Discussion Main / TheRearEnotHeRapists

Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Needs Help, started by StarValkyrie on Aug 28th 2012 at 8:10:07 AM

How's this for a subversion:

There are therapists, but they're offscreen. Thus any therapy the characters recieve occurs offscreen too. Whether such therapy works or not is up for debate.

Based on the Discussion I'll ask here first if these qualify as examples:

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: Joe sees his parents gunned down, is taken from everything he knows, and ten years later burns for revenge. Meanwhile, Ken is obsessed with his father/the memory thereof, to the point that he leaves the team without permission (this is a sort-of military/official unit, not a vigilante team) to pursue a reported sighting, and the results on the plotline nearly get the world taken over by the bad guy/destroyed. No sign of a therapist. (Not telling Ken his father was alive and on a secret mission could fall under the Starship Troopers book line of 'you can't tell what you don't know'.) The original anime series was in 1972, and it was supposed to be set in the future.

(G-Force:Guardians of Space never mentions any kind of therapist, and the closest Battle of the Planets seems to get is some of Zark's natterings. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Logan's War: Bound by Honor. The boy sees his parents and little sister killed by mob hitmen, and only escapes by hiding in the shadows and the approaching sirens causing the two to leave. He grows up, tailoring his life and training towards getting revenge. Movie released in 1998, set in the present day. (His uncle/guardian doesn't get him into therapy. Particularly ridiculous since Logan was an Army Ranger for a while.)

Danny Phantom cartoon series had one therapist/school counselor that I remember. She turned out to be a ghost that kept up a young appearance by feeding off negative emotions from the teenager. (G-Rated succubus?) Modern day at least.

I rejected Skeleton Warriors. It starts out in a high-tech society and all, but that collapses pretty darn fast once the Big Bad moves, so unless a therapist made it out to the rebels, ain't happening.

It seems to me that one of the major category of justified cases for this trope would be any fantasy or historical fiction set before the advent of psychology. Although it could be argued that, within the limits of mankind's knowledge at the time, many clergy would have fulfilled this role. This would vary from religion to religion and culture to culture of course... -Draco "I really should 'get known' one of these days" Dei

Okay, there are a lot of Aversions listed as Subversions. Someone wanna go through it while I nod off to bed and work and try to get away from my crippling TVT Ropes addiction?

Page is in need of major pruning. It seems people have used it to list every crazy character in existence, followed (or not) by a token explanation as why they couldn't get therapy.

Cut all of the following as completely off topic. The page could use a brush through to consolidate the rambley conversations if I don't get a chance to do it myself.

• Psychiatry and psychology are two very distinct fields, something that may not be understood by people who haven't researched either. Psychology is getting to the root of the problem if it stems from a past experience or can otherwise be solved through analysis and counselling. Psychiatry is finding out if something is physically wrong with your brain, and prescribing medication to suppress the problem. The pitfall with psychiatry is that people will often be handed out anti-depressants like Prozac when they should actually be coming to terms with their sadness (Like when they've lost a relative or close friend). Pills provide a temporary (and rather iffy) solution to emotional problems, but they can work wonders with disorders like epilepsy and schizophrenia.
• An alternative interpretation is that psychiatrists are willing to admit that the brain is a biological organ while psychologists continue to tie themselves to mystical and unverifiable explanations of human behavior. Most of either field do not lie on these extremes, although it is convenient and entertaining to pretend they do.
  • Many modern treatments involve a combination of therapy and medication; patients with severe symptoms may need medication to bring them up to a level where they can learn the cognitive strategies to deal with their issues.
  • It probably helps to clear up the difference by summing up the paths of education: Psychiatrists start out studying medicine and specialize in psychiatry. Psychologists on the other hand study right from the beginning under the department of psychology in general universities. This also means that psychiatrists as licensed medical doctors are the ones with authority to prescribe medication, which plain old psychologists cannot do.
  • Contrary to popular prejudice, psychiatrists are not just pill pushers. There are psychiatrists who do act like that, because there are people who doctor shop until they find someone who will just prescribe and forget. Many psychiatrists work in joint practice with psychologists and social workers.
    • On the oposite side of that token, one must also recognise that by the very nature of the pharmaceutical industry and reimbursement by insurance (on top of the fact that psychiatric meds actually have proven effects), there is very little incentive for prescribers to NOT prescribe a medication. Does that make such medical professionals shills and pushers interested only in monetary gain? Absolutely not. Does it suggest that talk-therapy can't be aided by supplementary medication. Absolutely not. But one should be aware of the nature of the beast. And the beast is large.