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Characters On The Couch

How a psychologist thinks about your favorite Film & TV characters.

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Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

I’m Dr. Sandra Cohen, a psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Beverly Hills, CA. I work with creatives in therapy, story/character development, and entertainment consulting. If you are a writer, actor, or director and want help with a character – or a chance to do some of your own personal work – call at 310.273.4827 or email me at sandracohenphd@gmail.com to schedule a confidential discussion to explore working together.

Everything Everywhere All At Once Breaking Out of Someone Else's Box

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
ALL AT ONCE
Breaking Out Of Someone Else’s Box

March 13, 2023 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Who chooses what’s “right” for you? In the best of worlds, you do. But, if you’re afraid to trust your own voice, it can be very hard to believe that. Especially when there are people in your life, and other voices inside, who tell you they know the right answers. And, so, in Everything Everywhere …

Read moreEVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
ALL AT ONCE
Breaking Out Of Someone Else’s Box
Nomadland: A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss

NOMADLAND
A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss

March 3, 2023 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Loss can feel like a nowhere land of moving aimlessly from feeling to feeling, from place to place, inside your mind. Loss can make you feel like a lonely nomad. You’ve lost the home you know, with a person that you love. There is sadness, anger, and memories – as you grapple with the challenges …

Read moreNOMADLAND
A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss
The Power of the Dog Why Phil Burbank’s Cruelty is About What He Hates in Himself

THE POWER OF THE DOG
Why Phil Burbank’s Cruelty
Is About What He Hates in Himself

December 7, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Jane Campion’s chilling new film, The Power of the Dog, has much to say about that old adage: what we hate in others is what we can’t accept in ourselves. And, wow, does the character of Phil Burbank spell that axiom out in spades. Sure, he embodies everything there is about toxic masculinity. Yet, what …

Read moreTHE POWER OF THE DOG
Why Phil Burbank’s Cruelty
Is About What He Hates in Himself

CODA
How To Be Entitled to Your Own Life
(Even When Someone Needs You)

September 1, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

CODA, written and directed by Sian Heder, is a beautiful, heartwarming coming-of-age film with a happy ending. Not all difficult stories of trying to have your own life in the face of someone who needs you (read: your parents) end with so much understanding, acceptance, and support. It’s hard to break away and be yourself …

Read moreCODA
How To Be Entitled to Your Own Life
(Even When Someone Needs You)

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Where Trauma Driven Obsession
Takes You & It’s Not Healing

May 8, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Cassie lost her very best friend (and only true soulmate) to suicide. Why? A violent and repeated rape seriously traumatized Nina and she couldn’t go on. And, no one listened. No one saw the rape as rape and no one blamed the rapist. It makes sense, doesn’t it, that Cassie can now think of nothing …

Read morePROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Where Trauma Driven Obsession
Takes You & It’s Not Healing
SOUND OF METAL How Silence Stops A Man From Running

SOUND OF METAL
How Silence Stops A Man From Running

April 26, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Ruben has been on the run for a long time. No one becomes a heroin addict unless there’s something too painful inside for him to stop, for even a moment, to hear (or feel). So, Ruben runs – with drugs, frantic hard metal drumming, and in his desperate love for his singer-girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). …

Read moreSOUND OF METAL
How Silence Stops A Man From Running
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Inspiration

“We come to Film and TV to find our hidden stories. If we look deeply into a character’s psyche, there is much to see about ourselves.”

Recent Posts

Everything Everywhere All At Once Breaking Out of Someone Else's Box
Nomadland: A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss
The Power of the Dog Why Phil Burbank’s Cruelty is About What He Hates in Himself
SOUND OF METAL How Silence Stops A Man From Running

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