For many of us, the idea of being broadcast while in therapy is nauseating. Sitting opposite a complete stranger – who is seeking access to your inner world – can be scary. It can involve revisiting the difficult histories of our lives and doing the uncomfortable work of building self-awareness, exploring how certain experiences may inform our thoughts and behaviours. It’s not easy – especially if it’s your first time.
In a new BBC Three documentary Tough Talking, however, actor and musician Kema Kay invites viewers to be a fly-on-the-wall at his first therapy experience. The star of I, Daniel Blake moved to Newcastle with his family from Zambia at the age of three. As a boy, racial abuse in the city’s west end made him feel isolated. He struggled with a sense of belonging, compounded by delays to his immigration case. When Kay was a teenager, his mother returned to Zambia with no explanation. He desperately yearned for her return. She later died – causing him to fall apart.
