I’ve spoken before that I am a HUGE fan of The Bridge and especially the character of Saga Noren.  Last night, my adoration for the series went to a whole new level.

Sarah Niblock

::: {#attachment_5919 .wp-caption .aligncenter style="width: 234px"}
[![I hope Saga doesn't mind that I once perched on the bonnet of her
precious gold
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I hope Saga doesn't mind that I once perched on the bonnet of her
precious gold Porche...
:::

**I've spoken before that [I am a HUGE
fan](https://sarahniblock.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/the-rise-of-the-saganauts/)
of *[The Bridge](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bnc34)* and
especially the character of Saga Noren. **

Last night, my adoration for the series went to a whole new level.

Avid fans of the Scandinavian detective series cannot fail to have been
rapt by Saga's  inaugural therapy session last night (Season 4 episode
3) (screened 25/5/18 in the UK).

Self-diagnosing with [post-traumatic stress
disorder](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} following a spontaneous panic attack, the
currently-homeless Saga's looking for a fix to an emerging symptom that
she basically doesn't want to get in the way of her prolific 24/7/365
work rate.

No more than a minute into the consulting room, she is forensically
listing an eye-wateringly harrowing set of life events.

"My mum had Munchausan by proxy. She almost killed my little sister" she
starts, the therapist making a note in a book. Then, without taking a
breath Saga's speech rate quickens as she relays how she made sure her
parents went to prison. "I took care of Jennifer. She killed herself at
14". Saga's saga continues, embracing the suicide of her boss and
friend, for which she feels culpable by virtue of a paperclip.

The therapist is now doing 200wpm shorthand as Saga leaps to the fact of
her police colleague's imprisonment for poisoning his son's killer.
Still blank-faced, as if giving a court statement, she describes the
return of her mother and how she took her own life in such a manner as
to frame Saga for her murder.

By now her therapist's put her pen down and is gazing open-mouthed at
Saga's description of her prison stretch, culminating in her being
stabbed in the neck by a besotted fellow inmate with a broken table
tennis bat.

"I see. We've got a bit to work with..." says the therapist. "Good" says
a nodding Saga. already looking palpably relieved to got that brief
glimpse of life events off her duster-coated chest.

There are two reasons why this scene particularly resonates for me.
First, it is very rare indeed to witness positive representations of the
therapeutic relationship on screen and in other popular culture formats.
No wonder people are fearful of stepping into the consulting room when
TV depicts mind-bending unethical practitioners such as in
[Gypsy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2017/jun/29/gypsy-review-naomi-watts-lesbian-disguise-risk){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} and
[Dexter](http://www.vulture.com/2013/06/dexter-charlotte-rampling-interview.html){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. Note that it's the female therapists who are the most
deadly....that's for another post.

In complete contrast, here we see the seed sown of a listening, caring
relationship, a safe space where Saga is not asked 'what's wrong with
you' rather 'what's happened to you'. That leads to the next very
important point -- we're starting to see that there's nothing 'wrong'
with Saga at all.  She's having a perfectly natural reaction to a litany
of horror in her life that would render you or I mute.

Saga's been dubbed by the media as a [new positive role model for
autism](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-34995327){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} yet at no point in the making of the series have the
producers ever confirmed Saga is on the spectrum. I don't think she is
and I predict neither do they.

Having been gripped by every series since the show arrived in British
screens in 2012, I am now holding out every hope that this final season
is about to leave us more than the legacy of a strong uncompromising
fascinatingly complex female cop.

Are the writers about the dash the bio-medical model asunder and rightly
represent psychotherapy as the ultimate key to unlocking our potential
and transforming our lives? Roll on next Friday.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Professor Sarah Niblock**, (Chief Executive) joined UKCP from the
University Of Westminster's School of Media, Arts and Design where she
was Associate Dean (Undergraduate). She has a PhD in psychoanalytic
theory/female identity and is an author, journalist and broadcaster who
has trained a number of award-winning journalists. She is also an
Academic Fellow of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia
University -- and blogs on media ethics, specifically trauma and
journalism, for a range of outlets and is a regular columnist
for *Psychologies *magazine.

As well as providing professional support for members, the UKCP is the
leading research, innovation, education and regulatory body for the
advancement of psychotherapy for the benefit of all.


I hope Saga doesn’t mind that I once perched on the bonnet of her precious gold Porche…
<strong>
 I’ve spoken before that I am a HUGE fan of
 <em>
  The Bridge
 </em>
 and especially the character of Saga Noren.
</strong>
Last night, my adoration for the series went to a whole new level.

Messaggi di Rogue Scholar

IS THE BRIDGE CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH?