In Treatment

"In Treatment" is a great show that for some reason only ran for three seasons. It's a shame because it was well produced, well acted and had good scripts.

Gabriel Byrne stars as psychiatrist Paul Weston, who, during the run of the show, goes through a few changes himself. My first quibble, though I loved the show, is what straight woman or gay man could possibly have Gabriel Byrne as their psychiatrist? One of the main features of psychiatry - explored throughout the series - is that of transference, where a patient believes he or she is in love with the psychiatrist.

Now, if Byrne were truly a psychiatrist, he probably would have had to close his practice with all the patients throwing themselves at him. That's just my opinion. That being said, we saw several instances of transferences throughout "In Treatment."

The patients were fascinating: married couples, a potential teen Olympian (Mia Wasikowska), an angry gay teen (Dane DeHaan), a sexy beauty (Melissa George) who falls for Paul, an old patient who returns, a young woman (Allison Pill) refusing to seek treatment for her cancer, a successful businessman (John Mahoney) with panic attacks, a pilot (Blair Underwood) responsible for the death of children, a successful actress (Debra Winger) whose sister is dying, and others. The most interesting for me was the Indian man (Irrfan Khan) who has been brought from Calcutta after he was widowed to live with his son and his family.

I agree with others, that this was representative of real-life therapy, the high points. Psychiatry is like police work - pretty humdrum, so smartly, the writers did not include the more pedantic parts.

Along the way, Paul faces his own demons and works with two different therapists. One is his old supervisor (Dianne Wiest) and a young woman (Amy Ryan).

Gabriel Byrne is fantastic -- circumspect at times, vulnerable, and completely human.

I really will miss this series, which I viewed on Amazon prime.

I just watched the very first episode and after it was over I just sat there, silent, amazed at what I had just seen. It's dialog and character driven. It's simple and yet complicated. Gabriel Byrne seems to be the perfect choice for the therapist character. He's an actor who says a lot with his face and his eyes. Frankly, I can't wait to see what happens with these people.

Very engaging first episode. It drew me in with just two people sitting in a room talking. There really aren't many things out there that can do that. Definitely give it a chance, especially if you enjoy most things HBO.

I don't know why, but everyone who comments on this show feels a need to outline each of the characters, with a short "bio" and some personal remarks.

What's curious about this is that the show's uniqueness comes from Gabriel Byrne's performance, and the subtle variations in his dealing with each patient. Their problems and dilemmas are somewhat secondary to his attempts to address them, which, ironically, is only possible because the other actors are absolutely brilliant.

All that said, Sophie is fascinating, not only from the character/plot/script standpoint, but from the unbelievable performance by Mia Wasikowska. She was the only one in the show I had never heard of or seen anywhere else, and for this kind of incredible performance to spring out of nowhere, it's clear she's sold her soul to the devil, and truly gotten her money's worth. Looking forward to seeing her in everything else she does.

I think it should be understood, that therapy is not always the cliff-hanger that these episodes are. But, if you made a show that was truly realistic to what occurs in therapy, no one would watch it. So I feel the writers/producers of "In Treatment" made the smart move in focusing on the aspects of therapy (psychoanalysis, to be precise) that are most riveting; these tend to be issues of transference and counter-transference. The Friday supervisions/treatments that Paul receives provide vital clues to keep an eye out for in the subsequent sessions that he has in the following week. In the most recent episode (2-5-08), Paul is seen to be projecting onto Alex his own feelings towards his marriage by telling alex that he's probably known these marital concerns were at a "boiling point" for some time. This is a small example of the attention to detail that the writers/producers have paid to the realities of therapy; and if they did this without a psych consult, all the more credit to them.

Lets not forget that this is a television show. It can't be a perfect portrayal of the reality of the therapeutic environment. Lets ALSO remember that therapists are not perfect people. They can be idiots who foolishly leave medicine in their office bathroom cabinets; they can project their own issues into a session; and they can clog their toilets up, resulting in an argument with a client over boundaries (Laura, week2). Paul is being portrayed as an adept psychoanalyst with issues of self-worth that were probably never thoroughly analyzed during his training. When the narcissistic thrill of being a gifted therapist wears off, everything starts to make its way to the surface.

Kudos to HBO on a well-done series.

This Show is a definite contender for the Emmy awards this year. The writing was superbly well done and even if it always remains in his office it keeps me on the edge of my seat.

Personally its Gabriel Byrne's best job since " The Usual suspects". The characters all have amazing depth in their histories and personalities. My personal Favourite is Sophie, she shows what many true teenagers are feeling everyday but are to afraid to get help. Diane west playing Gina was an excellent choice because of her inviting motherly aspects as well as her coldness.

I personally think it was a brilliant idea even if it was already done in another country. It is the best new HBO show in my opinion and one of the best show's ever produced.

OK all of you who've read the first draft of this article thank you for saying it helped you and now that i've finished the series i can say that i stand behind everything i said before. I honestly cant wait for the next season.