Catch up TV

Series 1: 4. How to Say No

Leading psychotherapist Julia Samuel explains that in difficult times, we often put on a suit of armour to tell the world that we are fine, but beneath that performance, she suspects there is a lot of hurt. Whilst we need to be able to endure and get on with our lives, we also need to be able to express and feel our pain because pain is the agent of change. When we allow the pain to come through, that is how we heal.\n \nArriving to see Julia is Phil, a single dad and former chef from Preston. He has spent the last 30 years providing dad taxis to his three children and supporting them in all they do, but with his youngest due to fly the nest next year, Phil is turning his focus to his own life.\n \nSince losing both his legs (below the knee) to a serious infection nearly two years ago, Phil has been unable to look at himself in the mirror and has given up on finding a partner. Julia believes the answer lies in the emotions Phil has been burying, and a technique to help him voice his anger safely proves to be a positive step in his journey to looking in the mirror. Emma is on hand to see the results when she meets up with Phil for a shopping trip in Preston.\n \nThirty-one-year-old Hannah from Essex is seeking help for a sick phobia which has been making her day-to-day life miserable. Consultant psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters takes a unique neuroscientific approach to give Hannah control of her mind in a bid to help her overcome her germ-related anxiety.\n \nPsychotherapist Owen O’Kane’s last client of the series is therapy sceptic Amanda. She thinks therapy is going to be ‘marshmallowy’, but her life has reached the point where she’s willing to give it a go. The first aid trainer from Somerset has been suffering as a result of being overwhelmed by her very busy life – juggling care for her sick husband, being a mum, a grandmother, a daughter to her ageing parents, and working two jobs.\n\nOwen discovers that Amanda has been giving herself a tough time and wants to help her turn down the volume on the critical voices telling her that she’s not good enough or deserving of happiness.

Source: BBC 1