3. ARTICLE SUMMARY:
“The Media and Mental Illness: The Good, the Bad, and the
Ridiculous”
• Author Margarita Tartakovsky highlights a psychologist, Ryan Howes, and
psychotherapist Jeffrey Sumber’s take on how therapy is portrayed in the media
• Shows and Film’s That Got It Wrong
• “Fraser,” “Web Thearpy,” and “What About Bob” depict therapists as
neutoric, egotistic
• Shows and Films That Got It Right
• “In Therapy,” “Good Will Hunting,” “The Sopranos,” and a few other dramatic
movie
• Taking the Media With a Grain of Salt
• The author notes that the media’s job is entertainment. (A position also
taken by Gabbard in his article (27) and Orchowski (507) in hers)
4. ORIGINAL PAPER:
“Cinema and the Valuing of Psychotherapy: Implications for
Clinical Practice” by Orchowski et al.
• Though no specific academic paper is mentioned in the media source, there are a
number of papers that corroborate its message about psychotherapy’s
misrepresentation in the media: This is one
• Other examples include:
• “Using Media to Teach How Not to Do Psychotherapy,” specficially
on In Treatment as a teaching tool
• “The Impact of Stigma on Severe Mental Illness” which examines the
impact of the media on people seeking therapy
5. Figure 1. Kelsey Grammer as “Frasier,” is one of
Howes’ examples of a neurotic therapist. [Click
to View.]
Figure 2. In “Anger Management,” therapy seems
chaotic and the therapist distracted [Click to View]
6. WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW?
• Psychotherapy provides treatment or assistance to someone suffering from mental illness
or personal distress
• Roger R. Hock says, “You do not have to be ‘crazy’ to need psychotherapy.”
• Often, there are waitlists to see a psychotherapist
7. DOES THE TOPIC TIE INTO CLASS?
• Four main studies on “psychotherapy” were studied in class. These relate to the
types of therapy and their effectiveness
• Techniques include systematic desensitization and projective therapy
• Specifically, however, Rosenhan’s study deals with the effects of seeking treatment
• Although the study was explicitly concerned with labels regarding
schizophrenia, it also brings up the potential stigma or labels associated with
seeking treatment
8. WHAT IS THE POPULAR MEDIA ASKING US TO ACCEPT?
• That movies and televisions have limitations in portraying therapeutic
practices
• That professionals sometimes take issue with television and movie
portrayals of their profession
• But there are also good examples of therapy
• “In Treatment” comes up as an example which is “overly dramatic,” but
one of the better portrayals
9. WHAT IS THE RESEARCH QUESTION ASKED IN THE
ORIGINAL ARTICLE?
• A meta-analysis was performed on various research articles that studied the
impact of the portrayal of psychotherapy by the media.
WHAT METHODS WERE USED IN THE ORIGINAL
RESEARCH?
• How is psychotherapy portrayed in the media, what are its advantages and
limitations, and how can the media be used to teach clinical psychotherapy?
10. DOES THE ORIGINAL EVIDENCE SUPPORT THE CLAIMS
MADE BY THE MEDIA?
• In “Using Media to Teach How Not to Do Psychotherapy,” the authors comment on the
limitations of “showbiz”
• However, they confirm precisely what Tartakovsky brings up about “In Treatment.”
• Though overly dramatic, it accurately portrays boundary transgressions by therapist
and patient and the authors even suggest using it as a teaching tool
• In the Orchowski paper, the authors echo the media’s claims about portrayals of therapists
as neurotic or “eccentric” (508)
• They also point to the use of stereotypes of therapy as portrayed in such shows as
contributing to the “demedicalization of psychiatry”
• Suggestions that the patient can be cured by love:
• In Treatment fails to illustrate the complexity of patient transferance
• What About Bob where a lonely patient follows his psychiatrist to his lake home and finds
solace by befriending his family
11. WHAT ARE SOME CRITICISMS/LIMITATIONS OF THE
ORIGINAL RESEARCH? STRENGTHS?
• Somewhat subjective use of language: filmmakers in the past have dealt
with “narrow generic conventions” (Orchowski 508), portrayals of therapists
within cinema are “disturbing”
• Infrequent citation of specific films, television shows. Large studies are
referenced by few specific examples excerpted
• Categorizations of different therapeutic “types” somewhat arbitrary
• Therapists in movies described as oracles, societal agents, eccentrics or
other categories
• Large body of research cited, helpful suggestions for clinical practice
12. ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO EXAMINE THE TOPIC
• Develop a qualitative grading scheme for accuracy of media portrayals
based on professional training guidelines
• Survey public opinion on specific aspects of psychotherapy and determine
whether they relate more closely to media portrayals or true experiences in
psychotherapy
• Expose research participants to a media source on therapy or a televised
control, and then comment on their behavior in an actual psychotherapist’s
office
13. REASONABLE CONCLUSIONS…
• Probably not unhealthy to view movies or television shows on
psychotherapy
• Certainly, movies and television shows on psychotherapy should be viewed
critically
• Still, oftentimes movies are deliberately playing against stereotypes of
therapists for dramatic or comedic effect
• Some films that Got It Right…
14. Figure 3. “Good Will Hunting;” Howes’ selection
for an example of accurate psychotherapy [Click
to View.]
15. CONCLUSIONS
The significance of research of media portrayals of therapy
patients is highly relatable to patient willingness to seek
therapy, deal with stigma, and disclose his or her mental
illness. If patients feel that they will be stigmatized or labelled
by seeking treatment, or confining in friends or family
members, this can have potentially adverse effects on their
psychological development.
16. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.) Tartakovsky, Margarita. “The Media and Mental Illness: The Good, the Bad, and the
Ridiculous.” Psych Central, Web. 18 Mar. 2016 <http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-media-and-
mental-illness-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ridiculous/>
2.) Hock, Roger. Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of
Psychological Research. 7th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. Print.
3.) Gabbard, Glen; Horowitz, Mardi. “Using Media to Teach How Not to Do Psychotherapy.”
Academic Psychiatry 34:1 (2010): 27-30
4.) Orchowski, Lindsay M.; Spickard, Brad A.; “Cinema and the Valuing of Psychotherapy:
Implications for Clinical Practice” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 37.5 (2006):
506-514
