Therapy professionals put HBO's 'In Treatment' on the couch
The series starring Gabriel Byrne sparks anxiety in some circles, acclaim in others.
DR. PAUL WESTON looks normal. He lives in a nice house, where his patients come for therapy. He listens, he zeros in on their problem, he walks them to the door. But underneath, as viewers of HBO's "In Treatment" know by now, he might have as many -- or more -- problems than his patients.
Presented as a nightly soap opera, the show has become a guilty habit for those familiar with the subtext of therapy. Among the most addicted are therapists themselves who admit to some intense feelings, pro and con, about the drama.
"It's like liver and onions," said Encino psychoanalyst Phillip A. Ringstrom. "People either love it or hate it." Some love it and hate it. Some started out hating it and now love it -- and vice versa.
Already some analysts have scheduled an "In Treatment" panel for March 9, with show runner Rodrigo Garcia and others, on "Responding to Erotic Transference" at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital. Another New York group held a "psychoanalytic salon" last week to discuss issues raised by the television show, which presents a fly-on-the-wall look at a troubled therapist's sessions with his troubled patients.
One real-life patient said he relates to the show's patients and compared his emotional growth favorably, said Beverly Hills therapist Cara Gardenswartz. "He is able to see objectively . . . what they are unable to see," she said. Others have introduced a personal issue indirectly by referring to one of the patients' issues.
On the other hand, some therapists worry that Weston (played to repressed perfection by Gabriel Byrne) behaves unethically and fear the nightly soap-style drama could hurt business by reinforcing stereotypes that therapists have as many, if not more, problems than their patients. "If managed care didn't wreck us, then 'In Treatment' will do the trick," said Rosalind S. Dorlen, a Summit, N.J., psychologist.
They say Weston discloses too much and crosses boundaries with his patients: Laura, a doctor who's mad about him; Sophie, a suicidal gymnast; Alex, a narcissistic Navy pilot; and Amy and Jake, a jealous couple caught in a cycle of rage and remorse. These patients are unusually aggressive and resistant, slamming doors, arguing, bringing in their own coffee makers.
And when at the end of the week, a visibly less compassionate Weston unburdens himself to Gina, a fellow therapist, she responds harshly.
