This Season’s Top Picks!
This season’s Top Picks that portray mental health issues with compassion and accuracy. And a few for levity and laughter – just what the doctor ordered. The following are endorsed by Julie Ridge, LCSW-R, President and Founder. (last updated: December 2025)
BEST MOVIES of 2025 – some are hold overs from 2024, but I love them just as much.
- Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, 2025. Starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi as the monster. Based on the original 1818 novel by Mary Shelley (written when she was only 18 years old). This Frankenstein explores themes of parenthood, creation, responsibility and ethics. While more violent than the movies I typically recommend, it is dense in context and value. Available on Netflix.
- Out of My Mind, directed by Amber Beasley, 2024. Starring Phoebe-Rae Taylor (in her smashing screen debut), Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, Judith Light and the voice of Jennifer Aniston. If you have time to see only one movie this year – see this one! Not only is it brilliantly authentically cast, it’s entirely honest, charming and thoroughly delightful. Available on Disney+
- Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, directed by Alek Keshishian, 2024. This documentary came out in 2022, but I’ve only recently discovered it. I rank it as one of the best movies I’ve seen this year because of Gomez’s youth, extraordinary talent, and willingness to share her uniquely raw and intimate story. Available on Apple+
- Still: a Michael J Fox Movie, a documentary directed by Takashi Doscher, 2024. Still is the unapologetic, warm and loving story of Fox’s career and his navigation of Parkinson’s disease. Available on Apple+
- Every incredible film shown in the 17th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival, April 3 – 9, 2025. This Festival outdoes itself every year, with a dazzling line-up of shorts and feature length films, narratives and documentaries. Be sure to put the 18th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival on your calendar NOW! April 23 – 30, 2026. This year’s films cannot be missed.
- Every movie I use in my learning seminars. To see what’s coming up next, go to our Register for Events and Seminars page.
My Favorite Television over the past few years: These shows do not necessarily feature a mental illness. Some are here because they’re reliably hysterical, others because their featured players are forever endearing, most of all, they’ve made the list because I like them.
- Law & Order SVU. September 1999 to present. Now in its 27th season, this series has endured decades of political upheaval, the horrors of ICE, sex trafficking, crimes beyond the imagination, and the worst man-not-so-kind can offer – but through it all, Captain Olivia Benson (the incomparable Mariska Hargitay) never gives up, never gives in, and fights the good fight to the end. The stories remain topical, ripped from the headlines, the acting stays true, and the show endures.
- Only Murders in the Building. A Hulu series. Starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. No character in this comedy series has a mental illness, however Selena Gomez has been open about her bipolar disorder and shines brightly in Only Murders. Her documentary, Selina Gomez, My Mind and Me, is one of my long-time top picks.
- The Patient. This chilling series aired on Hulu and FX in 2022, but it is a must see in any season. Steve Carell plays a psychiatrist to Domhnall Gleeson’s serial killer. This may well be Carell’s finest acting ever, as he embodies a psychiatrist every practitioner should aspire to be. And, somehow, due to Gleeson’s finely-tuned performance, we grow to care for a serial killer. Caution: there is violence and some disturbing scenes. It’s about a serial killer, after all.
Ongoing best website:
www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org. The Treatment Advocacy Center, founded by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, one of the world’s foremost research psychiatrists, specializing in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. His web site provides a plethora of global information and resources on all mental health conditions.
