"Starlight Presents" host Gary Tracy talks about Compos Mentis with CM Executive Directory Dr. Sharron Thrasher and Board Member Dr. Howard Feinstein.

Compos Mentis (Latin for “in control of your mind”) is a day program for adults that have been diagnosed with a mental illness, The Compos Mentis farm program is designed to help these individuals learn to live with their illnesses, and to help them transition back to work or school. Compos Mentis is located on a 22-acre farm that is located five miles from Ithaca, NY.

Gary Tracy invited Dr. Thrasher and Dr. Feinstein onto his show because Gary's "Starlight Presents" is a weekly public access TV show focused on issues related to mental illness. Gary is also the director of SPACE - a drop-in support program for individuals in Ithaca, NY who suffer from major mental illnesses.


This program was recorded live at the PEGASYS Public Access TV Station in Ithaca NY on March 12, 2009. The program this was subsequently broadcast on Public Access Cable Channel 13 in Tompkins County, NY.

Beth Jenkins and I were the studio crew, and things were quite busy (three cameras, three microphones, titling, sound, and a DVD player for the opening/closing music and an in-program slideshow).

I post-produced the original video in SONY Vegas Movie Studio 9.0 to correct some technical problems and to replace the original credits with more detailed credits. This Vimeo video is the post-produced version.

The Compos Mentis slide show shown partway through the show was created by Susan & Tim Larkin.

The slideshow background music was composed & performed by "The Unknown Apprentice" - a 2008 participant in the Compos Mentis program. Due to the stigma associated with mental illness, this individual declined to be identified by name.