Therapies are becoming pretty common these days and people feel more comfortable talking about their mental health. When you go to see a therapist, there is a doctor-patient confidentiality which is strictly taken care of. A therapist cannot give his personal views on your situation, they rather have a professional way of dealing with things, but what if they start sharing what they actually feel about your condition?
The plot of the Shrinking TV series is somewhat similar to what’s discussed above. The show is about a therapist and his relations with his patients. Jimmy Laird, the therapist and our lead, breached the ethical barriers of a doctor. Jimmy starts telling his patients what he actually thinks about them and the situation they are in. This practice leads to big changes in their lives and the show revolves around this concept.
Jimmy himself is in a very tough spot and hasn’t been doing well since her wife died a year ago. He is on high medication and copes by drinking heavily at night. His teenage daughter, Alice, is taken care of by his neighbour. We often think that a therapist must be having it easy in life since they know all the emotions so well, but this show has done a great job telling us that before being a doctor with all the professional knowledge, they are just humans, with emotions the same as ours. During the daytime, Jimmy goes to his clinic, all fried and hungover from the last night. At work, he is very annoyed by his regular customer, who is always complaining and yet makes excuses for her abusive husband. Jimmy loses his temper and shouts angrily at his patient why doesn't she f—ing leave that man, to his surprise, this works. After a few incidents, he was warned not to repeat this behaviour and act professionally but he overlooks this advice and continues to suggest to his patients his true thoughts rather than some meddled-up psychological approach.
The show is about two broken people, sharing and healing each other. The patients and the therapist are going through a very tough time, and it is human nature, listening to others' problems makes us feel a little better about our own. Soon Jimmy realises that all this might be helping him and somehow also his patients, but it's against the ethics and rules of medical science. He reconnects with one of his old friends because now he wants to clean up the mess he has made.
Segel made the show with Lawrence and Goldstein, and the show will bring tears of laughter to your eyes. Viewers have found the show similar to Ted Lasso but this show has its own perks. Its first episode premiered on 27th January, and the show is already being showered with so much love. The show is rated 7.8/10 on IMDb and 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, Harrison Ford has proved his comic timing through the series and people have loved the entire piece of work.
