hi so i'm looking for dramas that revolve around mental health and actually make accurate depictions of it. i'm studying psychology and i have an assignment due that requires me to talk about either a tv show or book about mental health so it being represented accurately is pretty important... btw is the drama "it's okay not to be okay" a good one? i know it's quite popular but i never got to finish it. please give me your other recs, thank you!

p.s it'd be nice if the dramas also delve into the actual job of being a psychologist or people whose job revolves around mental health.

I don't know of accurate depictions, cause 9 out of 10, dramas tend to dramaticize scenarios of the watchability factor. But I do think you must check out the Kmovie Kim Jiyoung: Born 1982. Based on a book with the same title and can be watch at Netflix. A story about a mother who suffer from depression with the backdrop and social construct (Judgement, expectation and discrimination) of women in current korean society. 

Also here are some additional recommendation that deals with Mental Health and probably does depics its scenes closer to actual thing / realisty:

  • Lost - Must watch about depression
  • The World Between us - social commentary of the aftermath of tragedy
  • My Mister
  • Mars
  • Arifureta Kiseki


Here are some that delve a bit into the actual job of Psychology or the healing processs with an actual medical staff, but do feel more dramaticized:

  • YOu are my Spring - FL has the trauma and ML is a psychologist/psychiatrist
  • Its Okay that's love - ML is Schizo with FL is the Psychologist
  • Mad with each other - both leads are seeking mental healing from a professional
  • Soul Mechanic - ML is the psychiatrist and the FL is an actress who has mental health issues 
  • Here to heart - FL is ML is a psychologist
  • Kill Me heal Me - ML has DID and FL is the Psychologist
  • Mental Coach Jegal - ML is as the title states a mental coach to a very traumatized and pressured athlete
  • from Survivor to Healer



PS: "It's okay not to be okay" is good but I doubt this is the one you might consider as actual depiction.

Thirty But Seventeen  Overall very heartwarming and positive, but on the other side a lot of trauma both of the leads are going through. ML suffers from severe social anxiety/avoidance (trauma response) and PTSD/survivor guilt from a bus accident in the past, and its depiction of whenever he is triggered and his acting/reaction/its sight/sounds (muffled/disoriented etc) feels very real and haunting. (Here is a good example of it in a scene. where he is using a grounding technique learnt in therapy to "return to the present") Plus he takes up therapy counseling where several scenes of throughout the drama are shown on his (and FL's) journey to regain the time they lost and to heal.

(gonna edit later to add more, short of time rn)

The Eighth Sense  is not a drama about mental health but the mental health condition of one of the ML  plays a big part in it  and in my opinion and own experience the depiction of trauma and depression is pretty realistic. 

I know that there's a character with depression in Our Blues but I haven't watched it.

We're Not Trash

Eighth Sense

Only You


It's Okay That's Love is actually really great. But it even acknowledges that it wasn't going for 100% accuracy and had exaggerated things for dramatic affect.