Philippa Perry
Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist, fine art graduate and author of Couch Fiction: A Graphic Tale of Psychotherapy, which she’ll be telling us about at this year’s festival. Dyslexic, she taught herself to read through comics and graphic novels, discovering a love for Harvey Pekar’s angst-ridden comic-book series, American Splendor. Inspired by Pekar’s style and format, she set out to demystify the world of psychotherapy with her own book.
Couch Fiction tells the story of a case in the professional life of psychotherapist, Patricia Philips, concerning a young barrister seeking help for his kleptomania. Thanks to the omniscience of the comic strip format, readers are able to enjoy the hilarious subtext contained within the thought bubbles and movements of the illustrated characters. Drawing on her own professional experiences, Philippa includes accompanying notes explaining some of therapy’s terms and processes at the foot of many pages; making the book immensely educational as well as entertaining.
Philippa’s friend Junko Graat illustrated the book. They met in 1997 when Philippa put an advertisement in the local paper asking for a cleaner. One letter arrived a week after all the others and said, “I am Junko. I am Japanese. The Japanese are naturally tidy from birth. I will clean your house.” Junko has been working with the Perrys ever since.
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“Philippa Perry has succeeded brilliantly in demystifying the complexities of the psychotherapeutic encounter by demonstrating not only something about the private conversations which transpire in the consulting room, but also by revealing the hidden thought processes in the mind of both the client and the psychotherapist.”
— Professor Brett Kahr
“How therapy works with all the fun of a cartoon.”
— Oliver James (clinical psychologist, author and broadcaster)
Links:
- Philippa Perry talks about Couch Fiction in The Guardian
- Information and reviews about the book from Macmillan
