THERAPISTS on the SILVER SCREEN: fantasy or fact?

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Dec 15, 2022

Dive into the fascinating portrayals of therapists in film and TV, from heroic to villainous characters like Deanna Troi and Nurse Ratched. Explore the complex dynamics of therapy on screen, revealing both the vulnerabilities of therapists and the profound connections they form with clients. Unpack gripping narratives, such as a therapist's dangerous relationship with a serial killer, and the impact of humor in healing. The discussion also weaves in themes of identity, artistic struggle, and the emotional challenges faced by young creatives. A captivating exploration of therapy's reflection in popular media!

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ANECDOTE

Dr. Smith's Chaotic Psychiatry

Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space is a wacky, anarchic psychiatrist who causes chaos but shows vulnerability with a child character.
He embodies the unconscious factor introducing disorder that sometimes helps reshape situations unexpectedly.

INSIGHT

Deanna Troi: Empathic Anima

Deanna Troi from Star Trek symbolizes the empathic, anima side of therapy with her psychic sensitivity.
Her struggle to sacrifice a crew member in a simulation reveals the tough, sometimes ruthless choices therapists face.

ANECDOTE

Good Will Hunting's Breakthrough

Robin Williams' therapist character in Good Will Hunting challenges the client with tough love while showing deep humanity.
The breakthrough occurs when repetition of "It wasn't your fault" cracks the client's defenses, enabling emotional connection.

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In psychoanalysis, a screen memory covers up a deeper, more emotionally charged issue. Similarly, movie and television screens both shield and open us to human complexity through fiction. The opportunity to peer into shadow and secrets from a safe distance is irresistible. Depictions of psychotherapists and therapy can range from the malevolent Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) to psychic empath Deanna Troi (Star Trek). Most on-screen therapists, however, like their real-world counterparts, are wounded healers doing their best to help despite sometimes substantial fallibilities. Bruce Willis (Sixth Sense) doesn’t realize he’s dead; Jennifer Melfi (The Sopranos) denies her mobster client’s sociopathy, and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) embodies the mercurial power of humor that grants perspective. Jung understood the value of the analyst’s capacity to suffer as they led the way; he writes, “…it is his own hurt that gives a measure of his power to heal.” During the painful tumult of the COVID pandemic, growing demand for therapeutic support piqued public curiosity in the mechanisms of psychotherapy, opening the way for Jonah Hill’s vulnerable documentary STUTZ, filmed with his ailing therapist Phil Stutz. It invites the public to witness the wisdom, mutual vulnerabilities, and authentic affection that fuels the healing process. As Freud wrote in a letter to Jung, “…psychoanalysis in essence, is a cure through love.”

HERE’S THE DREAM WE ANALYZE:

“I was attending a drag show, but I put on a costume and began to perform on stage. I was a background performer for someone else, and I was just walking around the stage. I felt like I wasn’t wearing the costume that I wanted to wear. I didn’t feel comfortable or confident. I also felt like I wasn’t getting cheered on by the crowd. I got off the stage and felt unseen. I remember seeing a pill bottle, and not knowing what it was, I took a pill. It was someone’s else’s medication that I stole. I spent the rest of the dream trying to hide in shame from taking someone else’s medicine and anxiously waiting to see what the pill was going to do to me.”

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