I wanted to thank you for your essays about In Treatment. I truly enjoyed reading them and found them very interesting. I hope that if HBO renews the series, you will renew your commentary.
Enid
This may be a silly question, but how can one actually 'analyze' Laura, given that she's a fictitious character?
The series' writer might have just as easily decided to depict Laura's parents as millionaires or missionaries to Mozambique; either sexually expressive or repressed or perfectly in the mainstream. In other words, how can one analyze a person who's an arbitrary mixture of traits written at the writer's whim?
We can't with the same degree of attention and detail as with a real person. But we have what is shown us and in reality that is not so different from working with someone in therapy. All the therapist knows is what the patient tells her or him and in that sense the picture is never complete. So we deal with what we have. And the analysis flows from the material we are given, just as with this character.
Thanks for responding, Ms. Fuller.
Do you mind my asking another question, somewhat related? Since a therapist cannot know whether the events that are related to him or her are 100% accurate -- The person being analyzed may have forgotten certain elements or misinterpreted the actions of others. -- Is the goal of therapy to have the patient/client uncover and come to terms with the truth, as best it can be know (even if doing so causes increased anxiety or despair) or is the goal of therapy to reduce the anxiety and despair even at the cost of allowing the patient to delude him-/herself?
Commenting by HaloScan
