( CNN ) -- It has been a long time since a Hollywood movie actually seemed like it could help people suffering from mental illness , their families and those who treat them . That 's why I 'm so encouraged by the response to `` Silver Linings Playbook , '' which has enjoyed wide critical support since its release last fall -- including eight Academy Award nominations -- and is attracting a large national audience . It is the first film I 've seen in years that portrays mental illness in such natural and poignant terms . The entertainment industry has made a lucrative habit of exploiting deranged behavior for ostensibly artistic purposes , and has a long history of stereotyping `` crazy '' characters as killers , stalkers or perverts and misrepresenting mental health care . Nearly 40 years after the release of the single most stigmatizing film in history -- '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest '' -- it is still invoked by people criticizing or trying to avoid care as if it is , or was , an accurate portrayal of mental illness and psychiatric medicine . `` Silver Linings Playbook '' has the power to be an antidote to `` Cuckoo 's Nest . '' And the timing of its general release is particularly welcome in light of the wanton killings in Newtown , Connecticut , and the president 's initiative on gun control and violence . The president is right to seek legislation , but what is also needed is helping people with mental disorders get treatment , the first step in which is to reduce stigma . Hemingway family mental illness explored . In the aftermath of the senseless tragedies that just keep on coming and the stigmatizing hysteria that came with them , we desperately need a compassionate reality check against our exaggerated fears of people with mental illness . Because they are not `` the other , '' `` strange '' or `` foreign '' people . They are us . `` Silver Linings Playbook '' tells the story of a person , family and community in which individuals suffer from mental disorders much the same way as people do in the real world . It is not so much a story of mental illness as it is about two people who happen to struggle with mental illness -- among many other things -- and their relationships with family and community . The fact that the protagonist ( Bradley Cooper ) and his father ( Robert De Niro ) suffer from bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder , respectively , and the love interest ( Jennifer Lawrence ) has engaged in reckless self-harmful behavior in her transition from youth to adulthood , are simply aspects of their characters . Opinion : Get serious about mental health care . Their illnesses do n't define their identities -- nor are they even the main point of the story . In coming together , the characters find the mutual support that enables them to contend with their respective problems and redirect their lives presumably in a more positive direction . There have been comments that the film does not accurately portray mental illness and conveys negative messages about psychiatric treatment . I completely disagree . And I think these criticisms miss the main point . This is a story in which everyday characters ( everyone ca n't have John Nash 's beautiful mind ) experience mental disorders as part of their lives and manage to cope with them and ultimately prevail . They overcome the emotional problems that affect them , as characters in other stories overcome different forms of adversity . Review : 'Silver Linings ' will give audiences a lift . In portraying the characters in this story as affected by mental illness , the film communicates powerful and constructive messages that resonate with the public . It says that mental illness affects ordinary people in normal domestic settings . Many people regard mental illness as remote and rare , only affecting people to whom the average person ( whoever that may be ) could not relate . Yet epidemiologic studies tell us that one in four persons will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime . The film also shows us that treatment can work and people can overcome their disorders . All are not doomed to suffer . The main character in the film suffers from bipolar disorder , a condition for which there is a risk of violent behavior if symptoms become severe and go untreated . However , with the support of his family , the efforts of his psychiatrist and the love of a good woman , he avoids the tragic outcomes that we unfortunately have seen repeatedly in our society , and he achieves a new beginning . Of course , continued treatment and support will be required to keep things on track . By providing this touching every-person portrayal of mental illness in the tumultuous aftermath of the horrific events in Connecticut , this film , ever so slightly , helps to ease our collective pain and provides a silver lining to this national black cloud . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman .
Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman : Entertainment industry has long exploited deranged behavior . Comment: Lieberman : We need a reality check against `` exaggerated fears '' of mental illness .