AUTHOR Philippa Perry, who grew up in Croft, returned to Middlesex University as she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree for her many achievements in psychotherapy.
Philippa, who now lives in Clerkenwell, London, studied fine art at Middlesex University in the 1990s and graduated with a 2:1.
At the event Philippa was joined by her husband Grayson Perry, a famous artist who received a knighthood a day earlier and attended dressed as Claire.
She was also joined by her friends, journalist Suzanne Moore and TV producer Janet Lee.
Speaking about the award, Philippa said: “When you’ve been a student somewhere and invited back to be honoured, it feels like you’ve grown up. I am now officially at 65 a grown up.
“It’s really lovely to be back. I’m expecting a flood of emotion on the stage.”
Philippa’s journey into the world of psychology began in 1985 when she trained and volunteered for The Samaritans. This gave her experience of the trials and tribulations of the human condition, inspiring her to work in the mental health field for more than 20 years as an integrative psychotherapist.
She made it her mission to share the wisdom of psychological theories and research to a wider audience and has written and broadcast radio and television documentaries on subjects such as bipolar disorder, humiliation, desire, storytelling, lying, when parents split, surrealist art and most recently co-presented Grayson’s Art Club which came about to get people making art during the pandemic.
As well as broadcasting Philippa has written books including, Couch Fiction – which combined both art and therapy as it is a graphic novel about psychotherapy, How To Stay Sane, and her international bestseller: The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did, which has sold more than two millions copies and has helped many households to operate more harmoniously and supported parents to make the best relationships they can with their children.
She has a weekly advice column in the Observer Magazine.
Her message to graduates is “to not be afraid of speaking up when they feel unsure, because we learn in dialogue with others.”
She added: “By making mistakes we can learn and a terrible first draft of an idea can be edited but no first draft leads to nothing.
“If we wait until we’re perfect we would wait forever. You never have to be ‘the best’ but you do have to be, so be it – something like that anyway.
“Don’t be frightened of sticking your head above the parapet and testing what you know on other people. We learn when we test out ideas in conversation – two heads are always better than one.
“Speak your ideas as they’re forming. That’s another bit of advice and I have thousands more.”
The digital age and Covid has put the spotlight on mental health more so than ever, according to Philippa.
“I am quite worried people are getting just enough contact through there screens and digital devices to not seek better contact in the real world so I think it’s making people more isolated and that’s not good for mental health.
“If we don’t exercise our social muscle, it atrophies and this is what happened to people in lockdown. They got out of practice of being with people and found they couldn’t do it anymore.
“I went to a book launch after God knows how many days, two years of isolation, and love book launches and seeing my friends but after 45 minutes I was completely overwhelmed and had to leave.
“And I am a gregarious, outgoing 65-year-old but my muscle had atrophied.”
