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Characters On The Couch

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

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fear of love

Groundhog Day How To Get Out of A Very Bad Negative Rut

GROUNDHOG DAY @ 27 YEARS: 1993-2020
What Does It Take To Get Out
Of A Very Bad Negative Rut?

September 17, 2020 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Do you feel like poor Phil Connors (Bill Murray) – stuck repeating the same day over and over again? COVID-19 quarantine can do that. It’s been 27 years since Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day hit the theaters for the first time. But 6 months probably feels long enough. If you’ve been ruminating about your love life …

Read moreGROUNDHOG DAY @ 27 YEARS: 1993-2020
What Does It Take To Get Out
Of A Very Bad Negative Rut?
Palm Springs How Loss Gets You Stuck in a Time Loop If You're Afraid To Love Again

PALM SPRINGS
How Loss Gets You Stuck
In A Time Loop
If You’re Afraid To Love Again

July 23, 2020 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

What gets you stuck in a time loop? A freak of quantum physics? The self-quarantine of COVID-19 in which one day seems like the last (or the next)? Or, could it be the cynical self-protective bubble that loss and fear of love creates? Palm Springs, Max Barbakow and Andy Siara’s endearingly creative, intelligent, sensitive, and …

Read morePALM SPRINGS
How Loss Gets You Stuck
In A Time Loop
If You’re Afraid To Love Again
cold war zula's shame wiktor's desperation tragic love

COLD WAR
Zula’s Shame Versus
Wiktor’s Desperation
An Impossible Love

April 10, 2019 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

“I knocked, I cried, she wouldn’t open up.” That is Wiktor’s torment. These lyrics begin Pawel Pawlikowski’s film Cold War and foretell the fate of Wiktor and Zula’s love. A love that never had a chance. Theirs is a war originating in Zula’s history. A history that spawned deep shame and distrust of love. Just …

Read moreCOLD WAR
Zula’s Shame Versus
Wiktor’s Desperation
An Impossible Love
A Star Is Born Infant Trauma Can Ruin A Life

A STAR IS BORN
Repeating Notes of  Infant Trauma
Can Ruin A Life If Not Heard

February 18, 2019 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Hanging himself wasn’t Jackson Maine’s fault. Nor was his drinking. Yes, his brother Bobby said to the heartbroken, Ally: “It was Jack; not you; not me; Jack and no one else.” But, that’s because he didn’t understand. And, really, Jackson had the right idea: “A song is only an octave. Twelve notes and it repeats. …

Read moreA STAR IS BORN
Repeating Notes of  Infant Trauma
Can Ruin A Life If Not Heard
Cabaret How Quickly Freedom Disappears

CABARET
How Quickly Freedom Disappears

September 13, 2018 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

It’s frightening how quickly freedom disappears. We have to watch out for those complicated forces, in the outside world and living inside us, that want to deceive us if we aren’t aware. Cabaret is a powerful and disturbing illustration, plus a startling reminder, of the various ways these dangers lurk. Over Labor Day weekend, I …

Read moreCABARET
How Quickly Freedom Disappears
Steve Jobs What Happens To A Baby When No One Says Hello

STEVE JOBS
What Happens To A Baby
When No One Says Hello?

February 23, 2016 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Steve Jobs is a brilliantly conceived and emotionally revealing film by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director Danny Boyle. According to both, this film is a human story, not a biopic. I agree. As we get to know Jobs through the filmmakers’ eyes and Michael Fassbender’s performance, we learn the heartbreaking roots of Steve Jobs’ controlling …

Read moreSTEVE JOBS
What Happens To A Baby
When No One Says Hello?
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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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