In Mini-Session with Fake Therapists

September 30, 2021

Join Dr. Sam and Dr. Fran this week for a Reel Rounds Mini-Session. They will be ’rounding’ on fake therapy portrayals in two well-known comedies.

The doctors will share brief clips from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Central Intelligence and critique two characters (played by Kathryn Hahn and Dwayne Johnson) as they pretend to be couples therapists. In movies, people pretend to be therapists to trick others. But, would a real therapist try to immediately dive into sensitive topics or swaddle their patients?

Additionally, the doctors review ethical guidelines and laws related to conducting therapy and outline what qualifies someone to be a therapist. To finish up these ’rounds,’ they review some cases of real life therapy pretenders and give listeners some clues to help them detect therapy imitators.

This is a safe space — or is it?

Glossary of Terms

Rounds – a series of professional meetings with hospital patients made by doctors, nurses, and members of the healthcare team

Mental health practitioner – should have a master’s degree or doctorate and be licensed to provide mental health services in that state

Clinical psychologist – someone with a doctorate in clinical psychology (either a PhD or PsyD) and licensed to practice in one or more states

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)/Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) – someone with a master’s degree in counseling and a license to practice in one or more states

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) – someone with a master’s degree in social work and a license to practice in one or more states; often trained to provide case management services

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) –someone with a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy or a related mental health field and a license to practice in one or more states; often specialize in couples and family therapy

References

Today, we “rounded” on two clips of fake therapists. Check out the full clips featuring Kathryn Hahn in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Central Intelligence

We discuss the importance of having a license to practice as a mental health provider and the difference between a therapist and a counselor