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Characters On The Couch

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

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Jon Hamm Wins Emmy Early Losses Not To Be Forgotten

EMMY’S 2015
Jon Hamm Wins!
Early Losses Not To Be Forgotten

September 22, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

I’ve been rooting for Jon Hamm. As a Mad Men enthusiast and psychoanalyst, I’ve written a number of pieces on the effects of Don Draper’s early trauma. Not only that, I’ve long admired the way Hamm brings Don’s very real struggles to life. Little did I know that his own early history, in some critical …

Read moreEMMY’S 2015
Jon Hamm Wins!
Early Losses Not To Be Forgotten
An Emmy for Jon Hamm? Yes! For Playing A Traumatized Man

EMMY FOR JON HAMM?
Yes! For Portraying
A Traumatized Man

August 14, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Jon Hamm deserves an Emmy for Don Draper. I agree with Variety’s Debra Birnbaum about that. But, I find it unfortunate that voters would only now consider awarding him that Emmy. As Birnbaum wrote, Jon Hamm likely hasn’t won in the past since “Don Draper … was a cheating husband, a neglectful father, an unapologetic …

Read moreEMMY FOR JON HAMM?
Yes! For Portraying
A Traumatized Man
Donald Trump The Good & The Ugly in his Political Incorrectness

DONALD TRUMP
The Good & The Ugly
In His Political Incorrectness

August 13, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

The Good: We see exactly who he is – since Donald Trump has only contempt for any kind of political correctness. Most of us are politically correct because it reflects what we believe. Yet, political correctness for political correctness’s sake could hide what someone really thinks. The Donald isn’t self-aware enough to hide. He’s also …

Read moreDONALD TRUMP
The Good & The Ugly
In His Political Incorrectness
Orange Is The New Black Stinky Panties Murder & More Women Robbed of Power

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Stinky Panties, Murder & More
Women Robbed Of Power

July 14, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

The women of Litchfield Prison in Orange Is The New Black were robbed of their power long before they got there. Piper, with her courtyard pulpit plea for self-respect in Season 3 of OITNB, is the new inspirational speaker on women’s empowerment. Granted, she’s got a lot to gain monetarily from convincing her fellow inmates …

Read moreORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Stinky Panties, Murder & More
Women Robbed Of Power
Wayward Pines Paranoia Is Reasonable When You're Lied To & Controlled

WAYWARD PINES
If You’re Lied To & Controlled
Paranoia Is Reasonable

July 5, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

No one in Wayward Pines has any independence at all. And, ironically, it happens to be Independence Day. Yet, what do you do with that? Be paranoid? Maybe. Because when you’re being controlled, it makes sense to be paranoid. Especially in Wayward Pines, where you live in a world made up of lies, secrets, and …

Read moreWAYWARD PINES
If You’re Lied To & Controlled
Paranoia Is Reasonable

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Talking To Soso About Depression
Healy Gets It 100% Wrong

July 3, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Never stop a depressed person from talking. Healy gets it 100% wrong in Orange Is The New Black. Never say, “It’s all in your head.” It’s not. Or that no one wants to be around you because of your feelings. There are reasons for every depression. Including Soso’s, in Season 3 of Orange Is The …

Read moreORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Talking To Soso About Depression
Healy Gets It 100% Wrong
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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.”

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