Dangerous Son

One in 10 American children suffers from a serious emotional disturbance and over 17 million have experienced a psychiatric disorder. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus, A Dangerous Son focuses primarily on three families in crisis, each struggling with a childs severe mental illness and desperately seeking treatment in the face of limited resources and support. Interspersed with interviews with mental-health experts and advocates - including Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree - the film highlights the cycle of counselor visits, medications, hospitalizations and encounters with law enforcement (calling the police is too often a heart-wrenching last resort for parents). The guilt and isolation parents feel can be overwhelming, as is the constant worry that their child may harm themselves or others. And while treatment can greatly improve outcomes, appropriate care is a luxury only for those who can afford it, or who happen to live in states with free or affordable treatment. An intimate look at childhood psychiatric disorders, A Dangerous Son exposes the cracks in a system that fails too many families, with potentially devastating consequences.