Rapper set for on-stage therapy

Friday 27th April 2012

Former So Solid Crew rapper Asher D will take part in a live therapy session as part of a campaign to reduce stigma amongst black men around talking therapies.

Also known as Ashley Walters, the rapper and actor, who has appeared in shows such as Grange Hill, Hustle and Top Boy, will take part in the event, which is part of Project 20:20's Black Men on the Couch: talking therapy series.

Organised by the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), Black Men on the Couch is a series of events with high-profile guests from the black community who take part in a "therapy" session on stage, led by a practitioner.

During the evening, the audience is invited to ask questions of the guest, the therapist leading the session and representatives from the UKCP.

Rotimi Akinsete, founder and organiser of Project 20:20 and Black Men on the Couch, said: "It's about breaking the barriers, shaking up the trees, shaking the foundations.

"You don't have to be a therapist to know that there is a perceived lack of positive role models in the community. We hear every day of many black men and boys who grew up in dysfunctional families and/or have a lack of positive reinforcement from older black males."

Black Men on the Couch aims to show that even those we look up to sometimes need to turn to others to help them to achieve their goals in life.

The event will take place on May 12 at 7pm at the RADA Studios, Central London.

Tickets are £15 or £5 concessions. To book call the RADA Box Office on 020 7307 5060 or email boxofficestudios@rada.ac.uk.

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