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How a psychologist thinks about your favorite

Film & TV characters.

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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 your that language of feeling in my blog as I write about the human struggles in each film.

UnREAL
Bullying Women &
The Bully In Your Head

October 2015 is Bullying Prevention Month: Defeat The Bully In Your Head Lifetime TV UnREAL’s Rachel Goldberg (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn King (Constance Zimmer) are the quintessential bullies. They use, torment, humiliate, tear down, and pit their reality show’s women contestants against each other for a chance at Everlasting love. Love is the key word here.…

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WRITERS
NEED HELP WITH A CHARACTER?
Get It A Therapist

I’m a therapist and a writer. As a writer, one of the things I do is write this blog called Characters On The Couch where I play therapist to your favorite Film & TV characters. As a writer, I also know that some writing flows more easily than others. Developing psychologically complex characters can be particularly challenging.…

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WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
No Rest For
A Love-Starved Girl

What Happened, Miss Simone, Liz Garbus’ documentary of the brilliant and troubled Nina Simone’s life, ends by diagnosing Miss Simone with bipolar disorder. Does that explain her outrageous behavior? I don’t think so. Those with bipolar disorder are taken over by extremes of moods. But, in my experience, there’s much more to being bipolar than…

Read More about WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?No Rest For A Love-Starved Girl