Julian-Pascal Saadi

A conversation that circulates frequently within the gay male community is that it’s difficult to find love. Central to this is the role that Apps have in structuring the gay dating experience, marked by quick hook-ups, ghosting, and a culture of superficiality at the level of who is desirable and who is not. Of course, things are not all that different in the straight world. People, regardless of their sexual orientations, complain of how difficult online dating can be. But there is...

How courage bridges the gap between despair and hope When someone begins therapy, they bring different amounts of hope to the process. Hopes about relationships, the future, careers, and family life. Some talk of specific goals they want to achieve, hoping that these are within reach and working tirelessly towards them, while others bring a variant of “I don’t see the point anymore”. Hope also waxes and wanes during therapy – two steps forward, one step back. Hope followed by despair, and...

Reflections on loss, grief and relief in the parent-child relationship. “You promised me,” pleads Debbie in Shameless (US, S2E11), begging her mother, Monica to get out of bed during the Thanksgiving episode. Monica, who lives with bipolar disorder and substance misuse, is sunk in depression and unable to move. Her youngest daughter is left to grapple with a new and painful question: what does it mean when a parent can’t, or won’t, be a Parent with a capital P? This scene dramatises a...