It's all about interesting stories that are cinematic."

Harry Lynch started Arcos Films, the group behind both the Mental Health Channel and Stories of the Mind, after suicide impacted his family. "He realized we have to get a conversation going about mental health," Rice says. "Lives could be saved through a simple conversation that leads to someone getting help, maybe getting on medication or getting therapy."

Rice grew up in Ohio and Wisconsin. When he was 9 years old, his life was changed when he watched the film E.T. "I was the same age as Eliott, the main character in the movie, and I really identified with those feelings," he says. "The drama of that film was very much aimed at a 9-year-old. It affected me so deeply that I said, 'I want to be a part of this medium that's so powerful.' I wanted to move people, too. That's the same drive I have today."

He made films while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then worked for video game company Activision before coming to the University of Texas as a graduate film student. "I thought Austin would be a stepping stone to L.A., but I got my career up and going here in Austin. I'm a Midwestern guy, and I like the culture here. It has the same vibe. I sometimes feel I never left Madison, Wisconsin."

If he weren't a filmmaker, Rice wonders if he might be a psychologist. Behind his smile and calm demeanor lurks a mild depression that has long haunted him. "I struggled with it my whole life," he says. "It's in my family. Talking to people with more severe challenges and seeing how open they are really empowered me to talk about my own troubles. I have no shame about it now. It transformed my own feelings."

The Mental Health Channel has about 120 episodes online, including Cracking Up, a series that follows comedians talking about mental health in their stand-up acts. The PBS series is expected to lead to even greater visibility for the channel. "The theme is that in the end there's hope, you can overcome it, you can manage even a serious disorder like schizophrenia," Rice says. "There are people out there thriving who don't have to be in an institution, don't have to be wandering lost on the street."