Overview

Mind Zone follows therapists with the 113th Army Combat Stress Control unit as they carry out two conflicting missions: protecting soldiers from battle fatigue and keeping these same soldiers in the fight.  With psychiatric casualties mounting, the United States Army ups the deployment of mental health detachments to war zones—an undertaking on a scale previously unimaginable. As the 113th is deployed to Afghanistan and trains for their dual roles as soldiers and healers, Colonel David Rabb and his team of therapists are equipped with a wide arsenal of psychological techniques, from mindfulness training to the use of video games. In following the unit into theater, the film explains how the second mission of keeping soldiers in the fight overwhelms the unit's first mission of protecting their mental wellbeing. And in telling that story, a larger tale unfolds of ethical dilemmas around the use of psychiatry in war zones.

Why it Matters

The story of Colonel Rabb and the 113th provokes deep reconsideration of the roles that mental health professionals play in large institutions, even beyond the theater of war. In following the efforts of the 113th in carrying out their conflicting missions, Mind Zone offers a rarely seen view of debates within the field of psychology over how this science of mind and behavior may be used or abused.

How You Can Help

The Mind Zone documentary is approaching the final stage of post-production and needs your help to realize the potential of this powerful and previously untold story.  One hundred and twenty hours of footage have been shot, transcribed, and storyboarded. And our script is taking shape beautifully. For Mind Zone to be completed with the care that it deserves, the services of a top-notch professional editor must be sought. To that end, an editing suite and editor have been booked for six weeks in early 2012, a costly but indispensable last step in bringing this project - and the essential questions it wrestles with - into the public’s consciousness. Please join us in realizing this thought-provoking and gripping documentary. Thank you.

One more way you can help

Getting the word out is vital to a campaign like this. The more eyeballs that find their way to this page, the better our chances of meeting our target. So if you like the project, we’d love it if you passed on the word. You can also friend MINDZONE on Facebook. You’ll be better able to follow progress and share the word at the same time.

How Kickstarter Works

It’s all or nothin’ with Kickstarter. This means that we have to raise the full amount of our funding request within the stated period or pack it in – no editing suite, no editor. It’s a bit of a gamble.

What this means is that if you’ve any inclination to give, go for it. This is our only shot.

Thanks again.