Philippa Perry psychotherapist, is the author of the graphic novel, Couch Fiction; a graphic tale of psychotherapy, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2010. She is married to Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry is an English artist, known mainly for his ceramic vases and cross-dressing. Perry's vases have classical forms and are decorated in bright colours, depicting subjects at odds with their attractive appearance. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of...

, the artist and they have a daughter born in 1992.

Life

Philippa Perry was born in 1957, in Warrington

Warrington

Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

, Cheshire, and educated at boarding school and at a Swiss finishing school. She worked as a litigation clerk, an enquiry agent, a McDonalds’ employee and she also went to Middlesex Polytechnic and gained a degree in Fine Art as a mature student. Married to Turner Prize winner, Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry is an English artist, known mainly for his ceramic vases and cross-dressing. Perry's vases have classical forms and are decorated in bright colours, depicting subjects at odds with their attractive appearance. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of...

 in 1992, she is often asked what it is like being married to a transvestite - “Being the wife of a trannie is great, he always makes me look fantastic”. When asked the same question by a Buckingham Palace Press Officer when the Perrys went to a reception there in 2005 she said, "As obsessions go, it's better than football".

Work

In 1985 she trained and volunteered for the Samaritans, after which she trained as a psychotherapist.

Perry worked in the mental health field for twenty years, ten in private practice, before being published.

Publications

In 2010 the academic publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, published her book, Couch Fiction: a graphic tale of psychotherapy. It is a graphic novel that tells a tale between a psychotherapist and her client, from both their perspectives. Underneath the graphic novel boxes, Perry takes the position of commentator and provides footnotes on what might be going on between them and what theories the therapist is drawing on or should be drawing on. There is an afterword by Professor Andrew Samuels

Andrew Samuels

Andrew Samuels is known internationally as an influential commentator on political and social themes from the standpoint of 'therapy thinking'. He has worked with politicians, political organizations, activist groups and members of the public in Europe, US, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Russia and South...

.

In addition to Couch Fiction, Perry has published:

• "Working with Dissociation", The British Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Published by UKAPI Volume 4, Issue 2 (2007) Integrative Practice with an Emphasis on Working with Trauma.
• "Relational Marketing" , The British Journal of Psychotherapy Integration Published by UKAPI Volume 6, Issue 2 Aspect of the Integrative Endeavour
• "How to be Happy", The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , 18th January 2011
• "Ideas for modern living: chemistry - Our tendency to fall for a type of person is a subconscious act of transference", Observer, Sunday 2 May 2010

Philippa Perry is a monthly columnist for Psychologies Magazine