Jan Haaken, a Portland clinical psychologist, professor and the filmmaker behind the documentaries “Guilty Except for Insanity,” “Moving 2 the Beat” and “Queens of Heart,” has wrapped up filming on her latest feature-length doc. In “MINDZONE: Therapists Behind the Front Lines,” Haaken got extraordinary access to an Army Combat Stress Control Unit while they trained, ultimately following them to Afghanistan in order to investigate the role of psychologists in war zones and the ethical issues they wrestle with. A central dilemma emerges between two conflicting Combat Stress Control missions: to both protect the mental health of soldiers and to return them to the front lines as quickly as possible. It makes for a riveting story – one that has implications that go far beyond the Army.
Haaken has partnered with Herzog and Company in LA for production and distribution and is now actively raising funds on Kickstarter for final editing of MINDZONE. Off to a strong start, the campaign has a December 5th deadline. Navigating there, you can also learn more about the film and catch weekly video updates of some of the main subjects of the documentary.
