Did you used to be RD Laing?.

A loosely structured portrait of the psychiatrist RD Laing, made in Vancouver, Canada, by Kirk Tougas during the last two years of Laing's life. Laing has the demeanor reminiscent of a stand-up comedian - a contemporary review of this programme described Laing as 'a man of compelling charisma and a superlative teller of jokes of the dour Glaswegian variety' (Time Out). The opening sequences are from a live symposium where he banters about psychiatry with Tougas, causing much mirth in the audience. A consultation with a female patient, Rory, then follows and is shown to illustrate 'rapport'. Over footage of Laing playing the piano, he recollects family life in Glasgow as a boy. He makes light of the lies we tell each other in the name of love. He discusses the tragic death of his daughter at 21 and why he let her understand that her condition was incurable against the wishes of the rest of the family. He discusses a case of incest and this is elaborated upon further. A patient, Janet, talks with Laing about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child and how these memories were suppressed but still continue to haunt her. He further elaborates on the recurring patterns of behaviour which sometimes can be traced to conception or birth. A patient, Mario, talks about a recent dream he had. Laing speaks about his love of music and how this connected him to his feelings and how this connected him to the outside world. He then talks about his youngest son Max and an issue which arose at school where the headmistress suggested that a clinical psychologist should visit to find out why Max would not work at school. This anecdote is to expose the willingness in clinical psychology to label behaviour. Laing goes on to explain psychophobia, which is a fear of one's own psyche. Finally Laing discusses the politics of psychiatry.