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Characters On The Couch

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

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mad men

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
Mad Men Season 7 Finale

MAD MEN Season 7 Finale
Sally & Her Brothers
Children Who Can’t Grieve

May 30, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

We’re all still talking about Mad Men Season 7 Finale. And, yes, I agree – the characters often hit close to home with many of life’s painful realities. Yet, I have to say that the tongue-in-cheek jingle at Mad Men’Season 7 Finale was a bit too disturbing. Leaving Sally (Kiernan Shipka) doing dishes in the …

Read moreMAD MEN Season 7 Finale
Sally & Her Brothers
Children Who Can’t Grieve
Mad Men Season 7 Episode 11 More Losses Will Don Survive?

MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 11
Will More Losses
Mean A Setback for Don?

April 28, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Right when it seems life is moving along for Don in a more optimistic way, Mad Men Season 7 Episode 11 Time and Life comes along. McCann-Erickson plays a manipulative trick, absorbing Sterling Cooper & Partners. The agency’s identity is now gone. Does it take away Don’s as well? Don says to Roger: “What’s in …

Read moreMAD MEN Season 7 Episode 11
Will More Losses
Mean A Setback for Don?
Mad Men Season 7 Episode 8 Don Draper's Dream The Mother He Lost

MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 8
Don Draper’s Dream &
The Mother He Lost

April 7, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Mad Men Season 7, Episode 8, Severance, shows us just how much Don Draper needs therapy. Psychoanalysis would be even better, with his traumatic history, one he’s unconsciously living out. Don’s needed therapy for a long time. But, now, with Meagan gone, this loss repeats earlier losses. And, with Don finally opening up about the …

Read moreMAD MEN Season 7 Episode 8
Don Draper’s Dream &
The Mother He Lost
MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 6 Peggy & I'll Do It My Way

MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 6
Peggy & “I’ll Do It My Way…”

August 2, 2014 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Doing it her way has never been easy for Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss). For subtle but understandable reasons to me as a psychoanalyst, Peggy needs Don and yet hates herself (and him) for it. She’s just not as self-assured as she thinks she should be. Then, again, neither is Don Draper (Jon Hamm). They share this. …

Read moreMAD MEN Season 7 Episode 6
Peggy & “I’ll Do It My Way…”
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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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