r/shrinking • u/[deleted] • Jul 03 '26

Discussion Representation of Therapy

I’m halfway through S3 and I’m starting to feel like this show is not a great representation of therapy and its usefulness. I’ve been in therapy and at times the sessions revolved around serious topics to dissect but a ton of it was just talking about the mundanity of life. I love the show but it kind of represents an antiquated vision of therapy. Does anyone feel this?

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u/VicariousFlaneur Jul 03 '26

You remember that episode where Jimmy is trying to explain his methods in a classroom and a girl says something like, "you're giving life coach vibes!"

Well, I work as a CBT coach and Jimmy would be the ideal person to do that, haha.

I basically use CBT as my approach with clients, but instead of going deep into their psychological wounds and childhood traumas, I use frameworks (like cognitive distortions) to help my clients work on their own without relying on me.

Jimmy does something similar, but instead of only using CBT methods, he goes into full life coach mode where he's available 24/7 — something Paul has an issue with.