Mental Illness in Star Trek

[DanGussin]

The Richard Daystrom thread made me think a bit more about how mental and emotional illness is handled in the United Federation of Planets.

On the one hand we see Kirk giving Garth the respect due to a brilliant starship captain whos illness was not blamed on some type of personal weakness or failing. Even after being tortured and watching Garth commit a murder, Kirk understands that Garth was not really at fault.

Daystrom had Institutes and schools named after him well into the 24th century.

And yet -

The two hospitals for mental illness we see in TOS are off on remote planets. Elba had a poisonous atmosphere that would rapidly kill anyone attempting escape or in the event of an emergency that breeches the hospital itself.. The Tantalus penal colony also seems to be on a remote planet. We see serious understaffing and no clear plan to deal with behavior issues with outside help.. Patents who might escape faced certain death in one case and a remote planet far from help in both cases.

While treated with compassion it could be argued as if the general goal is to separate the mentally and emotionally ill from society in a somewhat extreme way. Granted, there might be a protocol to reintegrate people back into the general population but the isolation and lack of support systems we see has always bothered me,

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Starships and stations have Counsellors assigned to them to help the crew deal with the stresses of life in Starfleet, so it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed and dealt with in a proper and healthy manner to keep the crew carrying on.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I keep thinking back to that godawful, insulting episode of Voyager ("Extreme Risk"), where B'Elanna's depression was cured in 42 minutes.

 

[Soong-type Android]

I keep thinking back to that godawful, insulting episode of Voyager ("Extreme Risk"), where B'Elanna's depression was cured in 42 minutes.

And all it took was Chakotay manhandling her and risking death to er...retrieve a satellite from a gas giant.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

While treated with compassion it could be argued as if the general goal is to separate the mentally and emotionally ill from society in a somewhat extreme way.

In the case of Garth, it turns out that the separation was a good idea. Somehow, while completely confined in an institution, he develops advanced explosive technology and he had the ability to do cellular metamorphosis. Perhaps in the future, the combination of alien technology, special alien knowledge and insane genius is known to be a dangerous mix that is best handled by separation. This gives the best chance of preventing outsiders from smuggling things in, and protects the general population if there is an escape.

In a similar vein, we know of the Botany Bay Penal colony where English convicts were sent to Australia. So, this could just be history repeating itself (i.e. ship the defective incurables away)

 

[DanGussin]

In the case of Garth, it turns out that the separation was a good idea. Somehow, while completely confined in an institution, he develops advanced explosive technology and he had the ability to do cellular metamorphosis. Perhaps in the future, the combination of alien technology, special alien knowledge and insane genius is known to be a dangerous mix that is best handled by separation. This gives the best chance of preventing outsiders from smuggling things in, and protects the general population if there is an escape.

In a similar vein, we know of the Botany Bay Penal colony where English convicts were sent to Australia. So, this could just be history repeating itself (i.e. ship the defective incurables away)

To play devil's advocate for a moment -

It could be argued that the situation on Elba might not have gotten so far out of hand. To me, it is very unlikely that Garth developed his explosive in the short time portrayed in the episode. I suspect that he already had the formula and simply manufactured it using the hospital resources.

And why not have some type of rapid response plan on tap in the event that a scheduled ck in was missed? It seems as if nobody would have had a clue anything was amiss if the Enterprise did not have a scheduled stop planned.

A Class M planet in an inhabited system with safeties in place to ensure the welfare of the public seems like a much better choice as opposed to a very isolated planet ,that looks to be the norm.

 

[Henoch]

Starfleet: All mental illness is curable (with the proper drug). Didn't Garth get cured at the end of the episode?

 

[Steven P Bastien]

And why not have some type of rapid response plan on tap in the event that a scheduled ck in was missed? It seems as if nobody would have had a clue anything was amiss if the Enterprise did not have a scheduled stop planned.

As "angel advocate" I will say that no response plan is needed with this system. If the inmates take over, only the small staff is jeopardized. With such vicious inmates, no matter where the asylum is, we might assume that they are all killed in short order. After that, let the inmates stay stuck on the planet for 6 months or 6 years. Then, whenever the next ship comes, deal with the situation. Of course, this is quite barbaric because it leaves the inmates to possibly suffer, so this is not quite in line with what a Star Trek future is supposed to be, but they only have a handful of incurables and these ones were guilty of barbaric acts. So, one could see how the system might get in place without too many people protesting.

 

[Henoch]

So, one could see how the system might get in place without too many people protesting.

"Out of sight, out of mind." Same problem of the mentally ill in prisons after 300 years. At least the numbers are down to just a few.
https://i.ibb.co/3MjJB8N/out-of-sight-out-of-mind.jpg

 

[Defiler-Of-Redshirts]

If you go by LORD Garth of Izar or Dr. Van Gelder (& a few other deeply psychotic characters), mental illness in Star Trek is quite theatrical and never, ever boring. At least in Kirk's day.

 

[F. King Daniel]

There's a deeply upsetting Voyager novel duology called Homecoming, where a woman sexually abused by her step father from childhood grows up so self loathing she finds a way to assimilate herself with the aim being to destroy earth.

Do they help her, give her therapy and let her be happy? Nope. She's put down.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In Statistical Probabilities, Jack is talked down to like he's a child.

I tend to think people with mental or behavioral issues are treated well in the general case, but none of the episodes that show them have been written that well.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Starships and stations have Counsellors assigned to them to help the crew deal with the stresses of life in Starfleet, so it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed and dealt with in a proper and healthy manner to keep the crew carrying on.

Not only Counselors but I think the Chief Medical Physician should also guide and help the crew with their stresses in and out of duty.

 

[DanGussin]

In Statistical Probabilities, Jack is talked down to like he's a child.

I tend to think people with mental or behavioral issues are treated well in the general case, but none of the episodes that show them have been written that well.

To stay "in universe" for a moment, part of the problem with dealing with mental illness in Trek could be an outgrowth of "Earth as paradise" that Sisko talked about. With very little mental illness to deal with overall people probably had great difficulty when encountering a disturbed person as it happened so infrequently.

Even in the real world it can be difficult to encounter and deal with mental illness in a effective and compassionate way and most of us see it on a regular basis in one form or another. Imagine what it would be like to have a limited theoretical understanding of mental illness and not to have the "street smarts" most of us 21st century real world dwellers develop and then stumble across a truly disturbed person.

I admit that this might be a recon of some poorly dealt with issues, episodes and novels but it does make you think a bit. And we do see it a bit in "Let this be your last Battlefield" as the crew has real difficulty in understanding true racism as it was something they learned about from history classes.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Garth may be cured of his illness, but what about his shapeshifting abilities? I bet once he's fully rehabilitated -

- Because though he might have been cured of his underlying condition, he still needs rehabilitative therapy. For someone who's been in a coma for years, this would look like re-learning to walk, eat, strengthening long unused muscles, etc. For someone like Garth, this may look like undergoing counseling, learning about what new developments he's missed in his madness, re-establishing friendships, engaging with others, etc.

- assuming the drug didn't amazingly remove those abilities, too, I bet they make him an operative. A shapeshifter who can take any form he pleases without having to have surgery first/afterwards? 31'd eat that up.

 

[Herbert]

I keep thinking back to that godawful, insulting episode of Voyager ("Extreme Risk"), where B'Elanna's depression was cured in 42 minutes.

Don't get me started. She shows no signs of this in any previous episode (ever hear of foreshadowing, Voyager producers?) and then we never hear about it again after that episode. Yeah, I know "episodic show" but c'mon.

 

[Herbert]

Starfleet: All mental illness is curable (with the proper drug). Didn't Garth get cured at the end of the episode?

He seemed to be on the mend but we never hear if he was permanently cured.

While treated with compassion it could be argued as if the general goal is to separate the mentally and emotionally ill from society in a somewhat extreme way. Granted, there might be a protocol to reintegrate people back into the general population but the isolation and lack of support systems we see has always bothered me,

In the case of Elba, they state pretty much right away that the inmates there are extremely dangerous. Kirk refers to them in his log as " the few remaining incorrigible criminally insane of the galaxy. "
I'd want them as far away from Earth as possible.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

She shows no signs of this in any previous episode (ever hear of foreshadowing, Voyager producers?) and then we never hear about it again after that episode.

Isn't it more realistic that way? Some people are good at hiding it away, pretending they`re okay...recent suicides of famous people have proven that outward signs aren`t always obvious, even to family and friends.

 

[Herbert]

Isn't it more realistic that way? Some people are good at hiding it away, pretending they`re okay...recent suicides of famous people have proven that outward signs aren`t always obvious, even to family and friends.

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. I really don't know. It's not a one size fits all situation.
I'm not sure it matters when it comes to a TV show, unlike real life. They are supposed to be creating drama. Foreshadowing is done it all the time in TV shows. Giving us a hint of what's coming for her would certainly have built some drama for fans.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I gather they didn`t know at the time. But you might be able to retcon some things if you looked hard...