Comic puts skills to use with mental health work
A PSYCHIATRIC nurse turned comic is using his funnyman skills to help people with mental health problems.
Rob Gee worked as a psychiatric nurse for 12 years in England, Scotland and Australia.
In his spare time he wrote and performed comic poetry as a hobby.
His life changed when he was asked by a comedy agent if he wanted to perform in clubs as part of a duo with a musician.
The 47-year-old, from Highfields, Leicester, said: “I said yes, and then we were booked for all these gigs in clubs, and we’d only written one song!”
The duo did a successful run before parting ways, with Rob going solo.
Gradually he phased out nursing work and decided to pursue comedy full-time.
But Rob did not want to stop helping people with mental health problems. So he decided to work with them in a different way.
He started Comedy Asylum, as part of the organisation BrightSparks, which brings together mental health service users and volunteers.
“It allowed the clinical and arty sides of me to come together perfectly,” he said.
Comedy Asylum started in 2007 as an annual programme of workshops for mental health service users, and resulted in an annual show at Leicester Comedy Festival.
Rob said: “Having a psychiatric episode can really harm someone’s confidence. Having one doesn’t mean you are a different person now, it doesn’t mean you can’t relate to people and it doesn’t mean you have lost your skills.”
As part of the workshops for the comedy festival, participants learn skills such as stand-up, creative writing, sketch comedy and improvisation.
He said: “It’s not about giving these people skills, they already have them, but they tend to become dormant after years in the system.
“These workshops are about reigniting those skills and finding out what their imaginations can do.”
All their hard work then results in a raucous show at the comedy festival, which Rob said usually sells out quickly.
He said: “We did out first show at the festival in 2008.
“It gets a really positive response, and it’s a refreshing way of looking at mental health.
“Many people think mental health episodes always happen to other people, but really it could happen to any one of us.”
Comedy Asylum recently received an Arts Council grant of £8,020.
It has allowed Rob to expand the range of workshops.
Rob now runs workshops at psychiatric inpatient units and recovery colleges.
He said: “The funding has been a game changer.
“We used to spend so much time trying to find the money we didn’t have time to work.
“Now we are able to plan strategically, now we can spend more time doing what we can to make it the best it can be.”
“These workshops start by stopping people becoming socially isolated.
“The next thing they know they are on stage making people laugh.”