History Main / AllTherapistsAreMuggles

* In ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim,'' [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] is sent to the school guidance counselor, Mr. Dwicky, and immediately tells him that he's trying to stop [[VillainProtagonist Zim]] from taking over the Earth. Dwicky appears to believe him... but is actually playing along in the hope of getting Dib to reveal his "real" problem. Dwicky does learn that Dib is telling the truth, [[YankTheDogsChain but winds up leaving the planet with the evidence that Dib gathered]].

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' -- Harley Quinn began as the Joker's therapist at Arkham but of course soon demonstrates the GoMadFromTheRevelation option of this trope and becomes a supervillain herself. Now, she is his right-hand woman (and an occasional guest back at Arkham). The character, created for the animated series, became so popular that she has been [[CanonImmigrant retconned into the comic book universe]].

* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "Pickle Rick"--There's not really any [[TheMasquerade Masquerade]] in this setting, so the family is free to tell their therapist, Dr. Wong, all about the insane nonsense that Rick brings into their lives. (This includes Rick showing up at the end of the session, [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext transformed into a pickle and covered with blood and feces]].) Dr. Wong takes this all [[TheComicallySerious completely stoically]] while giving insightful analysis of everyone's psychology, [[IgnoredAesop which Rick, of course, completely ignores]].

Interestingly, this trope is--at least sometimes--averted in RealLife. The United States Government actually retains a nonzero number of therapists specifically cleared to be "in the know" and treat various spies, soldiers, and other people who operate in--shall we say--special lines of work.

* Defied in ''Film/TheRageCarrie2''. School psychologist Sue Snell, having survived [[Film/{{Carrie}} the first film]], is the first person to realize that Rachel has PsychicPowers, and makes a special effort to try and talk her through her issues. Everybody else only finds out about Rachel's powers [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge much too late]].

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Literature/YoungWizards''. Nita assumes this about the school counselor, and it's true that he isn't a wizard, [[spoiler:but he's in on the secret and even gets the main cast out of school during ''Wizards at War'' so that they're free to prevent [[ApocalypseHow the end of the universe]]]].

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', when Bella's erratic behavior after Edward leaves her borders on clinical depression, Charlie ''tries'' to get Bella to see a therapist. She refuses, claiming that she couldn't tell a therapist about how the Cullens were vampires and that she'd decided that therapy wouldn't work if she wasn't 100% truthful.

** Buffy sees a counselor in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]" who has no idea about vampires and the like, though he turns out to be a pretty good counselor anyway, and figures out what her problem essentially is minus the supernatural elements. [[spoiler:Then he gets killed by the MonsterOfTheWeek.]]

* {{Subverted}} in ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' when she attends a group therapy session for people who have experienced supernatural occurrences.

* The protagonist's therapist in the Creator/StephenKing short story ''The Boogeyman'' [[spoiler:is a horrific {{inver|tedTrope}}sion; he's actually the titular boogeyman who killed the protagonist's children, and it's implied will now kill him as well]].

* Zig-zagged in ''{{VideoGame/Control}}''. On the outside, Jesse saw a therapist to help her deal with the events of her life back in [[DoomedHometown Ordinary]] before the events of the game. Said therapist is either [[Muggle unaware of the sorts of things the FBC deals with]], or [[TheMasquerade intentionally playing dumb to continue observing her.]] The FBC's Research Sector actually has an entire Parapsychology department, whose Astralnaut program is one of the few ways the FBC has to research the Astral Plane directly.

* Averted by the Wiki/SCPFoundation. Not only does the Foundation employ a bunch of therapists who are in on TheMasquerade, but in instances where saving lives involves being NecessarilyEvil, regular counselling sessions are ''mandatory''. However, there might still arise situations where none of the available therapists have a high enough security clearance level to be authorized to listen to your particular problems. They also have a MemoryWipingCrew on hand for especially disturbing duties.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'' Dr Neuman continues to meet Stanley, on multiple occasions, and not only get caught in the messes the Mask creates but actually ends up wearing it in one episode and becomes a insane and psychotic but polite madman who causes enormous chaos believing that there is a disorder called Ipkissa Maskosis, puts anyone he sees in wedgie straitjackets, then teams up with Pretorius because he believes that his plan is the only way to get rid of the disorder Ipkissa Maskosis once and for all, then tries to kill Stanley when he sees him trying to prevent that plan, then gets defeated as Stanley tells him his zipper is open which Masked Dr Neuman looks at it then Milo bites his bottoms which Masked Dr Neuman then tries to kill the dog but accidentally electrifies himself which causes him to explode into fireworks then falls to the ground which causes the mask to go off his face which even though Dr Neuman should wonder how he ended up in a different location consdering he was in his home when he put the mask on, he '''still''' believes that Ipkiss is crazy.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Some schools of thought advise against a therapist working with people who share their circumstances (such as a particular upbringing, trauma, or medical condition). The idea is that the therapist may identify too strongly or allow his or her experiences to color his or her approach (e.g. a therapist who had an abusive father figure that they later reconciled with may be more inclined to advise clients towards reconciliations themselves, assuming all abusive fathers are just like theirs). These schools of thought typically have a huge aversion to the expression "I know how you feel" for this reason. \\
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As an aversion, other therapeutic theories hold that only someone who '''has''' experienced similar circumstances can provide emotionally informed counsel. [[note]] People on the autistic spectrum tend to be somewhat adamant about this, and often cite a credo that's a rallying cry of the disability rights movement: ''Nothing About Us Without Us''. [[/note]] Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous use this as a core principle.
** Modern mental health workers are being trained to have empathy, but also to balance the empathy with boundaries. "Observe, but do not absorb." Mental health workers are trained to know that while being empathetic towards a client is important for therapy, allowing your own personal feelings to affect the process can negatively affect the client. This is why mental health workers often seek counseling and therapy themselves; they recognize the importance of dealing with your own problems, so that you can effectively help others.
* It can also be an issue for people involved in need-to-know national security issues or outright black ops: "this never happened" doesn't leave a lot of room for the people involved to deal with the resulting emotional issues. We can only hope that at least one therapist in our nation has top security clearance.
* According to [[http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/when-god-is-part-of-therapy/ this]] article, American psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers tend to be less religious than Americans in general. This can create friction between secular therapists and religious patients. (Alternatively, a therapist may be extremely religious and the patient is not.)
** Due to recognizing that a client and a mental health worker having contrasting religious views may affect the therapeutic process, modern mental health working are being trained to leave their own views of spirituality/religion outside of the counselling room, and only processing feelings of spirituality if the client brings it up.
* Historically, this was a major problem for gay, lesbian and transsexual people prior to the rise of the gay rights movement, with homosexuality being widely regarded as a mental illness that needed to be cured. Thus, psychologists were regarded as the public authority on homosexuals, not the gays themselves. While the views of individual psychologists ranged from the sympathetic to the downright bizarre, few were actually gay themselves (and in many places a doctor who ''was'' openly gay would no longer have been allowed to practice). A gay person admitting this to their therapist risked medical, legal, and social persecution, so understandably many chose to avoid doctors as much as possible.
** Due to the growing list of studies done on the LGBT community, as well as some LGBT students becoming mental health workers themselves, there is a growing push towards understanding and acceptance of LGBT clients among the mental health community. While there is still much to be done, many mental health workers are learning how to more effectively and sensitively treat patients who are members of the LGBT community.
* Naturally, this is also going to affect non-white clients, who may seek out therapists of their same race or ethnicity as being better able to understand their experiences.
* This is sometimes called the "Martha Mitchell Effect". In the 1970s, a woman named Martha Mitchell talked to her therapist about her husband and his coworkers plotting some sinister, shadowy, illegal stuff, and that they had on one occasion sequestered her in a room and forbade her from calling anyone. Her therapist promptly redirected the sessions back towards her, and why she had such persecutory delusions. Her husband? [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Richard Nixon's]] Attorney-General, who was later [[{{Scandalgate}} sent to prison for his role in the Watergate Scandal]].
* Alcoholics Anonymous's twelve steps are actually based on religious tenets rather than evidence-based medicine (with one step explicitly involving surrendering to a higher power) which can be a problem for non-religious individuals, especially as some courts have been known to make attending AA meetings mandatory despite its religious nature.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh'': As his hallucinations steadily increase and more people end up dead, Curtis starts to visit a therapist, Dr. Harburg, to talk about his many, many issues. However, Harburg is ''not'' in on the conspiracy and thinks that Curtis is just a paranoid schizophrenic, right up until [[spoiler:the Hecatomb melts her to death]]. Averted by her colleague Dr. Marek, who knows for a fact that aliens exist and is in league with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Paul Allen Warner]].

* ''VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh'': As his hallucinations steadily increase and more people end up dead, Curtis starts to visit a therapist, Dr. Harburg, to talk about his many, many issues. However, Harburg is ''not'' in on the conspiracy and thinks that Curtis is just a paranoid schizophrenic, right up until [[spoiler:the Hecatomb melts her to death]]. Averted by her colleague Dr. Marek, who knows for a fact that aliens exist and is in league with Paul Allen Warner.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Series/HemlockGrove''. When Roman tells his uncle Norman (a clinical psychiatrist) the truth about the werewolf terrorizing the town, he asks him if he's going to call for the men in white coats. Norman chooses to believe him, given all the bizarre stuff he's already witnessed.

* In the 2019 ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'' series, after being involved in a plane crash that kills one of her friends, Vampirella starts visiting a therapist to deal with her issues. Naturally, the guy doesn't believe that she's an alien vampire or that other supernatural creatures exist. In addition, the therapist happens to be a black guy, so every time Vampirella makes references to "you people" (humans), he initially [[MistakenForRacist takes it the wrong way]] until she corrects him.

* In book 1 of ''Literature/TheDemonta'', Grubbs ends up in a mental hospital after seeing the demon Lord Loss and his minions slaughtering his family. The staff does the best they can for him, but they take his repeated claims that demons killed his family as him being unable/unwilling to discuss whatever more realistic tragedy he witnessed. After his uncle Dervish finds him, confirms the demons were real, and advises Grubbs to change his story to something similar but believable (specifically that a madman broke into the house and killed everyone), Grubbs is able to respond positively to treatment.