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Characters On The Couch

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

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Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs Written As An Artist With a Psychoanalyst's Sensibility

AARON SORKIN’S STEVE JOBS
Written As An Artist
(With A Psychoanalyst’s Sensibility)

October 13, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Steve Jobs, the recently released film, beautifully written and conceived by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by the gifted Danny Boyle, is brilliant and unexpected. A MUST SEE. I saw a screening at the Director’s Guild on Saturday, October 10th. It is without question Best Picture worthy. I can’t give enough accolades to the director and …

Read moreAARON SORKIN’S STEVE JOBS
Written As An Artist
(With A Psychoanalyst’s Sensibility)
UnREAl Like Mother like Daughter? Rachel's Toxic Mother's Trap

UnREAL
Like Mother Like Daughter?
Rachel’s Toxic Mother Trap

October 13, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

I’m not shocked by much – but UnREAL’S Episode 3, Mother, disturbed me. Rachel’s mother is clearly trouble. And, she’s a psychiatrist. Bad combination. I was left thinking about how deeply mothers affect their children. How mothers can make or break a child’s confidence and psychological stability. We don’t have to wander very far to …

Read moreUnREAL
Like Mother Like Daughter?
Rachel’s Toxic Mother Trap
Ashley Judd 7 Ways To Overcome Shame After Sexual Harassment

ASHLEY JUDD
7 Ways To Overcome Shame
After Sexual Harassment

October 8, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Ashley Judd is speaking out. Good, because sexual harassment is damaging. You feel powerless. End up with a lot of unwarranted shame. You even blame yourself. But, when someone has power over you, of one kind or another, it’s hard to say, “No” – to report it, or to stand up for yourself. You might …

Read moreASHLEY JUDD
7 Ways To Overcome Shame
After Sexual Harassment
He Named Me Malala A Father Gives A Daughter Her Voice

HE NAMED ME MALALA
A Father Gives A Daughter
Her Voice

October 6, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Davis Guggenheim’s documentary film, He Named Me Malala, on the life of 18-year-old Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate and activist for the education of girls has opened in theaters to mixed reviews. I haven’t seen it yet, but I will. I’ve been thinking about the part a father plays in whether a daughter loves or hates …

Read moreHE NAMED ME MALALA
A Father Gives A Daughter
Her Voice
Francine Christophe's Chocolate This is How A Baby Lives

FRANCINE CHRISTOPHE’S CHOCOLATE
The Way A Baby Lives

October 4, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

Listen. It is 1941 in Bergen-Belson concentration camp, a non-extermination camp where many prisoners died nonetheless of starvation. Francine Christophe is 8 years old, bearing a large Star of David (Juif) on her chest, imprisoned there with her mother, the barracks head. A strong and reassuring mother, keeping chocolate for the moment her daughter needed it …

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The Way A Baby Lives
The Visit 4 Signs Loss and Guilt are too scary to feel

SHYAMALAN’S THE VISIT
4 Signs Loss And Guilt
Are Too Scary To Feel

September 29, 2015 by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen

M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological horror film, The Visit, has twists and turns and unexpected surprises that I wouldn’t think of revealing. And, of course, this film has one of Shyamalan’s shock endings – it wouldn’t be a Shyamalan film without it. But for me as a psychoanalyst, there’s something else of more interest. What …

Read moreSHYAMALAN’S THE VISIT
4 Signs Loss And Guilt
Are Too Scary To Feel
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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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