Therapist Lessons in Shrinking (No Spoilers)

If you’ve read many of my previous posts, I’ve had a peeve about therapy and therapists being depicted foolishly and unrealistically on TV and in movies. It’s the main reason, in fact, that I’d at first avoided the series Shrinking.

Egged on by others, though, including a fellow therapist, I’ve now finished and loved both seasons. Although the therapist lessons in Shrinking aren’t always positive, in this particular series viewers can also learn from the negative.

Lauren Anderson, Collider: “...[Shrinking] doesn’t have to capture what it’s like to go to therapy to mean something…It captures real life and all the muck that comes with it and presents it in a digestible format that’s designed for enjoyment and reflection rather than a case study on what it means to be a therapist or go to therapy.”

Shrinking usually makes it pretty clear, that is, that the therapy infractions are about well-meaning practitioners simply being human. Most importantly, their clients are generally not harmed.

Without giving spoilers, below is a rundown of some of the therapist lessons in Shrinking. Provided as well are links to prior posts and other resources.

Therapist Lessons in Shrinking

1. 1. Yes, therapists are actually human. Jimmy (Jason Segel) is grieving the death of his wife while trying to address his personal and professional failings related to this. Gaby (Jessica Williams) needs to dial down her codependent/caretaking tendencies. Paul (Harrison Ford) is elderly and has Parkinson’s disease. (Therapists, by the way, are also mortal. They can be impaired or get sick, for instance.)
   2. Therapists may need therapy themselves. (Also a main theme in my novel Minding Therapy.) Moreover, impaired therapists often need intervention—but don’t always receive or accept it.
   3. Therapists can help each other—not objectively but as friends and colleagues and mentors.
   4. Boundaries are very important, both professionally and personally. Therapists set them so that clients can feel/be safe. Outside of therapy, therapists work on these just like everyone else.
   5. Dual relationships—as when a therapist serves more than one role in a client’s life (such as befriending)—are frowned upon and often considered unethical. Four circumstances in which a dual relationship can be harmful:
      • There is a lack of objectivity.
        • Example: A therapist may treat an influencer they follow on social media. Their admiration of the client may skew their clinical judgment.
      • The boundary between roles is unclear.
        • Example: If a client and therapist are friends, they may inadvertently begin to discuss mental health issues outside the office.
      • There aren’t any guidelines for when therapy will end.
        • Example: A client may be reluctant to terminate therapy with a close neighbor for fear of awkward encounters later.
      • The difference in power makes it easy for the therapist to potentially harm the client.
        • Example: The therapist is also the client’s teacher and can give the client a bad grade.
   6. Radical honesty can be effective if offered wisely and caringly…
   7. But advice-giving can go too far. (Take Jimmy, for example: it’s not okay to encourage a client to do harm to anyone; and he can’t fix his own life by trying to quick-fix his client’s problems.)
   8. Self-disclosure by therapists often serves a useful purpose—though it’s inappropriate to offer it solely to serve the therapist’s own needs.
   9. The endpoint of therapy, or termination, is usually best determined by the client, or in tandem with the therapist, but in certain situations can be initiated by the therapist.
   10. Therapists often learn from their clients and from what they know well enough to teach their clients but don’t always practice—for instance, self-care, setting boundaries, opening up about feelings, reaching out to others.

Readers, if you have different or additional ideas, please feel free to comment!