Silver Linings Playbook: Mental Illness in Pop Culture

In this series, we focus on pop culture portrayals of mental health issues and professional helping, believing that media both reflect and influence popular perception. In this episode, we focus on mental health issues experienced by various characters in Silver Linings Playbook, most notably main character Pat, his dance partner Tiffany, and his dad. We also spend time reflecting on Pat’s relationship with and the therapeutic style of psychiatrist Dr. Patel as well as ethical issues related to their interactions. As the film begins, Pat has recently spent time in a mental care facility, is re-acclimating to family life, and is pining at an almost obsessive level to get back together with his wife, Nikki. Pat befriends Tiffany at a dinner party, where they connect over a bond of social awkwardness and common medications, each with their own idiosyncratic quirks and mental health issues. Counselors believe that change comes from relationships, and we examine how this film’s characters empower and at times enable each other through therapeutic, romantic, and family relationships, all the while creating a playbook for “silver linings” for Pat.