From comedian to performer to filmmaker, Mick Andrews has worn – and continues to wear – many hats, but it is that of counsellor that he wears with most pride.
And one that inspired him to create the award-winning podcast, Are You Mental?
“I basically went through a period of life where I wanted – needed – some counselling myself,” Mick tells Verve. “The more I did it, the more I viewed the process objectively, and the exploration of the inner workings of the mind I found fascinating, even fun. I started to look across at my counsellor and think that I’d actually quite like to be in her seat.”
Did you immediately find it easy to talk?
“Honestly, I’m a pretty open guy, it doesn’t take too much for me to tell people what’s going on with me! Having said that, it does help to meet someone you click and connect with.”
In the podcast episode ‘Therapy’, Mick interviews three professionals from the mental health field, one of whom describes their work as “being in the business of hope”. It’s a beautiful way of describing the industry. I ask Mick for his thoughts.
“For me, hope gives purpose,” says Mick. “Whether it was counselling people or making a podcast about mental health, I guess it’s the classic thing of wanting to leave the world a slightly better place than how you found it.”
I ask Mick if that’s a result of his upbringing and he said that his parents’ strong values of generosity and kindness definitely “rubbed off on me”. It was a happy childhood then, I ask, and he says that it was. The reason I ask, I tell him, is that in a recent interview with the psychotherapist Amanda Cox , she described herself as ‘wounded healer’ steered towards her field by some traumatic childhood events. Mick says that he’s also observed that among his peers. “But I guess no one escapes without having to deal with things in life,” he adds, pensively. “We all have to go through a process of healing.”
I ask if the podcast has made him a better counsellor.
“I think it’s more the other way round, that being a counsellor has made me a better storyteller,” he reflects, “I don’t think I’d be able to hold that space without my studies. But the podcast has certainly helped me in terms of knowledge.”
Taking part in a podcast must be very similar to a therapy or counselling session?
“You know, two of my interviewees in the past couple of weeks have asked at the end how much they owe me for it! I love hearing that because sometimes I worry that I’m almost leeching off people. They’re generously giving up their time and I’m kind of stealing their stories and putting them out there. But I like to think that I’m a safe person to unburden on.”
Is it that sense of unburdening that ultimately leads them to open up so publicly?
“I think so. They have said that they hope good will come from it, that it may lead to others to feel inspired or empowered or validated. That healing is possible.”
There are some harrowing stories, presumably your counselling training helps you deal with that aspect when the chats are over?
“Yes, but it is something that I am still mastering. I think of myself as someone who’s quite good at compartmentalising, but I do sometimes find myself at night sitting with certain stories, and I have to give myself space to reflect on those. There’s no simple formula for that.”
Mick says that the ‘Bipolar’ episode was particularly tough as he realised that those involved would be continuing a difficult “ongoing journey”. That episode is also the most streamed of the series, and I ask Mick if he knows why. It’s certainly not the most common of mental health issues, he says (“that would be anxiety or depression”), so it may simply be a case of there not being enough about the topic out there, and it was perhaps posted somewhere within the community and took off.
He hopes his podcast will increase not just understanding of mental health, but our understanding of each other. That it will increase empathy. Feedback from the public has been overwhelming positive, and he’s currently in the middle of the third series, which covers the likes of depression, ADHD, and loneliness.
“I’ve also had some counsellors say that they’ve advised their clients to listen to certain episodes,” says Mick. “It means a lot, and all serves as motivation to keep on at it.”
And long may it continue.
The Are You Mental? podcast is available on all major streaming services.
