Maddog and Anne Cooke
One of the things we’re proud of on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate here at Salomons is our teaching unit on service user and carer perspectives. One of the speakers recently had to cancel at short notice. I (Anne) had the idea of showing the trainees a service user/survivor-recommended film instead, and then discussing the issues raised. As I often do, I turned to Twitter for suggestions.
Thousands of us signed the #equality4mentalhealth petition this week and the hashtag was even trending on social media. I signed, as did everyone from the Archbishop of Canterbury to to every actor you’ve ever heard of.
I’d been avoiding Silver Linings Playbook. Nothing against it particularly, it’s just that Very Serious films about mental health always feel like a busman’s holiday. I got corralled into seeing it by the missus though, more observant than me, who had clocked that a) it was warmly sentimental, and b) it featured a dance contest. These days plucky young hoofers channelling Patrick Swayze are all I ask of a film. And if someone is also (spoiler alert) saved by the love of a good woman, then my cup runneth over.
