Plot

Tate is admitted to an adolescent psychiatric unit called Manor Lake. On the same day a new member of staff (Hannah) starts work there as a teacher. As they negotiate the world of the unit both Hannah and Tate are trying to keep a lid on their anxieties and desperately trying to appear in control.

SECTIONS is a hard hitting, gritty drama, based on the realities of a UK adolescent psychiatric unit in the 21st Century. It follows the lives of the young people, their families and the medical and education staff at a private but NHS funded specialist semi-secure unit.

Based on real life experiences SECTIONS portrays the struggle of young people with complex needs, as they try to cope with their illness and their lives. It charts the ups and downs of living with mental health problems and the impact that has on family, friends and health-care professionals, as well as the young people themselves.

The audience are plunged right into the middle of the action, sometimes even taking a POV look at the world through the eyes of the characters, to illustrate a different perception of the same environment and how different conditions affect this.

The mental health aspect isn't limited to the 'service users' group though; from the outset we can see that everyone has their own issues to deal with, sometimes struggling to keep their professional and personal lives separate and on track.

The title comes from The Mental Health Act 'sections' that people are held under for varying amounts of time and with various restrictions to their liberty for 'their own safety or that of others' but it also refers to sections of the brain that cause these problems, the sections of the character's lives we are seeing and sections of society, social or work groupings.