Documentary
2026 Scotland
55 minutes
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Director and producer: Maggie Wright
Synopsis from director
Daniel B. Fisher MD, PhD, a well-known psychiatrist from Massachusetts, USA shares his life’s journey, from psychosis, loss of liberty, hospitalisation, catatonia and through his recovery journey to the development of emotional CPR, a new way to connect heart to heart. Dr Fisher shares his belief that the psychiatric industry is in the grip of the pharmaceutical industry and that our humanity is being trained out of us. Belief in humans to help themselves is central to his development of emotional CPR.
Summary
The film explains the creation of emotional CPR (eCPR), a practice designed to help people experiencing emotional distress. It is based on Dr. Daniel Fisher’s lived experience of recovery of his life after being diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 20s.
While working as a neurochemist, Dr. Fisher realized through his own hospitalizations—especially during periods of catatonia—that genuine human connection, not just clinical training, was key to reaching people in distress. While undergoing periods of intense disconnection, he continued to hope that someone might know how to reach him. He was dismayed to discover that clinical training often hindered well-intentioned efforts to connect with him. In the end, it was usually the least formally trained staff who were able to reach him—primarily through nonverbal means. This led him to change careers and become a psychiatrist focused on recovery-oriented care. He later helped develop advocacy efforts promoting recovery rather than long-term maintenance in mental health treatment, including work with the National Empowerment Center and the White House Commission for Mental Health.
In 2009, Dr. Fisher and others created eCPR as a non-clinical, community-based approach. It is inspired by physical CPR but focuses on emotional well-being. They called this practice emotional CPR. Just as CPR enables non-medical persons to restart a person’s physical health, eCPR teaches the public how to restart a person’s emotional heart: “e” stands for Emotional, “C” for Connection, “P” for emPowerment, and “R” for Revitalization. Furthermore, eCPR can also be practiced periodically by groups, helping them develop a sense of community known as community eCPR.
The goal of eCPR is to help people reconnect emotionally, foster healing relationships, build community, and ultimately prevent mental health crises while promoting greater societal well-being.
The film emphasizes that there is hope: By spreading the practice of eCPR, many individuals may be prevented from developing mental health conditions, ultimately contributing to greater peace in the world.