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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

Nomadland: A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss

NOMADLAND
A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss

March 30, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Loss can feel like a nowhere land of moving aimlessly from feeling to feeling, place to place, inside your mind. You’ve lost the home you know, with a person that you love. There’s sadness, anger, memories – as you grapple with the challenges of an uprooted life. Chloé Zhao’s Best Picture nominee, Nomadland, takes us …

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A Lonely Nomad in the Land of Loss
MANK: What Makes a Talented Man Drink Himself to Death?

MANK
What Makes a Talented Man Drink Himself to Death?

March 25, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Herman Mankiewicz was a tragic figure – in 1940’s Hollywood and in David Fincher’s film, Mank. Sure, Mank stood up for what was right and against what was wrong at MGM and in the political world of the times. He had his principles, expressed too often in self-destructive ways. He was equally hurtful towards those who loved him. In …

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What Makes a Talented Man Drink Himself to Death?
Lessons From ‘The Mandalorian’: When Childhood Attachments Go Wrong, Is Feeling Nothing, ‘The Way?’

Lessons From ‘The Mandalorian’
Childhood Attachments Go Wrong
Is Feeling Nothing, ‘The Way?’

March 15, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

When attachments go wrong in early life, you have to toughen up. But is feeling nothing “The Way?” If you thought it was, what does it take to break free and allow love? This was the question for Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars and it’s the question for Mando, The Mandalorian, who also lost his beloved parents …

Read moreLessons From ‘The Mandalorian’
Childhood Attachments Go Wrong
Is Feeling Nothing, ‘The Way?’

SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Think Hope Is Dangerous?
Think Again
7 Reasons to Watch This Film

January 20, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Dr. Sandra Cohen, Beverly Hills psychoanalyst, writes about Shawshank Redemption, a film to watch during COVID-19, hope, & holding on to who you are & were.

Read moreSHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Think Hope Is Dangerous?
Think Again
7 Reasons to Watch This Film
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ — This Is How Traumatized Children Survive

‘THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT’
How Traumatized Children Survive

January 12, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

The Queen’s Gambit is a tale of chess and childhood tragedy. This riveting series shows us clearly that when traumatized children try to survive adulthood, they may have questionable ways of coping. But there’s a big difference in how these children survive and the ways that actually help them. It’s important to know that difference. …

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How Traumatized Children Survive
4 Lessons in Love At Any Age From The Kominsky Method

4 Lessons In Love At Any Age
From ‘The Kominsky Method’

January 6, 2021 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Are you having trouble making love work? Can’t seem to go with the flow in your relationships? Well, Chuck Lorre’s two-season Netflix series The Kominsky Method offers some lessons in love that just might help. These love lessons have two basic rules. So, here’s where you begin: 1. be totally present, and 2. pay close …

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From ‘The Kominsky Method’
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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

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