Therapy: Tough Talking

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Kema Kay

Ali Hutchinson

Rohan Latchman

Andy Smythe

Sean Mahon

David Sumnall

Katie Elliott

Andrew Eastel

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BBC Three - Therapy: Tough Talking

A rapper battling mental health issues lets cameras inside the room as he tries therapy.

A rapper battling mental health issues tries therapy. Cameras inside the room capture the ups and downs of his treatment and reveal how past trauma impacts his life today.

Rapper, actor and writer Kema Kay is struggling with his mental health. A difficult and tragic childhood have contributed to his doctor’s prognosis that he could be suffering from depression in his adult life. Having been advised to try therapy, Kema bravely allows cameras inside his therapy sessions to follow his progress. 
 
On the surface, Kema is a positive, ambitious and talented young man, who has forged a successful career doing what he loves in the city he loves, Newcastle upon Tyne. But beneath the surface, he is dealing with a lifetime of trauma. Before and after the death of a close family member when he was younger, Kema’s world was full of turmoil as he adjusted to life as a child from Zambia trying to fit in in the city’s West End. 
 
After years of surviving, keeping his head above water by focusing on his career, Kema is apprehensive about therapy. With little knowledge of the process and affected by a debilitating stigma attached to vulnerability, Kema embarks on his therapy journey in the same way that many young people might do: no idea what to expect, fearful of what might be uncovered and unsure whether the courage it takes to start the process will be worth it in the end.
 
Through Kema’s personal story and his journey through treatment, the film reveals the process of therapy: confronting, understanding and processing traumatic experiences, recognising triggers, and the coping mechanisms and tools that might lead to a healthier mind in the future. 
 
But will therapy be enough to turn Kema back from the black hole he fears he is headed towards?

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