A Destigmatizing Discussion: Mental Illness in "El fantasma de Elena"

While discussing the consumption aspect of telenovelas, we have briefly talked about how this form of entertainment has been used as vehicles to explore social and political content. In Santa Diabla, for example, certain themes show up, including racism and drug addiction. Through my own viewing of El fantasma de Elena, I have seen a social topic come into the plot that I thought was important: mental illness and its treatment options. 

Though El fantasma de Elena is not a telenovela that breaks down every barrier within this subject, I think it is notable how they incorporate mental illness and its treatments into the story. It first comes into play in the pilot episode, when the two twins – Elena and Daniela Calcaño – are introduced. Both characters demonstrate signs of mental illness, with Daniela committing suicide in her sister’s wedding dress and Elena suffering from a personality disorder that causes her to assume the identity of her late sister following Daniela’s traumatic death (the viewer doesn’t find out about this switch until episode 30, so up until that point, Daniela is believed to be the one suffering from the mental illness).

Elena (left) and Daniela Calcaño (right), shortly
before Daniela's traumatic death (Source: Hulu)

Once the audience discovers that Elena has been alive all along and what exactly had happened to get to that point, the show then directs itself to delve deeper into how Elena’s doctors solved the problem. This plot twist is where the telenovela truly begins to talk about mental illness, specifically regarding therapeutic techniques to treat this disorder. 

While sitting at a table with other doctors, Elena’s main doctor explains to them what they did to treat Elena’s mental illness. He first explains how they performed electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or electroshock therapy, informally, on her. I thought this detail was appalling. At first, it further proved to me that this telenovela is perpetuating mental illness being a taboo topic that uses inhumane treatment methods to force desirable results. 

However, I did some research on this topic because I don’t know very much about mental illness treatment, and I had originally assumed that electroshock therapy was illegal in the United States. I have only seen this treatment being used to threaten and scare mental illness patients into submission in other media I have watched, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and American Horror Story.

Elena Calcaño in the mental hospital (Source: Hulu)

Now that I have done some research about this therapy, I understand that it seems to be beneficial when used in a safe, voluntary manner. According to Scientific American, present-day ECT uses muscle relaxants to avoid any physical repercussions that could come out of inducing a seizure, which is what ECT does. It has been shown to be effective in treating many forms of mental illness, including depression and bipolar disorder. 

This depiction is important, as it helps destigmatize ECT as a traumatic and inhumane treatment for mental illness. Though, of course, there is much evidence that ECT was once used abusively by some mental hospital staff, this telenovela shines a new light on it that could contribute to the conversation around this form of treatment. 

On the other hand, El fantasma de Elena highlights other forms of mental health treatment. Along with ECT, Elena also endures cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The American Psychological Association’s webpage about this therapy mentions that “CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns.” This type of therapy is newer than ECT, as it began being used by psychiatrist Aaron Beck in the 1960s, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

These discussions presented in the telenovela are important in destigmatizing mental illness as a whole and its treatment in individuals. In 2022, I feel that this topic can be more openly discussed, but when this telenovela was airing between 2010 and 2011, I think the subject was still considered taboo, especially in the Hispanic community. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), Hispanic people usually want to keep their challenges private, and they may not seek care for their mental illness out of fear they will bring shame on their families. This cultural barrier is why it’s so important for telenovelas to provide unencumbered information to the Hispanic community. 

Since the airing of El fantasma de Elena, other shows depicting disorders, both mental and developmental, have been created and shown, including La mujer perfecta (Asperger syndrome). This new line of telenovelas that contain characters who live with these challenges help people learn and become more understanding of people who may be different from themselves. 

While I don’t agree with some of the other depictions of mental illness in El fantasma de Elena, like when male characters call female characters ‘crazy’ to demean them and diminish their concerns, I think it provides an important point of view in the broad topic of mental illness and treatment options. Overall, I think it’s a step in the right direction for them to have used their platform to bring awareness to mental health. In doing so, they might have inspired audience members to seek mental health treatments that they would not have prior to viewing the telenovela.