Therapy Reality vs Therapy TV

So there's this show on HBO called "In Treatment" starring Gabriel Byrne as a private therapist (Dr. Paul Weston). It chronicles him giving his sessions and then also his own session with his personal therapist.

I find most of the show... pretty realistic. Some parts are not. I have always wondered if other people's therapy sessions were similar to my own.
It's strange for me; the character played by Gabriel Byrne both physically and otherwise is pretty similar to my own personal T (in the good ways, not the bad lol). This is both intriguing and also kinda makes me feel freaky. Some episodes are I think what you guys would call "triggering", so I don't recommend it for all viewers (WARNING TO SENSITIVE PEOPLE).

I just wondered if anyone else has seen the show, and if they thought it was a realistic portrayal of what goes on in their own personal therapy sessions?

I have seen the show, and there are definitely parts of it that remind me of my therapy.

When I watched it, it had just come out, and I had just started therapy. There was a part when the therapist is talking to HIS therapist and he said "if some of my clients knew what I was thinking during session they would run screaming for the hills"

I felt silly, because it was a TV show, but I did bring it up with T, because it freaked me out. I can't remember what he said, but it must have been reassuring enough, because I got over it. I think he said that if he was having a "negative" reaction to a client, that is ALWAYS about him, and not the client, and it was something he would deal with with his own therapist, or by consulting with other therapists.

I've been watching United States of Tara, and I couldn't work with her therapist. She seems so distant. I need a lot of connection and closeness with my T.

I watch it, and in some ways it is similar, but how i relate (mostly in silence and uncomfortableness) is not how any of his patients are. He also makes way more interpretations than my T-though i think a lot of it is probably because it is a tv show and they need to move things along. I will say tjat he does give space for the client to think, much like my T does. What fascinates me is the feelings that get thrown around in that room. Anger, despair, and such brave topics like sex and sexuality. I cant imagine ever being SO feeling like these people are!

I love this show. My t talks more than he does though and makes lots of observations and interpretations throughout the session. I do less talking than his patients do. I'd like to see what he would do with a patient who is quieter. Otherwise I think it's a pretty close approximation of what goes on in therapy. Obviously, being a tv show, it helps to have characters that actually talk.

yeah, i'd be super boring if i was a patient on tv!

Ain't that the truth! Me too.

Love the show! We have both seasons on DVD and I tend to go back and watch some episodes a couple of times..
It is interesting to be able to watch it either from the patients view or the T's view.

I saw all of the second season and the first few weeks of the first season. I had very different reactions to the different clients. Some I did not like at all. It made me appreciate how the T has to set all that aside and work with whoever comes through the door without bias. Sometimes the solutions people choose for themselves are not what you would have hoped they would choose, but you have to go with that. I liked the little vignettes where Paul is riding on the bus to go back to his hometown every so often. I liked when his rather dysfunctional seatmate asked him what he did for a living and he said, "sales." The space in Paul's office feels safe to me, and often calm with good silences (even though it is TV). Paul is not really like my T, but I like him too.

A friend of mine just gave me season 1 to watch and it's been a little over a week and I'm addicted to the show. I'm mid way through season 1 and I love it!

I do find it so realistic to a degree and very interesting to watch. It's a neat perspective to watch it from how a client sees things and how a therapist sees things.

What I find helpful is the episodes are about 25mins long so that's enough time for me to watch something entertaining at my leasure. I'm going to have to get season 2 next!!! - does anyone know if you can get the episodes online or throught netflix?

So far my favorite characters are: Gina, Laura, Sophie and Dr. Weston. I find the married couple and the pilot annoying.

A great show!

hi senator penguin,

not sure if you saw this post:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=162026

but i thought you might find it interesting as well.

Yeah I think a lot of it is realistic to my therapy. My T is -- a lot like Paul in the good Paul ways. I asked my T once if he said he had seen the show and he said he had heard of it but had not. I actually told him I don't think he should watch it because I don't want him to have unrealistic expectations of me LOL.

Interesting what you said about feeling safe in your T's office. I think that is SOOOOOOO important. I saw a pdoc once and it was terrible. My T understands the importance of comfort and SAFE environment. I never gave it much thought before I learned more about therapy and had the experience with the old pdoc (hard plastic chairs, really Dr?)

My T's office looks like Paul's a bit, only Paul's is much larger. I also don't think my T would ever leave medication bottles in his lavatory either...
I only wish my T would be more direct like Paul is, but TV is written by teams of writers and we live in the real world.

I talk more than my T does. That's because I don't shut up sometimes. Between the anxiety and the ADHD, I sometimes don't know who is running who (it feels like the anxiety and ADHD are in charge).

I'd like to hear my T talk more because I'm sure he'd have more interesting observations and suggestions.

Yep! I wanted to beat up that couple big time! -- dang they were super annoying! Grrr

You can watch Season 1 and Season through streaming on your PC through Amazon.com. I believe you can also get those seasons through Netflix, although they are not streaming on Netflix last time I checked. If you have Comcast, you can get Comcast--HBO On Demand and get the newest season-- Season 3. Looks the best yet.

FYI on Paul seeing a psychiatrist...I have a friend who is 18 months away from getting her Ph.D. in psychology, and she said that everyone in the doctoral program is required to go through psychotherapy, at least when they're still in their graduate studies. I have no idea about the statistics of how many professional psychologists/psychiatrists seek therapy, though.

I was surprised at how many personal attacks (and how gross some of them are) are levelled at Paul...but again, this is entertainment. I guess it's just not my nature to ever really get angry with my therapist.

Well... I've never really leveled a serious personal attack at my T. I do think there are people who do that though. I read a lot on here about people who have real blow up sessions with their T. I think it's pretty normal in therapy from what I understand.

I agree though, as I can't personally see myself doing it (like the girl with cancer--April), but I have felt like telling my T to F^%^% off plenty of times, but I'm pretty sure that's more about me than it is about his job performance

just curious if anyone watched the new episodes this week, the one paul had with adele in particular. it was super intense! and i'm wondering what happened towards the end when she encouraged him not to hold back and he was like, "what do you mean by that?"

what do you guys think she meant??

OMG OMG I know!!! THAT SESSION WAS SO INTENSE! I really like Adele a LOT. I think she is an AWESOME therapist.

I think she meant that he should be more honest in his emotional expression. Instead of dismissing his feelings, maybe he should explore them. He always shuts himself down and it doesn't help him. I really don't think she was saying he should act on his feelings lol, but I think that was his thought and I think he was kind of excited about that. But I do think she wants him to really go into his feelings for her, to safely identify and explore them and open up to them.

This is awesome and I'm so excited for next Tuesday!

I REALLY, REALLY need HBO!

I think you can buy it on iTunes

She's a great actress, hysterical as Holly on the Office.

I liked Adele's line a few weeks ago when she asked Paul what he was thinking about a thought she offered to him. He said "I'm thinking I want to tell you to **** off" and she said totally flat: "What's stopping you?"

She's said a couple things that have annoyed me, but I let it slide because she's so awesome. LOL

i have started watching this show now do to this thread and i dont find it all that realistic because for one who just spills everything in the fourth week of therapy and has such great insight into the problems that the are experiancing.paul also seems to know exactally what to say all the time and everything is fixed in a few months.and bye the way where is the BPD patient havnt seen one yet could that be because it isnt an 8 week fix

Oh right, she IS Holly!!! Wow what two complete different characters.

They had a woman with BPD in the first season. That's my assumption--Paul never said that. But I only saw the first couple of weeks--the free episodes--as I didn't have HBO. Don't know how it turned out with her.

uverse has free hbo this weekend, so i get to watch "in treatment" and find out what in the world y'all are talking about!