I’m Dr. Sandra Cohen.
Welcome to Characters on the Couch, my Film and TV blog. My professional life informs my writing. I'm a certified psychoanalyst and licensed clinical psychologist. In my 40-plus years of practice, I've developed a specialization in childhood trauma. You can learn more about me here on my professional site: sandracohenphd.com.
Film and TV are the perfect medium for me to discuss many psychological states. In both, we see characters suffering the effects of trauma or difficult family histories, expressing complicated behaviors, suffering losses, and finding love or not. They endure and bring to the screen the kinds of problems and struggles many of us “ordinary” people have.
Everything in life ties us back to complex emotions and the rhythm and language of feelings. On my blog, I bring my insights into the traumas of your favorite characters. I will help you understand what motivates their feelings and behaviors (and, maybe, even your own).
Where It All Started
I began writing about film characters many years ago when I watched the first six episodes of Star Wars over and over with my young kids. I became deeply intrigued by what led Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christianson) to turn to the Dark Side and ultimately become Darth Vader.
Did you ever wonder why Anakin couldn’t resist the seductions of Chancellor Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid)? You can judge him for “making that choice,” but it isn’t so simple. Any more than any of the “bad decisions” you or others make for reasons that seem just plain wrong. No one does it on purpose.
There are unconscious reasons, even if you aren’t aware of them. Since I specialize in childhood trauma, it became clear to me that, for Anakin, turning to the Dark Side was motivated by a desperate need for power over his terror of loss. You see these complex unconscious motivations in many characters. They can help you see your own.
Film & TV Characters Reveal Early Trauma & Loss
Much of what I see and think about in my work is on the screen. Like Anakin Skywalker, you watch characters struggling with difficult pasts. You watch love situations that don’t work. You feel sad for their (and your own) losses and, through them, you understand what you feel.
You watch characters get into trouble because of their traumas. Remember Bradley Cooper’s character, Jackson Maine, in A Star Is Born? It wasn’t Jackson's drinking that caused his downfall and suicide. He drank to numb his fears. The unprocessed loss of his mother at birth made him terrified that Ally (Lady Gaga) would leave him, too.
You watch anger, you “aren’t allowed.” Ms. Sofia in Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma is a good example. She rages, blames others, and becomes abusive as a way to avoid the hurt of her husband’s betrayal. You see her maid, Cleo’s, numbness, a different reaction to hurt and loss. You know their grief, and that can help you come more openly into your own.
Hidden Parts of You in Film & TV Characters
Film and TV characters let you feel feelings you don’t think are allowed. In Yorgos Lanthimos’ film, The Favourite, the vicious rivalry between Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail (Emma Stone) for Queen Anne’s (Olivia Colman) favor makes it pretty clear what happens deep inside when you don’t get what you want. Isn’t it likely they were both deprived of love?
Why do you fall in love with that character in that particular film, but hate with a venom that other character in that other film or TV series, even though you think you “shouldn’t?” Movies help you feel things you’ve pushed to the back of your mind. When you watch a film and are drawn to or repelled by a character, your unconscious mind is at work. Things to discover!
You can’t always grasp what makes you “tick.” So, you gravitate toward certain characters on the screen with fascination, horror, or understanding, trying to discover more about yourself and other people in your life. Characters on the Couch is here to help you see. Stay tuned.
