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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.

MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 13
Can Don Go Home And Be A Dad?

Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) at a crossroad in Mad Men Season 7 Episode 13. He seems to be on the run again, but it’s not that simple. He’s searching for something. Trying to put together the pieces of Dick, the boy he left behind – pieces that include his mistakes. Yet, while he’s roaming the Milk…

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GIRLS
OCD#2 Dr. Rice’s Failure
4 Ways Not To Talk About OCD

Have you ever wondered what’s on a psychologist’s “don’t do” list for a session with a patient? Go to Girls, Season 2, Episode 8, “It’s Back”, and re-watch Hannah’s (Lena Dunham) consultation with Dr. Rice (Bob Balaban). I know this is a comedy. But, in this post on Girls OCD #2 Dr. Rice’s Failure I…

Read More about GIRLSOCD#2 Dr. Rice’s Failure4 Ways Not To Talk About OCD

MAD MEN & Don Draper
Don’s Stories
Creating Greener Pastures?

Mad Men Season 7 Episode 12 gives us more to chew on about Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) greatest talent: creating stories that sell. Sometimes his imagination carries him away, for better or worse. Where did this talent come from? No doubt, Don’s imagination saved him from an abusive and damaging childhood. Imagining being somewhere else…

Read More about MAD MEN & Don DraperDon’s StoriesCreating Greener Pastures?