An Interview with Dr Janina Scarlet by Joseph Holmes
It was then that Dr Scarlet took her first So instead try turning to a friend, colleague or
psychology class with the drive to help people. mental health professional who can be more
Janina particularly resonates with the X-Men supportive and understanding.” Alternatively,
character Storm who can control the weather, she you can reach out to new people online and
really wanted this ability to stop the weather from contact mental health charities anonymously.
controlling her health. Storm also symbolises When we are overwhelmed by our emotions, it
post-traumatic growth, as despite her trauma she is important to take some time to breathe and
will always find the courage to help others. These make space for that emotion rather than push it
qualities have led Storm to become a mentor to down. “Once we are able to slow down our heart
Janina using fiction in evidence-based therapy to rate and breathing, it might be easier to
help others through the parasocial connection of discover what the next step might be. Whether
mental health and traumatic experience. it’s planning a set of actions, taking a break, or
Janina Scarlet wanted to merge pop-culture and even allowing ourselves to eat or relax.”
therapy for a long time, and when doing her post- Dr Scarlet says that we need to be willing to
doctorate training she discovered that many experience our negative emotions because it’s
service members with PTSD identified with heroes the courage to face something that is there
like Batman and Wolverine just like she did. “I anyway. “It is almost like the willingness to
began using the stories as metaphors to help accept that it’s raining outside, it might not
people understand their own experiences, make us happy, but we have to be willing to
destigmatise mental health and to provide hope experience the rain because we’ve got to leave
for healing.” She has gone on to write the book our house and travel to our destination. Anxiety,
‘Superhero Therapy’ and provide training to depression and grief are like the rain- they are
mental health professionals to help patients there whether we like it or not and even though
discover the origin stories of their mental health they are uncomfortable, they are necessary.” Our
and find their strengths and purpose. This emotions signal to us what we need and it is
identification method can be used on its own as sometimes challenging to work out what
well as being applied to the therapist's usual exactly that is, whether it be emotional support
methods. Janina is running an intensive training or rest.
for professionals in Ireland later this year.
Fictional characters aren’t alone in helping to
destigmatise mental health but public figures,
friends and family encourage more people to
speak out. Despite this, Dr Scarlet says there are
many reasons it can be challenging to open up
because “we might not have been taught how
to label our emotions and understand how we
feel. Some people have been shamed and told
they’re ‘too sensitive’ and to ‘focus on the
positives’ which is a very unhelpful message.”
Additionally, sometimes opening up to
someone can elicit a negative reaction, but that
is usually “their own lack of comfort and skilful
understanding. It could also be driven by the
fear of talking about their own mental health, so
it is unlikely to be anything personal to you.
If we are willing to experience our feelings, then
they will be less overwhelming and we may be
able to better understand them. You may feel
uncomfortable being mindful and self-
compassionate but Janina sees self-compassion
“as like charging our phone. When our phone is
at 5% battery, we plug it in- we don’t just let our
phone die. We need to notice that we’re running
out of fuel and that we need to recharge,
allowing us to be powered-up again. It’s an
emotional investment as we then gain the
emotional strength to go back to our tasks and
help others.”