In Treatment

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Based on an Israeli drama, this HBO show thwarts There Are No Therapists and Hollywood Psych (as best it can in a 30 minute time limit per episode, anyway) by showing 4 sessions a week of Paul Weston, therapist, and his clients. Some of Paul's own personal issues come out during the sessions, as well as seeing Paul's family. On the fifth day, Paul sees his own therapist/ex-mentor Gina.

Note: even though you may want to skip watching certain patients every week, you really can't skip any of them in order to make sense of some other episodes (especially the Gina ones).

The show has a bit of Epiphany Therapy to it, given the short timelines, but otherwise seems to try to be as realistic as it can about the therapeutic process. The credits also show they have a professional therapist consultant.

It hasn't been a big moneymaker for HBO (perhaps owing to its slow-pacing/reliance on dialogue) but a third season started in 2010. It cuts things down to three sessions a week and after Paul's confrontation with Gina at the end of Season 2, he's seeing a new therapist, Adele.

Season 1 clients:

  • Laura, who's been in love with Paul for a year while being romantically involved with Andrew. And later with Alex.
  • Alex, an Ace Pilot who has daddy issues, killed a lot of schoolchildren in The War on Terror, wants to leave his wife, and might not be as self-assured as he claims to be.
  • Sophie, a gymnast with parental issues who goes to therapy after getting into an accident that could have killed her.
  • Jake and Amy, a couple having marital difficulties and a debate over whether to have another child.

Season 2 clients:

  • Mia, a once and former patient of Paul's who is bitter about being single and childless.
  • April, a college student with cancer who's not getting treated for it.
  • Oliver, a kid caught in a nasty fight between his parents.
  • Walter, a businessman who can't sleep, but has a lot more problems than just that.

Season 3 clients:

  • Sunil, an Indian math teacher who is having trouble adjusting to living with his son and his family after his wife's death.
  • Frances, an aging actress with memory problems, a sister with breast cancer, and a strained relationship with her daughter.
  • Jesse, a gay teenager who can't connect with his adoptive parents or boyfriends and has trouble opening up.
Tropes used in In Treatment include: