Psychosis on Screen challenges mental health preconceptions

The Psychosis Health Integration Team (HIT) launch, which
included Psychosis on Screen, a series of three contemporary films depicting various
experiences of psychosis at Watershed, brought together more than 300 people to
challenge viewers’ preconceptions of mental health.

On 27 June, the season culminated with In the Real, a
documentary by local filmmaker and psychoanalyst in training Conor McCormack,
which attracted 170 people. For the past three years, Conor has documented the Bristol
Hearing Voices Network – a self-help group for people who hear voices and have
other unusual experiences. The film, which depicts the experiences of these
people in frank and unflinching detail, challenges both the viewer’s
preconceptions of psychosis, and the mental health profession’s response to it.
The screening was followed by a question and answer session with members of the
Bristol Hearing Voices Network, giving the audience a unique opportunity to
hear from the people in the film.

The season also included 2004’s Keane, starring Damien
Lewis and introduced by Nathan Filer on the night, and the 1997 French
documentary Every Little Thing, by Être et Avoir director Nicolas Philibert. Read the full report from the season (PDF).

Sarah Sullivan, Psychosis HIT Director, said:

“At the Psychosis HIT we felt that the film season and
the launch was a great success. We were pleased that so many interested people
came to watch the films and participate in discussions. We are very keen to
involve service users and carers, as well as members of the public, in everything
we do, because we feel it is the only way to improve understanding.”

Mark Cosgrove, Watershed’s Cinema Curator, said:

“We are
delighted to have had such strong audience numbers here at Watershed for this
important season. Cinema lends itself to exploring and making accessible many
challenging issues and this was a perfect example of how film can help to
demystify people’s different experiences. It’s great to hear how the films
really resonated with our audiences too.”

Attendees were asked what they learned about psychosis.
Responses included:

“[I learned] that the experience of hearing voices can
be enriching and can be a big part of individuals’ identity and reflect their
spiritual and world view. I have been very focused on helping people in their
recovery from a medical perspective and less so in listening to and respecting
their viewpoint.”

“It could be
different for every individual. A person is not their behaviour.”

Feedback on In the Real included:

“The film ‘in the real’ was exceptionally good, was
very real and I thank those service users who took the risk of exposing their
suffering and being vulnerable so that the film could be made effectively.”

“Very inspiring film which highlighted the importance
of providing individuals the space to explore their own understanding of their
experience. It was a privilege to hear the stories of everyone involved in the
film.”

The season generated a lot of local media interest:

• 13 June:
  Simon Downer and Conor McCormack interviewed on
  BBC Radio Bristol by Emma Britton (54:40)
• 20 June:
  Bristol 24/7 feature the
  screening of ‘In the Real’ in their top 10 things to do this week
• 23 June:
  Conor McCormack and Don Swift from the Bristol Hearing Voices Network
  interviewed on
  BBC Radio Bristol by John Darvall (2:10:50)
• 2 July:
  Sarah Sullivan and Simon Downer interviewed on
  BBC Radio Bristol by Dr Phil Hammondm(9:50)

People also engaged with the season through Twitter, with
the hashtag #BHPpsychosis:

@wshed @BristolHealthP @hearingvoice what a privilege to hear from the participants of In The Real. Incredible film. #BHPpsychosis

— Alice (@aewalker1) 27 June 2016

Extraordinary #intothereal @wshed. Psychosis on Screen season confounded expectations. Enriching, enlightening. #BHPpsychosis @BRISTOLHVN

— Olivia Winteringham (@owinteringham) 27 June 2016

Very thought provoking documentary exploring people’s experiences of hearing voices last night @wshed #inthereal #bhppsychosis

— Dr Vick Stephens (@psycholobrist) 28 June 2016