Epiphany Therapy: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

== Straight examples ==

* In ''Genkaku Picasso'' the general result is that once Picasso has helped with a person's mental trauma, they get a burst of confidence and understanding and are shown a few days later taking steps to finish overcoming it.

* In ''[[Shugo Chara]]'', {{spoiler|Nikaidou-sensei's [[Heel Face Turn]] is encouraged by Suu's Remake Honey making his Shugo Chara that he thought he had killed (which threw him into an emotional breakdown) come back and talk to him. It leaves, but it is pointed out by Suu that he had said "See you again," and was therefore not gone forever.}}

* Hinagiku of ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' is fearful of loving someone because of her parents abandoning her, and her older sister, when she was younger. When she falls in love with Hayate, he breaks her of the fear, but it's still presented as a strong influence in her life.

 

* In the [[Marvel Universe]], Doc Samson uses this with [[Incredible Hulk|Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk]] to merge his different personalities into one. This was later retconned away with Therapy Does Not Work That Way to establish that Samson had really just created a new, if more stable, alternate.

 

* In ''[[Inception]]'', {{spoiler|Dom Cobb finally confronts the dream projection of his long-lost wife, accepting her demise}}.

* In the movie ''[[Airplane!]]'', ex-pilot Ted Striker was unable to fly as a result of having led a disastrous air raid in the war. He's cured, and able to save the day, when he's told that one of the pilots who died on the raid, in his last words, approved of Striker's decision to continue the attack.

* This is the entire plot of ''Good Will Hunting''. Emotional trauma stemming from years of abuse can be cured by repeating the phrase, "It's not your fault" over and over until the other person starts crying.

** Well, that *was* the climax of a long series of therapy sessions, not just a single event.

 

* In ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series' second book, ''[[The Dark Tower/The Drawing of the Three|The Dark Tower]]'', Odetta / Detta seems to recover from Dissociative Identity Disorder (incorrectly called schizophrenia in the book) when her two personalities merge; this merged personality calls herself Susannah. Several books later, when Susannah is possessed by a demon, Detta comes back to help Susannah deal with it.

* Done painfully straight in the last book of Piers Anthony's ''Mode'' series, in which a single telepathy-assisted Epiphany Therapy session in which Colene confronts a few specific traumatic experiences completely cures her major depression and other psychological problems.

* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', when Firestar fears that [[Complete Monster|Scourge]] will crush the clans, he laments that there were always four clans in the forest, but Scourge is trying to change that. Then [[The Watcher|StarClan]] tell him {{spoiler|1=that there were never four clans, there were always ''five''. Cue Firestar realizing that StarClan is always with him, and that while he has StarClan's support and the gift of [[Back from the Dead|nine lives,]] Scourge does not.}}

 

* ''[[Charmed]]'' loved this trope. However the issues didn't tend to stay cured whether they were fears of losing each other, the desire for a normal life or realising that relationships require compromise to make them work.

* Alex P Keaton from ''[[Family Ties]]'', when Greg died in a car crash.

* [[MythBusters]] host Adam Savage has struggled for years with a well-known fear of bees, much to his annoyance as it made him the guinea pig for multiple phobia myth experiments. Until they tested a myth of bees glued to a laptop flapping their collective wings to make it fly. Working with a single bee in their lab, he learned to admire their individual strength and by the final test, he admitted being completely over his fear.

 

* ''[[Trauma Center|Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2]]''. After {{spoiler|losing his Healing Touch in the heat of an operation, and being unable to get it back, Derek goes back to his first Hospital to get help from old friends. Long story short, they push him real hard and he gets it back. [[Status Quo Is God]].}}

 

* The CGI animated series ''[[Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles]]'' had Dizzy being claustrophobic. With their survival on the line, the team's resident psychic "removed" her claustrophobia and made her a [[Badass]] again. It's a pretty dangerous procedure (as they point out to her before she consents to it) and they wouldn't dare try it if their lives weren't on the line. So instant psychic therapy isn't exactly an easy way out, just a fast one.

 

== Aversions ==

* In ''[[Fruits Basket]]'', pretty much all of the Sohma family have deep-seated emotional problems, and while Tohru helps a number of them quite a lot, progress is realistically slow. For example, in the manga, {{spoiler|it seems like Tohru discovering Kyo's true form is going to be a case of Epiphany Therapy, but Kyo is largely unchanged in the next volume - just somewhat happier and more trusting of Tohru. He still has major issues around being the cat from the Zodiac.}}

* In ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', Hinagiku is able to withstand heights when she has a strong reason to after Hayate takes her out onto the balcony of the student council office and shows her the cityscape.

* Across the entirety of ''[[Bitter Virgin]]'', Hinako, who has suffered repeated rape at the hands of her stepfather, makes a few baby steps towards recovery, while acknowledging that she may never be free of her pain. Still, she considers the steps she has made, such as {{spoiler|being able to begin a relationship with Daisuke}}, "miracles", which she never would have thought herself capable of.

 

* An issue of ''[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]'' had the team going to therapeutic with Doc Samson (the [[Marvel Universe]]'s resident superhero psychiatrist). It helps some of them a little, and makes no difference to others. Then, more recently, much of the original team goes back to him...and it's noted by Samson that they're significantly more messed up.

 

* The entire second half of ''[[Vertigo]]''.

** Hitchcock does it again in ''Marnie''. The film ends with the title character confronting the source of her myriad psychological issues, but it's clear that she still has a long, hard recovery ahead of her.

* Jamie in [[Shortbus]] claims to have had a sudden epiphany during his first therapy session with Sophia, who tells him that that kind of thing doesn't just happen and therapists don't hand out epiphanies like candy - most progress won't happen in a blinding flash of insight, and even when it does it typically only occurs after a lot of work.

 

* Averted in ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'', {{spoiler|Winston}} recalls a traumatic experience and bemoans that recording it has done nothing to avert the pain he feels about it.

* The hilarious short story "Ailurophobe" by Anthony Boucher had the main character go through this therapy to cure his morbid fear of cats (he couldn't even stand to hear words including the syllable "cat"). Under hypnosis, he realized it derived from an early childhood incident when he nearly died because of an abusive nanny named "Kitty." He was cured of fearing cats; now he had a phobia of '''women'''. Ironic, since it was his fiancee who'd wanted him to get over the original phobia.

* Averted in the ''[[In Death]]'' series. Eve Dallas, the main character, begins the series plagued by nightmares, repressed memories, and other baggage you'd expect from a [[Dark and Troubled Past]]. Subsequent books see her slowly get better with the help of her [[True Companions]], especially Mira and Roarke, but to date she still struggles with the lingering emotional damage.

 

** This is turned on its head in an episode where we see how agonizing it is for the evil Angelus to be trapped inside the brooding but heroic Angel - he screams in horror when forced to relive a night when Angel saved a puppy. He quickly gets over this problem when he remembers that he can still torment ''Angel'', no matter what happens in the outside world.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' averts this so much it gets annoying after a while. In ''All Hell Breaks Loose'', Dean seems to be crawling out of his self-loathing pit of despair and having a bit of hope but when it comes to the next episode? He's telling Sam how the prospect of being dragged down to hell is like a light at the end of the tunnel. And in ''Dream A Little Dream Of Me'', he makes a beautiful revelation about how his Dad was an absolute arsehole but fast-forward to four episodes later and he's back to being the devoted, scared-out-of-his-mind soldier. As of late season 4 he appears to finally be thinking about making some progress, being outright told that for all his problems he doesn't have license to whine quite so much, and gently mocked for taking such a depressed mindset. It is partially valid, but the writers seem to have realized that no matter how much it is he can't keep whinging, and the multiple Epiphany Therapies may be having an effect.

* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy]]'s character arc in Season 6 is one big fat aversion of this trope. It takes her the entire season to get over the traumas of dying, being yanked out of Paradise, and then having to claw her way out of her own grave.

 

* In ''[[The Suffering]]'', it takes Torque the length of the entire game to come to terms with his psychological issues as he slowly figures out [[Karma Meter|what sort of person he is]] and his fragmented past. Oh, and fights a giant monster representing his psychological trauma, because it's just that kind of game. Even ''then'', when the sequel rolls around, it turns out he's not actually cured, and facing the demons of his past causes a relapse. It still doesn't take years, but it's hardly an instant "have an epiphany and you're better" cure.

 

* Refreshingly averted in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''. Resident [[Mad Scientist]] Tedd has some severe psychological hangups as a result of [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-08-07 being teased and bullied for most of his life] for being a '[[Bishonen|girly-man]]', not to mention allegations that he's gay for his [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Heterosexual Life Partner]], Elliot. Thus, despite the fact that he often goes on a [[Gender Bender]] just for kicks, and the fact that he should be bisexual when in female form, [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-07-31 being intimate with boy-Grace causes him to panic even when he's transformed into a girl]. However, when Grace figures out the source of his hangup — which he hadn't even realized himself — she reminds him that this realization in itself does not solve the problem:

{{quote|'''Grace''': ''Kissing boy-me was a very loving gesture, but identifying the issue doesn't instantly free you of it...''}}

'''Faye''': If trauma were that easily dealt with, psychologists would work pro bono. }}

 

* It looked like things were going this way at the end of "Thrill of the Hunt" in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', when [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]] Ratchet sits down for a long talk with Optimus, and the subject was never raised again. Then Transwarped rolls around, more traumatic [[Flashback Stares]] ensue, and it is abruptly revealed that everything is ''not'' okay.

* At the end of the ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' episode "The Beach", the villains have vented their individual examples of [[Freudian Excuse]] and are now feeling much better. So good in fact, that they gleefully trash the house and attack the guests of the cool teens who snubbed them.

* Defied on ''[[The Simpsons]]'', with Lisa explaining that her [[Compressed Vice|body image issues]] are a long-standing problem that can't be solved overnight. Of course, [[Snap Back|from the next episode we never hear of them again...]]

** Also parodied in the episode where Marge is cured of her fear of flying.

 

== Subversions ==

* Subverted in the ''[[Incredible Hulk]]'' comic. The Hulk is being given therapy by Doc Samson with the help of a hypnotist to merge his multiple personalities. It seems to work, but it later turns out the "merged" Hulk is just another personality, and Doc had to take shortcuts because there really wasn't the time for a complete cure. Of course, for the Hulk the psychological problem is part of the premise, so [[Failure Is the Only Option|it's never]] [[Status Quo Is God|going]] [[Reset Button|away]].

* A cartoon from ''[[The Far Side]]'' features a therapist's technique for dealing with the fears of heights, snakes, and the dark...trapping a man in a darkened elevator suspended off a skyscraper roof and full of snakes.

 

* Parodied in the film ''[[Analyze This]]'': Mobster Paul Vitti has been seeing a psychologist, and makes a breakthrough that leaves him in tears. Unfortunately, it comes at the worst possible time—he's in a gunfight with rival gangsters, and unable to fight back, causing his psychologist to say, "Paul, you have to channel all this nice grief into a murderous rage." At the end of the film, they both agree he still needs therapy.

** Also parodied several times throughout the movie, where Vitti repeatedly thinks he's cured after minor epiphanies (some of which don't necessarily apply), and leaves treatment despite his psychologist insisting that there's much more buried beneath. Of course, he ends up still screwed up.

* Averted, then subverted in ''[[The Woodsman]]''. Walter does have an epiphany, but that epiphany seems to be that Epiphany Therapy just doesn't happen, and he will take time to change, but can overcome his demons as long as he doesn't give into them.

 

* Subverted in [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Starship Troopers (novel)|Starship Troopers]]''. They pass off "shaking" (a condition caused when a person is under combat stress for quite a while) as normal, but they often use hypnosis for a quick cure (it appears to be mixed with efficient counselors, too.)

* Played with in the [[X Wing Series]]. Kell Tainer starts out both stiff with terror at the man who killed his father (who, of course, is part of the squadron he joins) and with the nasty tendency to freeze up in panic when outnumbered in combat with teammates relying on him. He gets his epiphanies, finding that one, Janson is a [[Reasonable Authority Figure]] rather than prone to [[You Have Failed Me...]] moments, and two, he'd met the love of his life in the squadron and he knows what would happen if he ran in a fight. They're no longer major issues. Still, he's always going to be uncomfortable around Janson, and he still gets the shakes and anxiety when he goes into missions.

** Seemingly played straight with the team's approach to snapping Myn Donos out of his [[Heroic BSOD]], but he still has severe issues that he only really overcomes after two more books' worth of trauma.

 

* ''[[The Sopranos]]'': Tony frequently experiences epiphanies in therapy, but they never "take". He always reverts back to form, sooner or later.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Vincent and the Doctor", {{spoiler|they take van Gogh to the future to see that his art will be valued in the future, and to hear how highly he's esteemed. He leaves them overjoyed, and Amy insists they immediately go back to see what more he will have painted. When they get there she finds that he still committed suicide.}}

* Parodied on ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]''; when Hal thanks a psychiatrist for curing his sons, the guy starts spluttering that they've turned up many problems that need to be discussed - but they're out the door already.

 

** In another twist of the trope, she had the epiphany all on her own, and acted against her therapists' pleas to continue treatment.

** Basically, Diana has the epiphany but is not cured. She just found the strength to try. We don't know whether it ends up working or not.

*** "The one thing that's sure is that there is no cure, but that doesn't mean we don't fight."

 

* Subverted repeatedly in ''[[Mass Effect]]''; Commander Shepard can encounter quite a number of traumatized and emotionally disturbed individuals, and has the opportunity to talk almost all of them into getting professional therapy... or [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|committing suicide]].

** Shepard him/her self can be played this way, depending on the player. "I did what I had to."

[[Category:Heel Face Index]]

[[Category:Psychology Tropes]]

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