Changing Minds unique insight into mental health

Cian O’Clery – whose mother Karen runs Tanja’s Narek Gallery – spent 11 weeks with a documentary crew inside Liverpool Hospital’s busy Mental Health Unit, hearing the stories of the patients and staff within.

Liverpool Hospital’s psychiatric unit is one of the biggest and busiest in the country.

Changing Minds: The Inside Story is a three-part documentary that follows patients as they, with the help of the staff, work towards regaining their health.

Taboos are challenged, stigmas confronted.

It’s raw, funny and sometimes uncomfortable.

But the message is clear – help is available.

Mr O'Clery said being hired on as director for Changing Minds was an honour and early apprehension was quickly laid to rest.

“No series like this has been done before, no-one’s ever been allowed to film inside a mental health unit before,” Mr O’Clery said.

“It was a real privilege to be asked to be involved.

“People always comment that ‘it must have been confronting’, but I don’t know…once we got to know all the patients and the staff, overall it was quite rewarding.

“These are patients going through horrible experiences – they are vulnerable, not scary.

“We felt it was really important to tell their stories, and for them to open up while they are being held in hospital against their will is amazing and really brave of them,” he said.

As the mental health unit Mr O’Clery and his crew were filming was inside a hospital, many of the patients are acutely ill, experiencing psychotic episodes, schizophrenia or severe depression.

“I was almost attacked once – it was a close call and they rang the alarms and the nurses rushed in.

“But we had known them [the patient] before, had been filming them, so we knew it was a psychotic episode.

“Once you understand what they are going through, it’s really scary [to consider].”

Mr O’Clery said he hoped viewers of Changing Minds would get a better understanding of what mental illness is and change the way they view those experiencing it.

“Hopefully people will come to understand mental illness can happen to anyone and so learn not to judge them,” Mr O’Clery.

“Mental illness needs to be not just talked about more, but understood.

“Most importantly the shame, the guilt, the negative connotations need to be quashed.

“People need to be able to stand proud and say ‘I live with a mental illness’ without fear of judgement.”

Critics are already raving about the documentary.

Paul Kalina of The Age said this week “it’s raw, revealing, confronting, challenging, grimly funny and possibly the most memorable, gripping and thought-provoking three hours of TV you’re likely to see.”

Changing Minds has even been long-listed for The Walkleys!

“Hopefully we’ve created not just a worthy program, but one that is also interesting and though-provoking for viewers,” Mr O'Clery said.

Changing Minds: The Inside Story comprises three hour-long episodes and will screen during Mental Health Week on ABCTV – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

CIAN O’Clery grew up in Canberra, lives in Sydney, but spends all his spare time in the Bega Valley with family.

Mr O’Clery’s mum Karen runs Narek Galleries at Tanja, and those art connections were the impetus behind his first project as a filmmaker.

The Living Artist followed the stories of four entrants in the 2009 Bega Valley Living Artist scholarship program as they vie for the coveted prize among competition rumours, personal dislikes and self-doubts. (click here for the story)

“It was the first thing I went out and did on my own,” Mr O’Clery said.

Before that project, he had been working as Baz Luhrmann’s driver on the set of Australia – while also filming behind-the-scenes footage.

Also on his resume of “low-profile roles on high-profile projects” are Michael Caine’s assistant on The Quiet American, set PA on Notting Hill – and cat trainer on Babe2!

“Yeah we had 110 cats – four of each look,” Mr O’Clery said.

“If one cat freaked out we had to have back-ups!”