No, Your Therapist Shouldn’t Remind you of the Cast of Shrinking

The show Shrinking first aired in 2023, with its third season recently coming to a close. The resurgence of this dramedy has once again led to questions from friends and family like “Is this what your job looks like?” or “Do you do that with your clients?” In short: no. While Shrinking is a heartwarming show about therapists both during and outside of work, it gives a pretty inaccurate portrayal of our field. 

So, for anyone contemplating therapy and basing that decision on the antics of Jimmy, Gaby, and Paul… let’s do a quick FAQ.

Will my therapist share deeply personal things about their life with me?

While every therapist has their own boundaries about how much they share with their clients, you as a client should not know every intimate detail about your therapist’s recent breakup or latest family drama. We want our therapists to bring their personality into sessions but not their personal life. 

Will people just randomly walk into my session?

The best-case scenario is no, they will not. We often see the cast of Shrinking barging into each other's offices while with a client. This should not be happening unless there is an actual emergency. That time is yours.

I have a friend who is a therapist… can they be MY therapist?

Amazing that you have a therapist friend! Not as amazing: if you have a therapist who is also your friend. We want to avoid dual relationships at all costs as it can lead to some really blurry boundaries. We are happy to connect you with a therapist so that friend can stay just a friend. 

In Shrinking, Jimmy’s altered ability to be an ethical therapist is largely impacted by his grief. And listen, therapists are humans who have unexpected life events that can throw us for a loop. Your therapist’s job is to recognize when they no longer have the capacity to maintain their professional and ethical duties. This may mean taking time off and/or referring you to a colleague. This should not entail creating an entirely new modality named after themselves. 

Here at Healing Solutions, we value empowering our therapists to show up as themselves with clients while also upholding all the legal and ethical standards. If Shrinking inspired you to give therapy a try while also deeply confusing you about what therapy entails, call (661) 903-8822 or head over to healingsolutionsftc.org to gain some clarity and support.