This page is about making of the film ‘Compassion for voices: a tale of courage and hope’. This was one of the first times that ‘Relating to Voices’ co-authors, Charlie and Eleanor, collaborated on a project together
In these early sketches, you can see some of the ideas appearing.
The original script (September 2014) was simply:
- Phase 1 – daily life
- Phase 2 – therapy
- build up soothing (green) system
- develop a compassionate part
- deepen compassionate self with method acting
- dialogue between compassionate self and critical voice
- Phase 3 – compassion in daily life
By draft 8, we were ready to start scripting the sound effects (brushing teeth, dog snarling, etc). Click here to see the sound effects script (December 2014).
The film was finally launched in February 2015 at a showcase event at King’s College London, and uploaded onto the King’s Cultural Community YouTube channel.
Project contributors
Project leads:
Dr Charlie Heriot-Maitland – a clinical psychologist, researcher and trainer, specialising in the science and application of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). He studied compassion in psychosis for an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship award at King’s College London. For 13 years, Charlie provided psychological therapies in the UK NHS mental health services, and now offers a private CFT practice. He continues to provide supervision, training, and consultancy in the NHS, as well as other organisations across multiple sectors, including healthcare, social care, education, and charities. View Charlie’s researcher profile.
Kate Anderson – an independent animation director. Following an MA in Animation at the Royal College of Art, Kate began her professional career with production company HSI London. Here she worked on a diverse array of animated shorts, music videos and commercials, gaining experience as both animator and director. Since 2010 she has been working independently, reaching out to new creative horizons with collaborators including documentary film makers, artists, and young people using music as a means to change their lives. For details of Kate’s past projects, visit her website.
Other contributors:
Eleanor Longden – Eleanor provided the voice of narrator for this film which was recorded by Nick Roberts at 5A Studios in London. Eleanor gave a very popular TED talk on her personal experiences with voices, which was one of the inspirations behind this film. Watch Eleanor’s TED talk.
Rufus May – Rufus provided the voice of Stuart’s voices for this film, which was recorded by Alex Quinn. Rufus is an inspirational figure in the hearing voices world, probably best known for using his own experiences of being a psychiatric patient to promote alternative recovery approaches for people who hear voices. Visit Rufus’s website.
Cicely Goulder – Cicely provided the musical composition for this film. Cicely is a London based composer/producer, she writes film-scores and is one half of electronic duo KALEIDA. Visit KALEIDA’s website.
Richard Keyworth – Richard provided the sound design and mix for this film. Richard is a multi-instrumentalist composer and sound designer for all manner of visual media.
Project funders
Compassionate Mind Foundation
The Compassionate Mind Foundation is a UK charity that aims to promote wellbeing through the scientific understanding and application of compassion. The president of the Foundation, Paul Gilbert, is the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, and the Foundation is the main organisation behind developing and teaching this approach to therapy. Visit their website.
Balanced Minds
Balanced Minds is an organisation providing compassion-focused psychological services and resources. They offer therapy, supervision, and training workshops, with an approach grounded in the science of compassion. Visit their website.
Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a UK national organisation that aims to improve human health through funding research into all areas of medical and related science, including mental health research. The MRC are funding Dr Charlie Heriot-Maitland’s 3-year research Fellowship on developing Compassion Focused Therapy for psychosis. Visit their website.