How a Psychologist Helps You Understand Trauma Through Film & tV Characters
Welcome to Characters On The Couch, my Film & Television site, where I delve into character psychology. If you’re interested in psychology, film, or a combination of the two, I bring my insights into your favorite contemporary and classic characters. I hope to help you understand their deeper psychological motivations (and, maybe, even your own).
When you think about truly iconic films, do you wonder what gives them such staying power? Is it the time of your life when you watched them? Is it the costumes or images that seemed unforgettable? Did one or more characters align with your struggles or painful experiences? Did you feel along with them? Or maybe, it’s simply that the film pulled at your heart and caused you to explore emotions in a new and profound way?
I say it’s all of the above. And, in the same way, when these meaningful elements are missing, a story becomes forgettable. I hope this site will encourage you to transform your story, personal or in writing, into magic by finding the human thread that links it and you to a universal experience.
Everything in life ties us back to complex emotions and the rhythm and language of feelings and psychology. I'll offer you that language of feeling in my blog as I write about the human struggles in each film.
DYING FOR SEX EPISODE 4 TOPPING IS A SACRED SKILL: Molly Wants Power (& How She Gets Some…)
Dying for Sex Episode 4: Topping is a Sacred Skill reveals one thing you don’t have when you’re sexually abused as a child, and that’s: power. Your abuser has the power. You? You have no control. You’re scared, helpless, and you go away, go dead, shut down your desire, just like Molly did. If you’re…
DYING FOR SEX EPISODE 3: FEELINGS CAN BECOME AMPLIFIED: When Reality Hits Hard & Molly Has No Control
Dying for Sex Episode 3 shows us one major reason feelings can become amplified. It’s when reality hits hard after you’ve been avoiding reality for a very long time because it’s too painful to feel. And, for Molly, all those unwanted feelings are helped along by Dr. P’s new concoction of pharmaceuticals to go “full…
DYING FOR SEX EPISODE 2 MASTURBATION IS IMPORTANT: What Does Molly Want?
Molly said, “No More.” She left Steve in Dying for Sex, Episode 1. That’s the first step. But – it doesn’t answer the question: “What does Molly want?” And, that’s one of the hardest questions for someone scared after sexual abuse and used to shutting down her needs. So, what does Molly want? She doesn’t…
