Behind Closed Doors

PT SENIOR EDITOR CARIN GORRELL TALKS WITH MARYANN DELEO, DIRECTOR OF THE DOCUMENTARY, BELLEVUE: INSIDE OUT.

Since mental institutions became cheap entertainment in 17th-century London, society has been intrigued by psychiatric wards. Now, for the first time, a camera crew has captured a year in the life of Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric emergency room. Produced by Cable Ace Award nominee Sarah Teale and directed by two-time Emmy Award-winner Maryann DeLeo, the documentary will air May 6 on HBO.

Carin Gorrell: Was it difficult to gain access to Bellevue?

Maryann DeLeo: Yes, it took two years. We came to the agreement that we could film as long as the psychiatrist said that the person was capable of giving their permission. We really had to be guided by the psychiatrists.

CG: What did you think of Bellevue?

MD: I was amazed at the patience and continued care. So many people would return to the hospital with the same problem again and again, and [the doctors] never gave up. They told me, "Maybe this will be the time that this patient says, `Now I really want help.'"

CG: Were you concerned that your presence would affect the patients?

MD: Any time you're filming anybody's life, it definitely has an effect. But I think they felt good to talk about what it's like in a mental institution.

CG: Did you find it hard to remain emotionally detached?

MD: I always do. But I don't find it a problem. It usually makes the film better because you care about the people and want to enable them to tell their story.

CG: What inspired this documentary?

MD: In the beginning I was hesitant, thinking, "A psychiatric emergency room? I'm going to spend a year there?" There really is a stigma attached to having a mental illness. I thought it was important to show that people with a mental illness are in some ways just like anybody else.

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