In the small rural town of Havenville, Kentucky, a working class family struggles to find help for their teenage son Andrew, as he battles with a serious mental illness. When Andrew's mother Angela reaches out to an overextended school system, an underfunded community mental health program, and a church community overwhelmed by Andrew's anti­social behavior, her cries for help fall on deaf ears. The Mental State explores the human story behind the newscasts, and asks how can we as a national community address the urgent issue of untreated teenage mental illness.