Sophie Session 3, Part 2

[NikonTom28]

Read Freud, Winnicott, Melanie Klein, Lacan, Silvia Bleichmar.

[RachTrinity]

Let us not over analyze my goodness 'doctors'..sometimes a duck is a flipping duck..

[LadyVader33]

I guess you're right. I guess some of my enquiries stem from things such as ethics, how the relationships are handled, etc.

There's a website that offers medical critique of what's depicted in "House", so I was curious to know if there was any such site that critiques episodes of "In Treatment"

[ControlMastery]

The only pertinent issue is whether the comments are instructive and correct. They are correct, although one can legitimately argue about details here and there, and I believe they are instructive, too. Their purpose is simply to help people understand what is going on during episodes of In Treatment so that they could better appreciate the shows.

[lalochino81]

@LadyVader33 well i know about no one, in fact this or other series can help us to analize situations or study, we must be careful, main objetive of "in treatment" or "house" is recreation, even they are based in real situation ARE NOT REAL. Director should obtain that a lot of things happends in one or two chapters, views´ director are reflected on.

[LadyVader33]

I'm rather fascinated with this program.

Are there any websites that feature actual licensed psychologists' responses to various episodes?

[ControlMastery]

Everything that occurs in therapy has a counterpart in everyday life. Therefore, one does not need to be a practitioner to offer expert commentary. Neither is it wisdom to expect that a licensing document would provide a guarantee of expertise.

[Lgilsig]

I also think its interesting that Sophie, who came from a family with loose boundaries, became involved with another family with loose boundaries. She has assembled a cognitive map that leads her to those relationships...

[ControlMastery]

I see Sophie as testing the validity of the concept of reality she learned in her family life by entering into a similar relationship. She did so hoping that Sye would not behave as her father did. By going to bed with her, he confirmed her worst fears about men and herself. It left her with no hope.

[Lgilsig]

An alternative would be that Sophie has learned to navigate a certain type of relationship, and gravitates to where her "expertise" allows her to function. She may have no idea of what an appropriate relationship is. Every experience she has in these relationships reinforces old schemas, either directly or through misinterpretation...

[ControlMastery]

You have accurately described the influences that keep Sophie from breaking through to new forms of relationships. To account for Sophie's presence and activities in therapy, though, one must posit another part of Sophie, a part that sees beyond the boundaries of past experience if ever so slightly. That part motivates Sophie to tread into this new world, at first through unconscious testing. I don't think she tread far enough in therapy to continue in that direction alone. I may be wrong.

[mkaczam]

The concept of taking on oneself "blame" is indeed extremely powerful and difficult to break. Sophie's childhood experiences reinforce her mistaken view that she is at fault where her parents are concerned. I found her father's self-justification of his role in her life hard to accept. Why then is Sophie's fury and obvious pain directed so exclusively at her mother? I've been rewatching the episodes to try and figure this out.

[ControlMastery]

Excellent question. Defense against guilt and shame over her treatment of her mother is part. She needs defenses partly because she needs a role model, which would normally be her mother, who failed in Sophie's eyes. The models were Sophie's models for a time, but they failed, too. Darlene was also a role model, but Sophie showed that even a good marriage could go bad when she seduced Sye. Dispair over having this last avenue of hope stop short at a dead end led Sophie to put herself in danger.