Dr Hills Casebook - blog 1

The first instalment of Robert Fairclough’s blog about the Change Minds project which unites history, mental health, creative writing and theatre.

As a new recruit to the Dr. Hill’s Casebook project, I didn’t know what to expect. It appealed to me because it was a combination of historical research – into the lives of the patients who inhabited the Norfolk County Asylum – which would be translated into a theatrical production by the Upshot Theatre Company. Research and theatre: two of my favourite things, for sure. As for the how of combining the two, though, I had no idea.

I needn’t have worried. What I discovered last Wednesday, in the first Zoom meeting I attended, was a team of dedicated professionals and dedicated amateurs (though I hesitate to use that word, because, as the online discussion proved, they’re anything but). Between us, we discussed the various patients we’d been given as case studies. I’m just starting out, with a labourer called John Thompson, whereas one patient, Hannah, had become so three dimensional through weeks of research, that she’d progressed into a dramatic set-piece workshopped between some of Upshoot’s actors.

The striking thing about the participants in the project – the two Richards, Gail, David, Phil, Sarah, Becky, Vicky and Tess – was how their commitment to present their case studies, in as rounded and as truthful a way as possible, was helping their own mental health issues. Comments about what Dr. Hill’s Casebook had done for them ranged from “exhilarating… like another dose of medication” to offering the chance to escape from “a very depressed bubble.” Elsewhere, there was a simple enthusiasm “to find out about the good stuff that happened,” which is a tonic in itself.

That was more than enough for me. Coming from the Burgh Castle Almanac, I’ve seen first-hand how creativity, teamwork and a community spirit can be far more beneficial to maintaining good mental health than self-indulgent navel-gazing.

Dr. Hill’s Casebook is continuing that ethos – established by the Restoration Trust – and I’m proud to be a part of it.

'Robert Fairclough writes on a variety of subjects, including mental health and popular culture (sometimes both at once). He has written six books, contributes to magazines and websites, and writes regular blogs for The Restoration Trust. He can be contacted on robmay1964@outlook.com, and his website can be viewed at www.robfairclough.co.uk '