Shows / Brain Stories
Brain Stories
This documentary series captures stories of those living with a mental illness, and the people who support them. True, intimate and unflinching. Welcome to stigma-free storytelling. Episodes dropping every 2 weeks.
Episodes
- Brain Stories
Episode 21 - Brain Stories Connections: The Astonishing Truth About Psych Wards with Morgan Shields
Anyone ever admitted to a hospital could be asked to rate their experience. Except one place - psych wards. People who go into psychiatric hospitals were never…
- Brain Stories
Episode 20 - Brain Stories Connections: Peer Healing in Just 7 Days
When you get an infection, you're liable to take a 7 day course of antibiotics. Get a mental health issue and you might take an hour of therapy. But what if…
- Brain Stories
Episode 19 - Brain Stories Connections: Soteria - A Better Alternative to Psych Wards?
California, 1971: A project called Soteria launched to study if people with psychosis fared better in psychiatric hospitals, or an environment that put…
- Brain Stories
Episode 18 - Brain Stories Connections: Judge Jim Bianco: A Model for Solving Homelessness and Mental Health
Expecting little, Judge Jim Bianco took an assignment to the low-prestige mental health court. But it changed his career, and the lives of more than 16,000…
- Brain Stories
Episode 17 - Brain Stories Connections: Aidan Park, What’s So Funny About Mental Health?
As a stand-up comedian, hilarious was Aidan Park's profession. But after the death of his partner sent him spiraling, he learned that stand-up and…
- Brain Stories
Episode 16 - Brain Stories Connections: Rachel Star Withers' Wisdom on Hallucinations & Schizophrenia
Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! Now available in video format available on our Youtube channel. Today, Rachel Star Withers talks about the hallucinations…
- Brain Stories
Episode 15 - Feed Swap | Look Again Podcast - LEAP, Schizophrenia & Anosognosia w/Dr. Xavier Amador
Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! Now available in a new video format available on our Youtube channel. Is the word "curating" often overused and…
- Brain Stories
Episode 14 - Brain Stories Connections: Inside Conversation About Gail Freedman's New Film on Mental Illness
Welcome to Brain Stories Connections! And a new video format available on our Youtube channel. Gail Freedman's new film is just out. A documentary called "No…
- Brain Stories
Episode 13 - Brain Stories Connections: A Radical New Model for Mental Health Care
Welcome to the last episode of Season 1 and the first episode of our new direction. This is Brain Stories Phase 2 - Good Ideas about Mental Health. We kick off…
- Brain Stories
Episode 12 - Payal: The True Cost of Family Peace
When Payal's brother developed mental illness, he moved back into his old bedroom in his parents' house. Where he stayed for more than 15 years, getting no…
- Brain Stories
Episode 11 - Michael pt. 2: Recovery: How to Become the Guy on the Giving-Back Side
This is the second and final episode of Michael Stewart's story. He had beaten his craving for drugs and gotten into one of the very few programs that treat…
- Brain Stories
Episode 10 - Michael pt. 1: Drugs, Voices and the Great Escape
For nearly 60 years, Michael Stewart's life was marked by violence from his childhood, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and a serious mental health issue. Whether…
- Brain Stories
Episode 9 - Paul: Behind the Scenes - a Chat-Musical Smackdown
What do Rachmaninoff, Mr. Rogers and Dr. Dre have in common? Find out in this episode - where we pull back the curtain...on Brain Stories, and go…
- Brain Stories
Episode 8 - Ronald & Caroline pt. 3: The Real Feeling of Flight
This is the 3rd and final installment of Ronald Braunstein and Caroline Whiddon's 3-part story. In the previous two episodes, Ronald endured brutal ups and…
- Brain Stories
Episode 7 - Ronald & Caroline pt. 2: The Crash
This is the second installment of Ronald Braunstein's 3-part story. In the previous episode, Ronald reached spectacular highs, but also devastating lows. In…
- Brain Stories
Episode 6 - Ronald pt. 1: The Unreal Feeling of Flight
With almost superhuman effort, Ronald Braunstein became the youngest winner in the history of Europe's most prestigious conducting competition, guaranteeing…
- Brain Stories
Episode 5 - Lindsay: Forgiving Schizophrenia
This is an interview episode. Why? Because the story of Lindsay’s family was very well told in the bestselling book, Hidden Valley Road. The book chronicles…
- Brain Stories
Episode 4 - Gwen: Three Generations & A Broken Legacy
Gwen was 10 when she arrived to California from China, the hopes of her entire family on her shoulders. But her dream collapsed in college as she discovered…
- Brain Stories
Episode 3 - Adrian: Family Inheritance
Living in a gang neighborhood, concealing his sexual orientation, Adrian already had a full plate when he learned that schizophrenia was hereditary. His dad…
- Brain Stories
Episode 2 - Anita: The Insidious Foe
The first time Anita heard of her son’s schizophrenia was during his court-martial, after he’d been thrown in the brig for fighting. It was the start of a…
- Brain Stories
Episode 1 - Dr. Xavier Amador: Insight, Love & LEAP
Xavier was a senior in college when he got a panicked call from his brother. This was his closest brother, his older brother whom he deeply admired, and he was…
- Brain Stories
Brain Stories Trailer
This is the trailer for Brain Stories, a ground breaking documentary series profiling those who live with a mental illness and the people who support them…