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    • Feb 29, 2012
    • 1 min read

Psychotherapy in movies and fiction and on TV


Here are some of my favorite depictions of psychotherapy in movies and books and on TV:


Film:

"Spellbound," directed by Hitchcock. A strangely wooden representation of classical American psychoanalysis, with with moments of great depth and beauty. My favorite scene is the conversation on the train between Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.


"What About Bob?" Bill Murray can be hilarious just standing perfectly still, and he does much more than that in this film.


Fiction:

"Harriet the Spy," by Louise Fitzhugh. I was captivated by this book thirty-five years ago. Harriet's notebooks made me wish to be a writer, and her sessions with the psychologist -- where she takes notes about him -- planted seeds of a life-long fascination with psychotherapy.


Television:

"A Charlie Brown Christmas." The scene with Lucy in her psychiatry booth is endlessly charming.



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