[Cygnus8548]

Over the years I have seen quite a few films and TV shows where the therapist is portrayed as bumbling and ineffective, maybe even making things worse. I am going to write some letters of protest to studios and the MPAA about this. Do you thing this is a problem?

[stopdog]

No. I think it is fine to make fun of therapists in film/tv/books and so on. I think showing they can make things worse is simply showing the truth.

[UnderRugSwept]

No. There are lots of bad (insert whatever profession you wish here) portrayed in both tv and movies...therapists are just one example. And truly, there are lots of bad Ts, drs., etc in real life. On the flip side, it's also important to remember bad Ts (and other professions) portrayed in tv/movies are there for entertainment value; I don't take the whole thing too seriously.

[Lauliza]

I don't mind. I'm going to be a T and I think the Showtime series "Web Therapy" can be hilarious. Lisa Kudrow said in an interview that they aren't making fun of therapy as a profession, but of bad therapists because there are some really horrifyingly bad ones out there.

Not a problem or a misrepresentation. I don't need to watch films to see this is action. I am seeing a good therapist now, but the majority have ranged from mediocre to damaging. The first one was the most bumbling of all.

Nope, I'm not at all bothered by the bumbling portrayals I've seen of therapists both on TV or the movies. I think that there are more than a few horrible therapists out there practicing and harming clients . . . In fact, when I was looking for one over this past year, I saw at least seven different idiots that had no business practicing! But then, I've also been to an absolutely horrible doctor that deserved to be sued for malpractice, more than a few teachers who weren't fit for the job of scrubbing the floors of the local latrine and two lawyers over the years who couldn't litigate their way out of a paper bag that they were stuffed in! I'm all for portraying therapists, teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, business people as fallible and flawed on both TV and in the movies. Afterall, they are human and there are good ones and not so good ones in all professions.

[Depletion]

uhh...I'm not very big into policing the way certain things are portrayed. If you want people to actually understand what therapy is like I think there are better ways. And I honestly think that T's deserve to be made fun of along with everyone else. T's are just people and some of the are incompetent idiots, just like some people, I'm not sure why TV and movies shouldn't show that.

[NowhereUSA]

There are some really good ones too.

I thought both the therapists in Monk were really strong representations of what therapy is like (and how strange that therapist attachment can be). Then Kate Beckett in Castle saw a therapist after she was shot and it was a very positive portrayal, both of someone going to therapy and someone who is a therapist. Recently they had Reese go to therapy in Person of Interest although that one was a little iffy. She wasn't a bumbling idiot, and at the same time, she didn't have all the information so she was flying blind. She got in a few good points though even if she probably can't help someone as messed up and secretive as Reese

There are a couple of others, but I'm tired and can't think of them right now.

[Partless]

Originally Posted by Cygnus8548

Over the years I have seen quite a few films and TV shows where the therapist is portrayed as bumbling and ineffective, maybe even making things worse. I am going to write some letters of protest to studios and the MPAA about this. Do you thing this is a problem?

Yes, it's a problem. I also think that many TV shows or movies misrepresent most people, however you group them together: blacks, religious folks, Germans, gays, women, Muslims, doctors, lawyers, college professors, the poor, the mentally ill, police officers, etc.

I remember speaking to one police officer, a few years ago, online, and he was particularly mad at some of the stereotypes and misrepresentation of cops on TV, though he also admitted a couple of more recent shows did a pretty good job of being more accurate and neutral.

At the time I had been interested in the same issue as this thread, and remember reading a paper on it, but can't find the paper now, so I quote part of the abstract, and hopefully it proves helpful to you and others who are interested:

The psychiatrist's image in commercially available American movies. - PubMed - NCBI

A total of 106 movies were reviewed regarding how psychiatrists/therapists were portrayed...The psychiatrists/therapists tended to be males (71.2%), and (regardless of sex) middle-aged (50.8%). Despite the general view of the psychiatrists/therapists as friendly (63.6%), there was an over-representation of boundary violations. The percentage of total boundary violations was 44.9% of the cases portrayed and sexual violations accounted for 23.7%, while non-sexual violations accounted for 30.5% (with 9.3% overlap). The appearance of clinical incompetence was 47.5%...The image of psychiatrists/therapists in commercially available movies is not flattering: close to one out of two violated boundaries, close to one out of four committed a sexual boundary violation, and the psychiatrist/therapist was as likely to be incompetent as competent. The bright point is that psychiatrists/therapists were depicted as more likely to be friendly.

[Ididitmyway]

To me it's not a question of whether bad therapists are depicted unfairly in movies and shows. Whether it's fair or not, the show business has to have full freedom of expression, because it's a creative profession, and any kind of policing kills creativity. In our market economy, you have the option to discourage the production of a certain product or service by boycotting it. You can ask the studios and the companies to produce something different, something more to your taste, but you can't demand that they don't produce what you don't like unless it has a serious negative impact on the environment and our health and safety, which is not the issue in the case you brought up. If you don't like something, don't buy it, don't pay for it and encourage others to do the same. That's the only power you can exercise - the power of a consumer. Don't like the show? No one forces you to watch it. Switch the channel. End of problem. If the significant number of people switches, the company would get the message. Another way to deal with it is to speak out about it publicly. If you believe the public is misinformed about something (and God knows, it's misinformed just about everything!), if people are brainwashed by the media (which they are!) and the entertainment industry (which they are), go ahead and speak out. This is what I do. I will speak out on every public platform that is accessible to me, but I won't demand that those who have different visions shut up. They have the right to free speech and so do I. This is how public opinions are formed. Different people express their views and the public decides what they accept and what makes more sense to them.