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10->''"His mom is dead, his dad was missing and presumed dead, he's running around with a military organization... it's not exactly conducive to therapy — and, of course, because it's TV, therapists don't exist."''
11-->-- '''Connor Jessup''' on his character Ben Mason from ''Series/FallingSkies''
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13In most fiction, there are ''no'' official systems in place to protect those who are psychologically vulnerable. Nobody is ever concerned that the kids who watched their parents die might be considering [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], [[FreudianExcuse homicide]], or [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} fighting crime]] [[Series/{{Dexter}} without due process]]. Fiction is full of [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny-Ears Lawyers]] but this will be ignored so long as they're not [[AxCrazy crazy with axes]].
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15This trope isn't saying the solution to every mental problem is to go to a head shrink; merely that there is an extreme amount of GenreBlindness regarding traumatic experiences, probably for the sake of convenience and drama. Remember, FictionIsntFair in regards to characters.
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17Can be a JustifiedTrope, as you can hardly ''expect'' a rag-tag band of rebels in an oppressive dystopia to open up to a potential informant and a historical setting may predate therapy altogether. That being said, protesters in the [[RealLife Occupy movement]] have sometimes provided free systems of healthcare and psychological care. Presumably a therapist [[TheHerosJourney must show some form of solidarity to be trusted]]. This trope could also be justified if the hero is a superhero or supernatural being since confessing to a therapist about their problems could potentially lead to the therapist guessing the superhero’s identity, which is something the hero would obviously be reluctant to reveal, or breaking the {{Masquerade}}. Of course, the solution for this would be to consult another superhero or supernatural who is also a therapist or something close enough to it in their civilian identity (like Marvel’s [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk Dr. Samson]], for example, though he’s more of a Psychologist/Psychiatrist than a Therapist) for the sake of professional courtesy and privacy, but the problem is that super therapists tend to be extremely rare, assuming they exist at all in the universe in question.
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19May be an EnforcedTrope out of a belief that [[DysfunctionJunction fiction's more interesting that way]], because the writers think poorly of psychiatry — or maybe because the characters belong to a culture that places the responsibility for an individual's mental state on [[ParentalAbandonment family]] and [[LonersAreFreaks friends]].
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21SisterTrope of AdultsAreUseless and AllTherapistsAreMuggles. If there's a PsychoPsychologist in the work, then the characters will likely wish this trope were played straight.
22
23!!Related Tropes
24* AllTherapistsAreMuggles: If the characters are involved in the {{masquerade}} and can't confess their trauma over fighting cyborgs or vampires to a therapist without ending up [[BedlamHouse locked up]] and "treated" until they're [[GoAmongMadPeople exponentially more screwed up]].
25* DysfunctionJunction: For stories (or works) where a main plot of the story is that ''all'' the characters in the cast are troubled.
26* MedicateTheMedium: If you learn you have PsychicPowers, the ''last'' person you want to talk to is a therapist, as therapists will lock you up and drug you — either because they don't believe you or they ''do'' and have a standing order to suppress psychic powers.
27* PsychoPsychologist: They're making the situation worse.
28* TheShrink: Complete with Administrivia/{{Internal Subtrope}}s for situations in which characters do go to a therapist but the therapist is unskilled, condemnatory, or otherwise problematic, and those in which this trope is non-existent when the characters go to a good therapist and get the help they need.
29* TherapyIsForTheWeak: If the characters have been offered therapy, but rejected it.
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31In the case of children, there may be overlap with SocialServicesDoesNotExist. Can also overlap with TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes.
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35----
36!!Examples:
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40This trope is very much prevalent in Japanese culture, where mental health issues are heavily condemned and discriminated against.
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42* This [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2018-04-25/.130677 link]] on Anime News Network is a layman's discussion of the trope.
43* Lampshaded in ''Manga/AllRounderMeguru'' as part of a critique of Japanese beliefs in stoicism over therapy.
44* Lampshaded in an episode in the English dub of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. When Ken (who joined after a HeelRealization, having been the most insane villain they'd faced yet — yes, surpassing the MonsterClown) suggests that Wormmon talk to a therapist about his problems, Wormmon asks why ''he'' didn't talk to someone before [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential becoming the Digimon Emperor]]? It becomes FridgeBrilliance when one takes ValuesDissonance into consideration; traditional Japanese culture tends to not mesh well with therapy.
45* Many HumongousMecha series feature characters who clearly have flagrant psychological issues that are inexplicably overlooked so long as they are good pilots, which naturally never lasts for long. ''Franchise/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' uses it as a jumping-off point for its own story about depression and abuse. In this case, the therapists don't exist because nobody who would create an organisation like NERV is either (a) particularly concerned with the well-being of their employees, or (b) particularly sane themselves (the fact that the actions of people who worked for NERV or its predecessor organizations -- most notably Gendo, its commanding officer -- are the ''cause'' of many of the pilot's problems in the first place doesn't help). {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' when [[OnlySaneMan Kaji]] comments "Those kids are our last hope, who knows what they're going through?"
46* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'': Subverted with Dr. Bianchi, whose job is to keep the cyborg girls functioning and advise their handlers how to handle them, but not to help the girls re-enter society.
47* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'':
48** Played with in the original series. Kayaba did not create any sort of therapists for his death game, but the AI he programmed to design most of the world realized the players would need ''something'', and so created a secondary program to fulfill that purpose. But Kayaba didn't want anything interfering with his players, so he quarantined the therapist program off where it could observe the players but not interact with them in any way. It eventually managed to escape and took the form of a young girl named Yui, then got herself adopted by Asuna and Kirito. She still occasionally demonstrates her therapist abilities, such as easily pushing someone she just met towards confessing her feelings for someone and quickly identifying various deep-seated issues.
49** Subverted with Shino, who did ''try'' to get therapy after her childhood trauma. The problem is that said childhood trauma involved disarming a shooter at a bank to protect her mother, and then shooting him in the ensuing struggle for the weapon. Japan's existing problems with therapy were compounded by the country's DoesntLikeGuns culture; Shino didn't get any help from the professionals, and eventually turned to exposure therapy with GGO on a friend's recommendation.
50** ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'': Karen could probably use a therapist due to her body image issues, but the big one is Pito. She is a DeathSeeker who is ''upset'' that she missed getting trapped in the SAO death game, and is obsessed with having real consequences for the games she plays. For a while, she was mostly fine since she had found a masochist to exercise her sadism on but eventually she relapsed and decided she'd kill herself if she died in the game. Karen even lampshades that if Goshi thinks she's going to kill herself he should go to the police or a therapist, but he brushes it off.
51* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', [[RobotGirl Hermit]] was used, betrayed, and abused horribly by a man who had presented himself as a kindly old scientist who wanted to help a planet full of androids, only to reveal himself as a MadScientist with a genocidal hatred against humanoid machines. While the scientist and his cronies are eventually arrested, by that time Hermit herself is an emotionally broken shell of her former self, and instead of offering any sort of support or therapy to help her get through it, the officers on the scene simply declare that she's too far gone and that the most merciful thing is to simply let her go off on her own to find a place to die. This being a Hiro Mashima work, it takes ThePowerOfFriendship from the protagonists before she starts to recover.
52* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
53** On the one hand, it's specifically mentioned that counseling is standard for any children of roughly middle school age. On the other hand, their quality varies, and it seems that after a certain point visiting them is optional.
54** Izuku Midoriya grew up Quirkless, had a FriendlessBackground, was mercilessly bullied by [[ItsAllAboutMe Bakugou]] for ten years (and continued to do so upon entering UA), was told to ''kill himself'' if he was desperate for a Quirk, yet desperately wants to be a hero to prove his worth to the world. It gets worse when he inherits One For All as his new power results in his limbs becoming broken to the point of paralysis. His DarkAndTroubledPast has led to him developing low self-esteem, intense anxiety, and self-destructive tendencies. And not once has he ever stepped foot in a therapist's office.
55** Katsuki Bakugo's powerful Quirk gave him a huge superiority complex that the adults in his life did nothing to fix. He at least is a mild example; just spending time at UA, surrounded by people nearly as powerful as him, gives him important lessons in humility.
56** Shoto Todoroki's mother scarred him with boiling water in a MomentOfWeakness over her abusive husband. While ''she'' got sent to a mental institution that is doing great things for her, Shoto and his siblings were left alone. It's hard to tell who needed therapy more: His siblings for being the unsuccessful results of a SuperBreedingProgram that were cast aside by the patriarch or Shoto himself for being a successful result and underwent TrainingFromHell since he was a child. Regardless, none of them got anything. Even worse, one of his siblings [[spoiler: became a major villain]].
57** Tomura Shigaraki is a PsychopathicManchild, and the teachers quickly identify him as someone who never even got the basic counseling every child is expected to have. Of course, in his case, it's justified because [[spoiler:he was "rescued" as a child by [[BigBad All For One]] and raised in isolation to brainwash him to All For One's purposes]].
58** Himiko Toga is a result of the "varied quality" of counselors. Her Quirk gave her an obsession with blood, and rather than finding some way to control or manage it, the counselor and her parents told her it was disgusting and to hide it at all costs. Eventually, the stress of suppressing such a key part of herself caused Himiko to snap, and she went on a murder spree. If she had access to an even slightly competent psychologist as a child, she likely would have grown up entirely differently.
59** A lot of the adult Pro Heroes have their own set of issues but have yet to seek therapeutic support. The main examples would be [[BigGood All Might]] who's dedicated more than thirty years as being Japan's Number One Hero. This has led to Toshinori working non-stop maintaining the peace which has destroyed his internal organs due to various villain attacks, stifled any close relationships, and he now suffers from Imposter Syndrome as everyone and everything is tied to his hero duty. There's also Aizawa Shouta who was traumatized after [[spoiler:witnessing the brutal death of his high school friend Oboro Shirakumo]] which led to him becoming a sadistic SinkOrSwimMentor who's willing to put his own students through literal hell, or even expulsion, just so they won't suffer the same trauma he did.
60** [[InformedAttribute Supposedly]], UA has Hound Dog who serves as the school's guidance counselor. Lamentably, none of the protagonists go to him for counseling, and all of his screentime is spent acting like a literal security dog while scaring everyone with his unintelligible speech.
61* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' heavily implies that Sousuke has severe PTSD at the root of his more troubling behavior, which is eventually confirmed in "A Voice From the North Pole." Unfortunately, his legal guardian is a disillusioned FormerRegimePersonnel who's used to watching {{Shell Shocked Veteran}}s get worse treatment after getting diagnosed and fail miserably at reintegration, so while Kalinin immediately recognizes Sousuke's case for what it is, he's at a loss for what to actually do for him. [[spoiler:Which is partly why he betrays Mithril and aligns with Leonard--he wants to save Sousuke and GiveHimANormalLife, [[NecessarilyEvil even if he has to kill him first]].]]
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64[[folder:Comic Books]]
65* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': It is utter nonsense that no one, not even his closest loved ones, has recommended (or forced) [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Peter Parker/Spider-Man]] to go to a psychologist to finally end his obsessive-compulsive need for self-sabotage.
66* As a general rule of thumb, if a therapist is in a superhero comic, they'll either be a hero's SecretIdentity, a PsychoPsychologist, or a bit character shown trying (and failing) to rehabilitate a villain. The heroes themselves are almost never shown getting psychiatric help despite the vast majority having some serious emotional baggage.
67* Parodied in ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' v2 #2, where [[Characters/MarvelComicsMattMurdock Daredevil]] murdered [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]] and went insane with guilt. While he's running around, he bumps into [[NinetiesAntiHero the Punisher]]. When he sees just how broken Daredevil's become, Castle actually recommends a psychiatrist and offers to take him there personally.
68* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead''; so far, no member of the group past or present has been a therapist. For all we know, there might not be any therapists left. Lampshaded by Sergeant Ford in issue 61.
69* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' we see a gang member interviewing individuals begging for admittance to their shelter in the hopes of protection, shelter, and sustenance. One of the people being interviewed is a therapist, who finally sums up his profession thusly, "I help people who don't like each other get along." The gang member's eyes light up and he grins happily, "Oh yeah! We need that!"
70* Despite the apparent lack of them in the movieverse, Dr. Aphra of the ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader'' series is mentioned to have seen one as a child who diagnosed her with psychological problems as a result of her estranged relationship with her father and the trauma of the Clone Wars. Didn't really seem to do her much good considering the company she keeps.
71* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', therapists probably ''do'' exist to help the kids deal with the fact that their parents were evil and one of their friends betrayed them, but the team avoids them due to their distrust of authority figures. This comes back to bite them in the ass in the last arc, as the team's long-simmering psychological issues all boil over and create a chain reaction that breaks them apart.
72* Marvel generally tends to avert this thanks to Doc Samson, a psychologist who also happens to be a superhero (specifically, a gamma mutate, this having Hulk-like capabilities, born out of his desire to help people).
73* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'':
74** MJ is explicitly suffering from PTSD after [[spoiler:Green Goblin throws her off a bridge]]. Peter even thinks that she should seek counselling, but worries that she [[AllTherapistsAreMuggles wouldn't be able to talk about it without giving away his identity]]. Peter himself could probably use one as well.
75** Harry Osborn is seen in therapy in "Return of the Goblin" after previously having seen his dad burn his mom to death after becoming the Green Goblin. Unfortunately for Harry, the therapist is brainwashing him to believe his dad loves him, [[spoiler:and to plant post-hypnotic suggestions that eventually make Harry turn himself into the Hobgoblin]].
76** ZigZaggingTrope in an annual, when Peter suffers a minor breakdown and tries to join one of the existing teams. After being turned away by the ComicBook/FantasticFour, Johnny catches up and tells Peter that they're all in therapy themselves.
77* The 2018 DC Comics crossover arc ''ComicBook/HeroesInCrisis'' [[CrisisCrossover double-subverts this so hard it's not even funny]]. The first subversion is that this arc retcons that the superhero community created a safe location, called "Sanctuary", explicitly to defy this trope. [[spoiler:The double subversion is that ''someone'' entered Sanctuary, massacred all of the superheroes that were ''in'' Sanctuary at that moment, and stole information on all other superheroes, which includes their secret identities, recordings they did where they confessed all of their darkest secrets, and extensive psychological profiles. If the arc doesn't end with them going back to believing that TherapyIsForTheWeak, it'll be a miracle.]]
78** [[spoiler:It gets subverted even harder due to the fact that the so-called "Therapist" was a computer program containing the so-called best qualities of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, who apparently thought [[IdiotBall that was enough to counsel multiple heroes and villains instead of finding doctors and therapists with actual qualifications]]. Even worse, Sanctuary's methods included keeping its patients isolated from one another and using virtual reality chambers to relive their respective traumatic moments. Lagoon Boy re-experiences the Titans East massacre ''over 300 times'' in what is clearly an attempt at self-harm until he basically grows numb, but the computer makes no effort to stop doing this despite the effect it's having on him. It eventually reaches a point where Sanctuary's abusive ineptness is ''exactly what caused all the deaths'' when weeks of isolation and degradation made Wally West suffer a nervous breakdown that accidentally unleashed a burst of energy killing everyone around him. By the end of the series, no point is made about any of this and the Trinity keep Sanctuary running exactly as it did before, never once acknowledging the damage it caused.]]
79** [[spoiler:As of July 2021, the deaths at Sanctuary were retconned as a surge from the Speed Force which had nothing to do with Wally or any sort of mental breakdown. However, while the deaths are retconned thanks to the Speed Force, nothing is done about the fact that Wally ''did'' have a legitimate breakdown ''and'' the Sanctuary computer did mentally abuse and belittle all of the patients.]]
80* After the events of ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'', Speedball of the New Warriors becomes heavily traumatized, even taking the new identity of Penance. He winds up in the ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'', where it's only after a screaming breakdown that Norman Osborn ''very'' reluctantly calls in an actual therapist (technically, they already have a psychologist on staff, but… uh, she's not the sort of person who'd be any help. Ever). Len Samson manages to help Robbie recover some of his sanity simply by getting him to watch rugby.
81[[/folder]]
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83[[folder:Comic Strips]]
84* Jason of ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' once took out three months of his teacher's therapy scrawling a needlessly long extrapolation of a formula on a blackboard and Andy mentions having gone to a therapist a few times, probably because of dealing with her family.
85* ''ComicStrip/ScaryGary'': Downplayed. The main cast is in need of some serious therapy, and there ''are'' therapists around who could help them… with the key word being "could", as them being various monsters (and a decapitated living head in a jar) tends to scare people away.
86* In one series of strips from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', Sally struggles with fear of starting school, which is mentioned as a serious problem [[https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/08/30 requiring "professional help"]], but the solution is not to take her to an actual professional, but Lucy's five-cent psychiatry booth. Lucy herself has even been known to [[https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1972/07/23 play both sides of a therapy session]] rather than seek actual therapy.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Fan Works]]
90* Played with in the Italian remake of ''Fanfic/BattleFantasiaProject'': on one hand, there's an implied lack of therapists outside Earth ([[WesternAnimation/WinxClub the planet Magix]] had exactly ''one'': [[ManipulativeBitch Darcy]]. Sure, she was professional enough to make sure she couldn't abuse of it, but still…), and for a number of reasons the {{Magical Girl}}s tend to avoid them; on the other, as soon as [[TheUnmasquedWorld the fall of the Veil]] makes it possible [[ComicBook/{{WITCH}} the Oracle]] instructs the Guardians of Kandrakar to bring Ari's autistic son to Earth for therapy, neatly solving the mess of ''W.I.T.C.H.''[='=]s third story arc before it can start.
91* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
92** Subverted with Harry Dresden, among others, having been referred to Charles Xavier to deal with various issues. The RunningGag is that he's pretty much the ''only'' therapist (well, not the only, but certainly the best who's clued into the supernatural world). He also trained Harry Potter's main therapist in the sequel, [[ComicBook/NewMutants Dani Moonstar]].
93** Later on, in ''Ghosts of the Past'' a new therapist shows up, and he's likely even better than Xavier, given he has over two thousand years of experience in it, and offers multiple characters a session to work things out. Who is it? Why, [[spoiler:it's UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}]].
94* ''Fanfic/ConsequencesOfUnoriginality'' subverts this. Therapists do exist and Emeris is in desperate need of professional help. However the Mane Six are worried about the very real possibility of a therapist sabotaging his recovery out of spite, so they’re forced to try to handle the issue themselves while leaving professional therapy as a backup plan.
95* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Discussed. When Shinji and Asuka arrive on Avalon, they meet Ching, who is actually a trained therapist. But she won't act as one unless one of them asks her to, and so she told them.
96* ''Fanfic/TheDesertStorm'': Played both ways. Obi-wan Kenobi was never able to get enough time off to see the Jedi Temple's "Soul Healers" (a Jedi Medicorps branch specialising in mental health issues) during the Clone Wars because he was deemed too valuable to be off active duty for long enough, contributing to the ''spectacularly'' poor state of health he's in before he [[PeggySue finds himself back before the Separatists were even a rumour]]. When "Ben Naasade" shows up at the Temple and talks his way into an audience with the Council it's obvious to everyone that he's been through the wringer, but the full extent of his issues doesn't come to light until a combination of bad luck, bad timing, and bad decisions cause several of his {{Trauma Button}}s to be punched simultaneously. After nearly killing a fellow Jedi during the resulting PTSD flashback, Ben is placed on mandatory medical leave and assigned a Soul Healer, kicking off a very long but cathartic MentalHealthRecoveryArc.
97* ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'': Averting this trope is the ''very first thing'' Misato sets out to do after [[PeggySue returning to the past]], ready to browbeat Commander Ikari into agreeing to it if necessary. [[spoiler:He agrees without putting up even token resistance, much to her surprise, because what Shinji thinks of as [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong "Operation Not Fuck Everything Up This Time"]] ultimately benefits him as well.]]
98* Lampshaded in ''Fanfic/DumbledoresArmyAndTheYearOfDarkness'', the students of Hogwarts survived a year of genocidal torture and war, and all they have at the end are each other for comfort. The only thing the wizarding world at large tossed them is a bunch of nosy reporters. Everyone ended up learning to deal with his or her PTSD themselves. Some retreated into domesticity, some became lawmen, one became a [[spoiler:vigilante serial killer]], another [[spoiler:became a drug addict]], and everyone had nightmares.
99* ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheHokagesHat'' has a subversion. While Tsunade helps Naruto deal with his issues, she only tries to help when Naruto ''allows'' her to considering how stubborn he is. She does, however, lament that it would've been nice to have a Yamanaka along to help but since two of them were involved in brainwashing Naruto, the clan is on her shitlist at the moment.
100* ''Fanfic/FateRevelationOnline'':
101** As in ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' canon, Yui was created by the general AI to act as a therapist for the players. Here, Kayaba still won't let her interfere with the players, but he puts her to a different use: Acting as a {{psychopomp}} for the "dead" players and putting them to work testing new game features. Unfortunately, the contrast between Yui's programming to help players and her task to put them to work no matter the cost to their psyches is causing errors to accumulate. She is ''also'' aware that she is one of the few programs tagged as deletion-acceptable and deletion-enabled, meaning that if she doesn't do her job [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she will be deleted and replaced]].
102--->Sometimes, while in Turing-Capable Mode, Yui wanted to downgrade to a lower activity state. She didn't want to think and feel with human emotions. More and more she wanted that layer of her to sleep, to hibernate, to not activate and feel. Diagnostics indicated that the percentage of time was trending up during each activation. Yui knew she should reboot and repair. But each time while in Turing-Capable Mode she also issued the directive to not reset. She chose to remember the pain each time. It was a logical contradiction but it made perfect sense when she was capable of emotion.
103** The living players, being far more organized than in canon, have therapists of their own. Diabel has one of his subordinates keeping an eye on their guild for signs of stress, and the Church Aid Society is a Rear Liner guild that provides all the services of real-world churches, included confessional and therapy. Of course, their power to solve problems is severely limited, especially in regards to powerful Front Liner players who insist on staying where they can be most useful. As long as they aren't an active threat to themselves or others (including if their combat performance suffers and they threaten to get people killed), Diabel tries to take a hands-off approach.
104--->The [Church Aid Society]. A specialist guild that would be completely unnecessary in a regular game. They were associated with the [Aincrad Liberation Force] and were an operationally similar guild, an organization for looking after Retired Players.\
105The story of their founding went like this.\
106Once, there was a [Player] had decided to commit suicide. Whether it was throwing themselves off the floating castle or getting in a fight with a mob that was too difficult for them wasn't clear. The story didn't say.\
107That person was saved by the Sixth Ranger.\
108After dragging them back and handing them over to the [Aincrad Liberation Force] for supervision, a woman named Yulier realized that there was a need to look after these kinds of people.\
109Not just suicidal Players, but anyone that lost people to the [Death Game]. Even if it was just having guild members there to talk to people that went to visit the [Memorial Stone] on the first floor, that was the kind of aid they offered.
110* This is played straight later in the ''Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX'' series, with the latter half taking place in the aftermath of nuclear war, in which case there was no way to deal with a then mentally ill Ran and very mentally ill Reimu, especially so in the latter case since finding a therapist would mean sending her to a BedlamHouse, which are feared for due reason. This is subverted earlier in the series with Yukari, in which they aided in her recovery.
111* ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'': Since neither of the pilots had any therapy in spite of their blatant psychological traumas and the pressure and distress associated with being ChildSoldiers, Kaoru's plan to [[spoiler:avert Third Impact]] was becoming his teacher and giving them therapy and counseling surreptitiously.
112* ''Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops'': Zigzagged; because the baseline worlds are often unclear on the status of therapy, it can change significantly from loop to loop. In ''Fanfic/TheMLPLoops'', Rarity at one point has Blueblood committed to an asylum to make sure he won't interfere with her wedding--but she had to check to see if asylums existed this time first. In another loop, Twilight decides to defeat Nightmare Moon by giving her a much-needed therapy session.
113* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'': The trope is played with, depending on the story and the protagonist. For Chloe Cerise and Goh, for example, their problems are exacerbated by the parents not even noticing (or actively ''caring'') to see what is wrong with them or too busy with work to consider therapy. Professor Cerise was actually advised to take his daughter to a therapist...and refused, deciding it would be better if she was stuck in the Cerise Institute where her problems festered and ultimately led her onto the train and the destruction left in her wake. Whoops.
114* ''Fanfic/IsItStrongerToBreak'': Subverted. There are therapists in Paris, but the whole "supervillain who mind controls anyone who feels negative emotions" makes going to therapy within the city limits extremely risky. Justified in Marinette and Adrien’s cases, as a normal therapist simply isn’t equipped to handle their issues and seeing one would require them to reveal their identities. Tim suggests the possibility of Ladybug and Chat Noir seeing one of the Justice League’s therapists.
115* Lampshaded in the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfiction [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5669669/1/Joke-s-on-You Jokes On You]]. The whole thing is kicked off when Naruto decides to become, of all people, '''''[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]''''', with the rest of Konoha driven insane by just trying to handle him. The narration points out that the ''lack'' of ninja psychiatrists in general use is both a big oversight and the root cause of all the trouble.
116* ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'':
117** Subverted. [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Quirk]] Counsellors are a major part of a child's development in this world, and keeping a growing child in a good headspace about such a fundamental part of themselves is very SeriousBusiness. Thus, it really puts Principal Nedzu on the [[BerserkButton warpath]] when he learns that Izuku's grade school had deemed his Quirk so worthless that he was treated as Quirkless and given ''no'' counselling.
118** Revealed to have been played with Katsuki's own childhood Quirk Counseling later on. As it turns out, even though he ''did'' get his own counseling, AdultsAreUseless had been in play. Not only has Katsuki been left believing that his Quirk — and by extension, himself — was made for violence, their failure with Izuku has left Katsuki skeptical of counselors in general.
119* In ''Fanfic/TheKakashiWay'', it's revealed that shinobi are ''supposed'' to get mandatory mind-healing sessions whenever they experience missions that have gone horribly wrong or other traumatic events. Unfortunately, Danzo ensured that Sasuke didn't receive any such sessions after the Uchiha Massacre, discreetly canceling them without Hiruzen's knowledge. Kakashi also refuses to attend therapy because he believes he doesn't ''deserve'' comfort.
120* ''Fanfic/MastermindRiseOfAnarchy'' averts this, as it is revealed [[spoiler:Tokoyami Fumikage]] was required to attend therapy after the training camp attack which had occurred back in [[Fanfic/MastermindStrategistForHire the previous fic]]. Additionally, Aizawa had extended his visits after Hawks had [[FaceHeelTurn defected to the League of Villains]], ostensibly to help with the betrayal.
121** This is played straight with [[spoiler:Uraraka]], however, given she doesn't receive any therapy after [[spoiler:having a knife held to her throat by Mastermind]].
122* In ''Fanfic/AMothersTouch'', Yuya is clearly depressed and Yoko even tells Reiji in a later chapter that she's afraid that he could've been suicidal over how Maiami City treated him. It's implied that Yoko couldn't afford therapy for her son because Yusho's disappearance means she has to juggle multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. Thankfully, her chewing out Reiji for his apathy has her gain plenty of money to avoid a potential lawsuit, and Yuya takes online therapy to deal with his daddy issues.
123* ''Fanfic/OfPatienceAndPettiness'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]; there ''is'' a counselor at Dupont who talks to the victims of akuma attacks. However, Marinette notes that they're horribly overworked, and wants to help establish a better system.
124* By the time ''Fanfic/PowderedGoldAndPottery'' begins, [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Shouto]] has been seeing a therapist for several years to cope with the way Endeavor raised him. He also has a service dog, Hiro. ZigZaggingTrope in that not all adults and authority figures have been entirely supportive; at one of his previous schools, students harassed Hiro, and Shouto was blamed for 'distracting' them, forcing him to leave Hiro behind. When Nedzu and Aizawa prove to be more supportive, Shouto is honestly surprised.
125* Justified and deconstructed in ''Fanfic/RaphaelsBigMistake''. Taylor can't exactly tell a therapist that she was kidnapped by a giant mutant turtle, but this means she keeps bottling up her fear and trauma until she eventually snaps.
126* ''Fanfic/ReCoded'': Unlike his canon counterpart, Yusaku didn't get any help for his trauma because they were hiding from the Knights of Hanoi. Like Yusaku, Takeru became a Hikikomori and has a lot of issues when Yusaku and Ryoken visited him in his hometown. They both learn how to cope with the trauma and live normally again after the Lost Incident with the help of friends and newfound family. The only one who did get into therapy is Jin, who was catatonic until [[spoiler:Lightning recruited him]].
127* ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheMinisukas'':
128** When Shinji is showing signs of mental unbalance, Misato considers one of the Nerv's therapists...except that she does not know if they have therapists, and Ritsuko does not see a need to hire shrinks. Later, Rei explains Nerv's previous therapist was arrested for malpractice.
129--->"Then whom should I inquire about to understand myself?"\
130"A therapist?"\
131"NERV has lacked a therapist ever since the previous head therapist was arrested for illegally prescribing Methylphenidate to college students in Tokyo-2 who lacked requirements to be prescribed said drugs." Huh, that explains a lot actually.
132** General Taihou from the JSSDF thinks he can counteract Nerv's mentally unstable teenagers by hiring his own trio of seriously disturbed teen pilots... until Mana gleefully asks if her next mission will involve murdering someone. It turns out that she passed her psych evaluation because they do not have a base psychologist, and Taihou decides he needs to hire one to "decrazy" his pilots.
133* ''Fanfic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness'': Both Kokoa and OriginalCharacter Arial have ''[[HairTriggerTemper very]]'' [[HairTriggerTemper severe anger issues]], to the point that they've nearly killed other people during {{Unstoppable Rage}}s, Felucia even lampshades it in the case of the former, telling Kokoa point-blank she needs professional help.
134* Discussed in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/717477 Second Chances]]'' when Loki returns to Earth to warn them of Thanos' coming. The various Avengers are all appalled that Asgard as a whole views therapy as something only the weak need and each of them suggests Loki see a therapist; that each of them either has seen one before or is currently seeing one helps convince Loki they have a point.
135* Subverted in ''Series/Supergirl2015'' story ''Fanfic/{{Survivors}}''. [[Characters/SupergirlTheCharacter Kara]] goes to a therapist to help with her self-esteem, anger, and recklessness issues but it doesn't seem to be working.
136* ''Fanfic/SymposiumOfSupremacy'': Carly Nagia's blog points out that Reira, a girl with PTSD, was never given a therapist despite being adopted by the Akabas. She lampshades how all the money couldn't be shelled out for some therapy.
137* In ''Fanfic/TangledAdventuresInArendelle'', well, this is set in a period where therapy and psychology wouldn't be as developed. In fact, Eugene notes that Elsa has "many demons" from her past that she's still struggling with after the movie. However, the main cast does the best they can with what they can do, acting as friends and makeshift therapists to each other in order to help with their many problems.
138* ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'': Jasmine, Sammy, and Cameron have some serious issues; the girls because of Sammy being bullied by her sister for years, and Jasmine feeling impotent to help her; and Cameron because of his many years of social isolation. Instead of getting professional help, the girls are helped by Heather while Cody acts as a BigBrotherMentor to Cameron; fortunately, [[TheChessMaster Heather]] and [[NiceGuy Cody's]] personalities and life's experience make them very good at this, effectively helping the girls and Cameron with their problems.
139* Subverted in ''Fanfic/{{Unfinished Business|Kitsunealyc}}'' where after receiving therapy as Shen Yuan, Shen Qingqiu makes sure that his disciples would receive the closest equivalent in a [[SpiritCultivationGenre Xianxia]] world.
140* ''Fanfic/TheVigilanteBossAndHisFailedRetirementPlan'':
141** Izuku suffers from [=PTSD=] from all the bullying he faced growing up due to [[FantasticAbleism the systematic discrimination against Quirkless]] and [[TheBully Bakugou's]] [[BullyBrutality treatment of him.]] And the fic started with him having suicidal ideation considering he tried faking a suicide attempt to scare Bakugou.[[ThePowerOfFriendship His friends]] manage to help him deal with his inferiority complex and problems with accepting people and does become valued for his skills. But despite working with several teachers and going to a better school, no one has to see a therapist.
142** Sakura suffered from depression over her mother's death and still recovering from being a {{Hikikomori}}. Again no therapy.
143** By only using half his Quirk, Shoto is publicly self-mutilating himself to the point of risking his own health. Izuku tries to intervene and finally gets him to snap out of it during the Sports Festival final. Again, no therapist.
144** Once transferred to a more strict school, Bakugou's teachers recommend anger management therapy only to fall on deaf ears. The teachers at Yuuei finally [[DefiedTrope defy this trope]] by assigning mandatory anger management, mandatory counseling, and remedial rescue training to Bakugou if the latter doesn't want to be expelled.
145* Lampshaded in an author's note for the ''Anime/MyHime'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4004316/1/Windows-of-the-Soul Windows of the Soul]]'':
146-->''Sometimes I wonder whether it would be easier if I just had Shizuru see a psychologist. The problem being, how does she say "I have a huge guilt complex over killing scores of people with my summoned demon named after the legendary Kiyohime" without being put in an asylum? Perhaps the First District has specialized psychologists. Oh, wait. She blew them up. That's what she's guilty about.''
147* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' fanfics sometimes have [[ManipulativeBastard Darcy]] as the only decent one on Magix. In ''Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops'', she boasts of being the best of the Magical Dimension... Before admitting that she's also the only one who knows what she's doing and that she's only decent when compared to Earth therapists.
148* Lampshaded in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' after the botched telepathic training exercise. The Team is given the chance to talk with Black Canary, but Paul[[spoiler:phidian]] points out that she doesn't have any relevant qualifications beyond being an adult.[[note]]Not so in canon; Word of Greg Weisman confirmed that Black Canary is a trained therapist as well as a florist.[[/note]]
149-->'''Black Canary''': The League felt that it might help if the team had someone to talk-.\
150'''Paul[[spoiler:phidian]]''': Counselling? From you? Guy Gardner is trained as a counsellor with several years' experience working in criminal rehabilitation. You're a florist!
151* Discussed in ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/YourServantMistress''. It takes place in a real-life setting, so the main character can get treatment for her PTSD ... or could if she was able to trust someone with her problems. Diaval mentions having seen a therapist in the past.
152* Averted in ''Blog/SwearySheRa''. Mystacor is re-imagined as a therapy center, and Castaspella is a therapist. However, Castaspella notes that therapy isn't a magical fix-everything button and that dealing with Adora's ''many'' issues won't be easy, fast, or perfect.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
156%%* ''Film/CloudAtlas'': Frobisher has the bad luck of being manic-depressive in 1931.
157* In ''Film/TheInitiation'', Frances and Dwight forbade Kelly from receiving any form of psychiatric or psychological help after her trauma. When Peter starts analysing Kelly, Frances demands that she stop seeing him, but Kelly stands up for herself and refuses. It is eventually revealed that Frances and Dwight had reasons for never wanting Kelly to recover her lost memories.
158* ''Film/IronMan3'': Tony Stark is unambiguously suffering from PTSD after nearly dying during ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', and J.A.R.V.I.S. flat out tells him that he is having a panic attack. TheStinger shows that he ''is'' seeing a doctor about it... [[NotThatKindOfDoctor Bruce Banner]]. And beyond that, the scene is decidedly PlayedForLaughs, and there is no indication in the film or any subsequent MCU films that Tony ever seeks out professional help from a qualified source. The only character who gives him any kind of advice whatsoever is Harley (who is a child), who tells him to "build something" to help him focus. While this could be an effective short-term solution to helping someone through a panic attack, it does essentially ''nothing'' to address the underlying causes of his PTSD. However, the movie treats it as a moment of EpiphanyTherapy, as Tony doesn't have trouble through the rest of the film, [[UnfortunateImplications the implication being he is completely cured]]. [[FridgeHorror Actually]], if Tony is suffering from undiagnosed PTSD, this puts a lot of what happens in [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron later]] [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar films]] into a quite different context...
159* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulKnife2023'': Winnie likely could have handled losing Cara, nearly being murdered and having to kill a SerialKiller better if she'd gotten to see a therapist. However, this possibility is never brought up, and her family tried to act like nothing happened. The whole plot might have been avoided if they'd been different.
160* ''Film/Joker2019'': [[DoubleSubversion Double-subverted]]. Arthur is seeking out mental help, but he only has access to a social worker who can periodically sign him off on medication, and with [[BeleagueredBureaucrat how visibly overworked she is]], she doesn't end up being very helpful. At the start of the third act, she informs Arthur that due to budget cuts, she's being fired and he'll be unable to get ''any'' treatment -- psychological or medical. On their last meeting, [[DiscussedTrope she openly confides to Arthur how upset she is that she can't be of help]], and how [[InherentInTheSystem both of them were screwed over because the powers that be failed them]].
161* ''{{Film/MFA}}'': Well, technically there is, but the college counselor has steered women who come to her who have been raped against filing complaints, thus her true concern isn't their mental health but making it seem like there are no campus rapes. Noelle quickly stops seeing her, realizing this.
162* ''Film/TheRageCarrie2'': Subverted. Sue Snell is one of the main characters and also a survivor of Carrie's rampage in the original, who works as a school counselor. She attempts to stop Rachel from doing the same thing Carrie did. [[spoiler:She doesn't survive the sequel, though.]]
163* In the second half of ''Film/ShredderOrpheus'', Linus is increasingly frustrated with Orpheus's depression and moodiness after losing Eurydice and tries to force the issue to no avail before realizing he needs help. The closest thing to a therapist the Grey Zone offers is a traveling oracle, and Orpheus agrees to see her in the hopes of finding a way back to Eurydice.
164* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', galactic medical science is pretty advanced — when it comes to limbs being severed. But the vast majority of the plot is driven by characters with glaring psychological problems who seem to have no formal support mechanisms whatsoever.
165** The closest that the old Jedi Order had to a therapist was Yoda. [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith When Anakin went to him for help]], Yoda had trouble because Anakin was lying about the nature of his problems; in the end, all Yoda could do was counsel him to become TheSpock and not allow his emotions to get to him. Contrast in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' when Ahsoka (Anakin's apprentice) had a problem and went to Yoda for help, but since she told him the truth, they were able to work through the issue in a more reasonable manner.
166** Apparently in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe, being a Jedi master is considered synonymous with being a good counselor. It's indicated in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' that Leia and Han knew Ben was having mental problems, which was actually one of the main reasons Leia wanted him to train with Luke since she thought doing so would help him. In her defense, the Jedi are supposed to be spiritually sound philosopher warriors whose teachings are all about zen and balance and often involve meditation and self-contemplation, all things that can be good for a disturbed mind. Unfortunately, Luke is ''not'' a good therapist, and in fact accidentally makes things worse -- after which, [[Film/TheLastJedi Luke could have used a good therapist himself!]]
167* ''Film/TheyThem2022'': Played with. The setting is a gay conversion therapy camp, where there is a therapist, Cora, but there might as well be none. Cora is hinted to even take sadistic pleasure in tearing down the queer kids at the camp, she goes through their belongings when they're out to find ways to tear them down, and [[spoiler:cooperates with the "forbidden fruit" practice where they place a mole among the campers to see which ones get seduced and subsequently subjected to shock therapy]].
168* ''Film/TheWhale'': None of the characters receive any sort of therapy or counseling for their issues. Ellie in particular is never mentioned as having been sent to a mental hospital for her bad habits, such as smoking and abusing drugs.
169* Subverted in ''Film/TheWorldOfHenryOrient''; when Marian first hears her new best friend Valerie leaves school early every day to see a psychiatrist, she thinks it's this shocking thing, especially when her mother and her mother's best friend Boothy act shocked when they hear the news. However, it turns out the only reason they were shocked is because of how young Valerie is (13 or so), and both of them each saw a psychiatrist briefly after their respective divorces.
170* ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': You'd think that Hank would try to get a therapist to help Charles with his depression and substance abuse, yet it doesn't happen. It could be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] that Xavier wants to avoid mental health professionals because it's suggested that he was treated like a schizophrenic patient as a child, and considering how a few psychiatric practices of the 1940s are viewed as unethical today, Charles has no desire to risk a repeat of his past experience.
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Literature]]
174* Defied by Jin and Meiling in ''Literature/BewareOfChicken''. Although there's no actual profession of therapy in [[SpiritCultivationGenre magical pseudo-ancient China]], Jin as an [[TrappedInAnotherWorld Isekai protagonist]] from [[GivingRadioToTheRomans 21st century Canada]] understands the value of talking out your mental issues and seeking advice; and Meiling is simply a practical person with wisdom beyond her years. Most people in the setting believe that [[TherapyIsForTheWeak you face the heavens alone]]; they deliberately encourage their friends and disciples to open up to them and as a result, their whole social group has much better mental health than average.
175* The entire ''Literature/DollangangerSeries'' could have been avoided if the family had had some competent therapy. Interestingly enough, in ''Literature/IfThereBeThorns'', Cathy and Chris try to fix their son Bart's problems by taking him to a child psychologist. The first one actually has a few useful insights--for example, how Bart hates ''himself'' and thus finds it hard to believe his family genuinely loves him either. But Bart doesn't like that psychologist, and so they then take him to a second psychologist, and this one doesn't seem to yield much.
176* Defied in ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries'', as both Szelma and Eryk mention going on therapy sessions to deal with their respective problems.
177* Grimly subverted in ''Gallows Hill'' by Creator/LoisDuncan. DomesticAbuse victim Mrs. Lamb is seeing a church counselor to cope with the situation, but her husband refuses to join her because ''he's'' a counselor himself and, [[SarcasmMode due to his expertise in the matter,]] believes that it's NeverMyFault. The protagonist is understandably unwilling to see him for counseling when her own problems arise.
178* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': The districts don't largely seem to have therapists, leaving the traumatized victors to relive their nightmares yearly as they're forced to participate in the games (though it's implied that Katniss' mother was able to somehow gain access to one in order to get hold of drugs to treat her depression). {{Exploited|Trope}} by the Capitol to make them broken beyond repair and thus unable to fight back. Subverted in [[spoiler:District 13]]: all refugees are given psychological help and local specialists do everything they can to get [[spoiler:Peeta]] back to his old self after a MindRape. Before [[spoiler:the final attack on the Capitol]], soldiers are checked for possible psychological problems. ([[spoiler:Johanna]] gets sent to a mental facility). Katniss also goes through therapy after [[spoiler:her sister’s death]].
179* Ward of ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' has been ObfuscatingStupidity, and therefore is to be sent to an institution for insane nobles, a very nice and comfy place, from which, allegedly, many recovered patients returned to society. [[spoiler:When he ''is'' brought there, it is with the intent to ''make'' him go crazy and stay that way. And he's not the only one getting that treatment.]]
180* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, [[TheEmpath Mindhealers]] are a thing, but they're consistently incompetent at seeing that Herald Trainees - teenagers with newly-awakening PsychicPowers who often come from a DarkAndTroubledPast and are being trained to serve as agents of the Crown - get so much as five minutes of therapy. When dealing with Talia, they fail to give her therapy ''or'' psychic training, and her Gift goes out of control - a situation which the Dean later says "will go in the Records for sheer wrongheadedness."
181* ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'': Played painfully straight. The Laundry clearly shows concern towards the mental health of its employees, but the attitude of upper management is that alcohol and talking it out with one's peers is a better way of handling things than actual treatment. Some noise is made about the need for secrecy, but seeing as the Laundry has managed to hoover up people who have seen [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow things man was not meant to know]] from nearly every walk of life, it seems strange that no psychiatrist ever came in contact with a survivor of an EldritchAbomination attack. When Pete TheVicar joins up, it is ostensibly to do comparative theology, but his solid grounding in disaster psychology and experience dealing with people in various stages of distress leads to his becoming the Laundry's unofficial therapist, and his results are treated as an earth-shattering revelation by the higher-ups.
182* There are no therapists in Middle-Earth of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Therapists ''do'' exist in the setting, but to get access to them you need to sail with the Elves beyond the circles of the world into the Undying Lands where the gods live, and so everybody who even briefly carried the One Ring over the course of the saga eventually joins the elves in sailing west to get the help needed to overcome the trauma of having carried the Ring. Mortals with non-ring-related trauma, such as Denethor's anguish at losing his son and stress over the war, go wholly unaddressed.
183** Tolkien wrote the Legendarium during a time where the mentally ill were sent away to not really be seen or heard from, so it's likely that he had no real frame of reference on how to address subjects like post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues. For his part though, as a veteran of World War 1, he did understand the concept of shellshock and how people who have fought in massive, terrible battles will still have trouble explaining how they feel to others.
184* Subverted in ''Literature/MySweetAudrina''; after she was raped, [[spoiler:Audrina]] ''was'' taken to a psychiatrist, but the person apparently thought the best way to treat a traumatized child rape victim was through electric shock therapy and her father couldn't bear to put her through that. A bit of therapy could have also helped [[spoiler:Vera]] and prevented the whole novel from happening in the first place.
185* Rob in ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'' explicitly notes that Elatra doesn't have therapists. He even checks if there’s a Utility Class of that name – no dice.
186* ''Literature/TheRedVixenAdventures'': On Foxen Prime anyways, foxens are supposedly more mentally stable on average than humans so they have very little experience helping those who do develop mental illnesses, House Darktail has to import a psychologist from Earth to help Sallivera with the trauma inflicted by her abusive ex-husband.
187* ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': In this world, a wizard who's mentally unstable does his damnedest to ''hide'' it instead of seeking help, because anyone ''else'' would suspect that the instability was a result of necromancy.
188* Dr. Lense in the ''Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers'' series has a serious case of PTSD from the Dominion War but specifically chose assignment to the ''[=DaVinci=]'' because the ship's complement is too small to have a counselor aboard. When Captain Gold finds out her performance as CMO is slipping, he tells her she can work out her issues with him as a sounding board or he'll have her downchecked for duty and booted off the ship pending a full psych workup.
189* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': There really are no therapists on Roshar, at least during the era the series takes place in; things might have been better in the days of the [[TheTimeOfMyths Silver Kingdoms]]. Standard psychiatric care is little more than "put the patient in a dark room with no stimulus so that they don't get worse." In ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'', Kaladin more or less ''invents'' the concept of therapy from first principles... and then refuses to attend the meetings himself.
190* ''Literature/SweetValleyHigh'': You would think that everything the twins and various other characters have gone through (trials for manslaughter, abductions, attempts on their lives, being stalked by identical impersonators) would qualify them for months and months of therapy. Nope, doesn't happen.
191** Big brother Steve also clearly needs one. Anyone so hung up on the memories of a long-dead girlfriend that he can't bring himself to enter a new relationship is in need of help.
192** This is played with Jessica's friend Lila. Following her near date rape, she goes to therapy at Project Youth (at first just going to get her dad to stop worrying about her), but becomes attached to the therapist there and accuses ''him'' of assaulting her when the fight breaks out at the Jungle Prom.
193** Played straight in ''The Sweet Life'', as Jessica and Todd (and Lila and Ken) are having marital problems but they don't see a therapist.
194** For that matter, neither do the Wakefield parents during their marital problems.
195** Other characters too-—Emily Mayer's family could certainly have used some counseling, Bruce could have, etc.
196* Played with in every way in Bujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. The main character is from Barrayar, a feudal militaristic culture where one is expected to go through hell and get over it without complaints and ''definitely'' without therapy, but his mother is from Beta Colony, a high-tech hyper-sophisticated and modern world where all is well-regulated and therapy is the normal response to any trauma or psychological issue. The trope is inverted in the first book for both worlds: Cordelia's awesome Betan therapists refuse to believe she is actually sane and wasn't brainwashed into falling in love with the enemy and she ends up having to run away, while it's revealed that Barrayaran therapy of the kind [[spoiler:Bothari]] went through is possibly [[MindRape worse]] [[LaserGuidedAmnesia than]] the original trauma. In later books, the trope is played straight (and lampshaded by Cordelia repeatedly), especially where Barrayar is concerned.
197* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
198** Even with a staff of four full-time counselors and assistance from ARC's therapists and Fubar, the school is all too aware that it still isn't enough, given the unique nature of some of the problems, especially for cases where their powers directly cause behavioral changes (as is often the case for Avatars, due to the passenger that shares their head). In addition, you have trauma cases like Pejuta, kids who have been [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer rejected by their friends]] and [[ParentalAbandonment families]], kids who have been attacked by other mutants or hunted by [[FantasticRacism Humanity First!]] and/or the [[GovernmentConspiracy Mutant Commission Office]], kids who were subject to abuse due to their mutation, kids who were victims of [[ParentalNeglect more mundane,]] [[ParentalAbuse but no less tragic]], forms of mistreatment (such as [[CuteButPsycho Jade]] or [[HeroicBSOD Circuit Breaker]]), and even cases of psychic, astral, or magical assaults (such as what [[spoiler:[[MindRape Skybolt and Cavalier]]]] experienced). Just keeping them all going is a monumental undertaking.
199** The trope more fully plays out in the stories of those who ''didn't'' make it to Whateley, such as [[ThenLetMeBeEvil Imp]], [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder Lady Havoc]], [[BullyingADragon Conner Edwards]], or [[DeathEqualsRedemption Christine Manning]], for whom there were few if any attempts to help, and those which did come, were too little, too late.
200* Defied in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'':
201** The Protectorate has therapists on staff, and at one point Weld specifically requests therapy for the Brockton Bay Wards after the 8 Extermination arc, in which [[spoiler:Aegis and Gallant died during Leviathan's attack]]. Taylor notes that having a proper support structure (including easy access to therapy) is one of the big advantages heroes have over villains.
202*** That said, having access to therapists and actually making heroes go the therapy are still different things. When making the above request, Weld calls out his superiors for ''not'' proactively providing the teenage heroes with mental health support in the first place, considering what their lives are like. Plus it's mentioned that the PRT rotates therapists in order to prevent capes from being manipulated or taken advantage of, something that prevents building a trusting relationship, undermining the entire process.
203** Villains tend to both be unlikely to seek out therapists, and equally unlikely to find one willing to work with them. Presumably more wealthy villains like Coil could provide such services, but unsurprisingly most aren't interested in being a BenevolentBoss. The fact that powers almost exclusively come via TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening means that almost anyone with powers has some sort of extreme trauma in their past, and is specifically noted as one of the reasons that the word has so many more villains than heroes. This is without even getting into the sort of things capes deal with ''after'' getting their powers as well.
204** Then in the SequelSeries, ''Literature/{{Ward}}'', the main cast are introduced by their shared therapist as part of a group therapy session.
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
208!!!'''In General:'''
209* Some police procedural and military-themed series try to avert this trope with special episodes focused on the main characters being forced to attend mandatory counseling sessions to determine whether they are fit for duty.
210** ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' has the unique distinction of being both a standard procedural and an arc-based SciFi PostCyberpunk CrimeDrama series at the same time. When Reese goes to therapy in Season 4 [[spoiler:as part of his police detective cover identity]], his therapist is unable to properly treat his ChronicHeroSyndrome because of the secrets he has no choice but to harbor. Also of note was the first therapist ever shown in the series; [[spoiler:he isn't a therapist at all but is instead a psychopathic hacker in a cover identity.]]
211
212!!!'''Series:'''
213* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
214** Despite suffering from brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, and what seems to be a total breakdown following all the trauma he experienced during and after Season 1, Fitz appears to be receiving ''zero'' help other than having his physical ailments kept from worsening. The fact that he's clearly experiencing vivid hallucinations, having increasingly violent mood swings, and generally withdrawing into isolation and madness is viewed with helpless sadness by the rest of the team, who can apparently do nothing other than watch him wander around the base in his own little world of SanitySlippage.
215** While he does make a miraculous recovery by the end of Season 2, the lack of treatment for Fitz's underlying mental health issues does actually come back in Season 5. With reality warping around the Lighthouse thanks to a dimensional rift manifesting people's fears, Fitz begins hallucinating again but mistakes his visions for literal fragments of the other world, leading to him doing some arguably quite terrible things in the belief that his villainous [[MadDoctor "Doctor"]] alter ego from Season 4 has manifested as [[EnemyWithout a separate person running around outside of his control]], and not (as turns out to be the case) himself acting out the questionable impulses of [[EnemyWithin a secondary personality]].
216* In the ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode [[Recap/BlackMirrorBeyondTheSea "Beyond the Sea",]] astronaut David Ross is on a six-year mission when [[ItMakesSenseInContext he is forced to watch his wife and children get massacred]] by a gang of HorrorHippies. Despite his severe trauma, Ground Control's only advice is for his fellow astronaut Cliff to leave him alone.
217* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
218** In the episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]", Buffy was sent to see a school counsellor who gave her good advice... only for him to wind up dead, just like the last encouraging teacher she had. Buffy goes through ''a lot'' of shit that would mess anyone up for life; killing demons for a living, her entire relationship with Angel (which was at best unhealthily codependent, and at worst dived right into StalkingIsLove territory) which led to a lot of issues with Riley, her mother's illness, dying and coming back to life, her mutually abusive relationship with Spike... Yet she never got any counselling or therapy. The only reasonable excuse is that no one would believe her and would think she's crazy (and considering she actually got put away briefly by her parents at one point in the backstory for trying to come clean...) but they didn't even ''try'' to find a therapist who knew about the demon world or may have even been half demon themselves. Giles was employed by a whole organization of people who could've easily found someone to help, but given that a Slayer has a short life expectancy, the Watchers Council likely doesn't bother.
219** Buffy and Faith actually are mentioned as seeing a Watchers Council psychiatrist in [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E16Doppelgangland "Doppelgangland"]] right after Faith accidentally killed a human being on patrol, but it's entirely offscreen, this person never surfaces again, and they were apparently both given a clean bill of mental health very quickly (which in Faith's case was a mistake) after filling in all the right answer bubbles on a huge set of printed tests, making it questionable if he was any good at his job or just thought that spreadsheets were the answer to everything.
220** Not just Buffy. The entire Scooby Gang needed therapy at one stage or another. Not only is there all the supernaturally enhanced drama they go through as they transition into adulthood, but Buffy's parents are divorced, Xander's are [[AbusiveParents abusive]], and Willow's are [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]]. The entirety of season six could've been avoided if they'd actually sought out counselling. In Buffy's case, it's particularly odd that her mom Joyce, who's otherwise a good parent (or at least the best parent the Scoobies have access to) didn't arrange for her to receive counseling after she and Hank divorced, and after Buffy infamously ''burned down the gym'' (to destroy vampires) at her previous high school; instead, Joyce just listens to tapes about how to relate to troubled teens.
221** When [[spoiler:Joyce dies of an aneurysm]] in Season 5, Buffy's younger sister Dawn, who's still in high school, doesn't receive any counseling either. The only time she's called to see a guidance counselor is in one episode of Season 6, and the counselor is a vengeance demon in disguise who's there to manipulate Dawn into making a vengeance wish against her parental figures.
222** They try to avert this again in season seven when Buffy becomes a school guidance counsellor. But considering everything she's been through without getting any help and not exactly dealing with any of it in a responsible manner (e.g. having rough sex with Spike and beating him up in the previous season), it really doesn't work. She's simply not qualified, both professionally and mentally. The school principal was savvy enough to minimize the number of students who visited her; the job was really just a cover for keeping the local Slayer on retainer. Also this season, in [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E7ConversationsWithDeadPeople "Conversations with Dead People"]], Buffy finally got a cathartic therapy session... in a graveyard, from a newly-risen vampire who used to be a psych major, right before staking him.
223** Finally in Season 10 (in [[ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the comics]]), Xander starts seeing a therapist who helps him immensely in letting go of his anger issues, SurvivorGuilt, and the effects of his AbusiveParents. Of course, by that point it's become TheUnmasquedWorld thanks to the events of Season 8, so he doesn't have to omit anything in their sessions.
224* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Cliff does try getting therapy for his obnoxious tendencies, but the doctor quickly starts abusing him because of his insufferability.
225* Subverted in ''Series/CobraKai'' when Miguel takes note of Tory's increasingly aggressive behavior and mental instability, and urges her to seek help before she crosses a line and gets herself in serious legal trouble. [[HairTriggerTemper She does]] ''[[HairTriggerTemper not]]'' [[HairTriggerTemper take it well]].
226* Valence from ''Series/DansUneGalaxiePresDeChezVous'' is there to avert the trope as the crew's psychologist, the crew just sees her [[FauxHorrific therapies as worse than their trouble]].
227* Played every which way on ''Series/{{ER}}'':
228** Subverted in one episode in which Luka Kovac appears to be talking to a therapist before it's revealed that she's a prostitute
229** But otherwise played straight with other characters and patients--Hathaway tries to get boyfriend Shep to see a psychiatrist to deal with his PTSD, but he outright refuses to go, or even admit he has a problem. Hathaway, as a result, breaks up with him. And numerous other characters never mention seeing one despite the considerable upheaval in their lives and how badly they're dealing with it.
230** Often, the ER doctors will try to get patients who obviously need psychiatric help admitted to the psychiatric department (or psych, as they call it) only for these patients to be turned away for various reasons. These patients inevitably either come back, having harmed themselves or others, or turn up dead. Most notably, in the episode Be Still My Heart, [[spoiler:Lucy and Carter call for a psych consult on a schizophrenic patient but are kept waiting long enough for the patient to have a psychotic break and stab both Lucy and Carter, ultimately killing the former and permanently damaging the latter both physically and psychologically—and while he sees one while in rehab, there's never any mention of him continuing to do so]].
231* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Yara Greyjoy truly loves her brother Theon, but when when they're in Volantis in Season 6 and he still has PTSD from his years of mental and physical torture by Ramsay Bolton, she tells him that if he doesn't want to live he should just kill himself, or he should keep going — though she does apologize for being a little insensitive. This might seem kind of blunt to us, but in the behind-the-scenes videos, the showrunners directly explained that "Yara isn't a trained psychotherapist", most people in Westeros don't really know about PTSD, and the Ironborn in particular are more blunt than others, so they felt that it would be untrue to her background if she weren't kind of blunt in this scene.
232* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': While there aren't any therapists because no one in paradise is supposed to need one, there is [[TheOmniscient Janet]].
233-->'''Janet:''' Well, my job is to make your experience here in the afterlife more enjoyable, so I will try to help you. I am going to need some time to read every book ever written about human psychotherapy. ''[half-second pause]'' And now I've done that, so let's begin. Have a seat. ''[chimes]''\
234''[a chair and a couch have appeared, as well as a table between them with a plant and a box of tissues upon it; Tahani and Janet sit]''\
235'''Janet:''' ''[wearing glasses and holding a note pad]'' Hi. I'm your therapist, Janet.
236* ''Series/ElInternadoLasCumbres'': For a BoardingSchool specializing in "problem students", the staff-to-student ratio at Las Cumbres is very low. There doesn't seem to be any counselors or anybody qualified to deal with addiction or mental health issues, beyond the school doctor who issues prescriptions. [[spoiler: And he is collaborating with Darío Mendoza in testing potent drugs on the students.]]
237* ''Series/LostInSpace2018'': The show plays with this trope in a couple of ways.
238** Judy, the oldest child, suffers a traumatic event early on that leaves her with severe PTSD for two episodes. While psychotherapy is not among the talents of the Robinson family, her father, John, who is a military veteran, offers her emotional support. However, she rejects it, partly out of resentment towards him and partly out of a fear of looking weak. Instead, she gets over her trauma by saving herself from yet another dangerous situation, not something generally recognized as a treatment in the professional field.
239** Dr. Smith poses as a psychologist as part of her cover story; she offers counseling sessions as a means of worming her way into the other characters' confidence and learning their secrets. Worse, at one point she uses this scheme to intentionally manipulate a character into violent behavior by exacerbating their trauma.
240* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'': JustifiedTrope in the case of Merlin. This is maybe a thousand years before therapy was even invented. In fact, Merlin himself may have had to invent therapy out of necessity to deal with everything he goes through. He's basically taken on the role of therapist to all of his friends (FridgeBrilliance as to why he [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis grows more manipulative and darker over the series]]; he shoulders A LOT of baggage).
241* Normally played invisibly straight in ''Series/ModernFamily''. Despite all the dysfunctional crap the family goes through, no one so much as implies some sort of professional help is needed. Not until Alex, stressed over a test, snaps at her own birthday party. The next morning, her parents are trying to figure out what to do (once again not even considering therapy), when Alex walks up and explains she's already found a psychiatrist with good reviews who is covered by their insurance, and she's scheduled an appointment with him later.
242-->'''Phil:''' She's like a self-cleaning oven...
243* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Wild Justice", Bodie and Doyle are undergoing a full evaluation -- both physical and psychological -- to determine their fitness for duty. Their boss Cowley mentions that a [=CI5=] agent costs more time and money to train than an airline pilot; they are regarded as highly-trained specialists who must be at the peak of their condition. A dispute arises with the psychiatrist on the evaluation team who thinks that Bodie is suffering from a death wish. [[spoiler:He's not--he's planning to murder someone to avenge a former colleague.]]
244* ''Series/TheSmoke'' starts out with firefighter Kev Allison being injured in a fire and the child he was trying to save dying. It's suggested that Kev see a therapist after all he's been through, and at first it seems like he is, but then the therapist turns out to be an ImaginaryFriend. (The fact that attending therapy wasn't outright required in the first place given everything he'd been through seems odd).
245* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' tried to avoid this somewhat by instituting the position of "Ship's Counselor", which was the role of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' main cast member Deanna Troi, but still ran into it on occasion. ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' and ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' had excuses, though: Ezri Dax was still in training when she was assigned as counselor, while Captain Janeway said in an early episode that ''Voyager'' hadn't been expected to need one (being that the mission they were ''supposed'' to have was a search-and-capture that took place well within shouting distance of a major starbase, Deep Space 9). Chakotay (with his [[VisionQuest Vision Quests]]), Neelix (as Morale Officer), and Tuvok (using Vulcan meditation techniques) usually take up the role. It's also something of a RunningGag that actually seeing a counselor ''always'' makes the situation worse. ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' adds a new complication with Pike and La'an--they ''can't'' seek therapy for issues related to their bouts with TimeTravel because Temporal Affairs told them it would mess up the timeline and don't have anyone on ''their'' staff whose job it is to help people traumatized by anything they've seen on their journeys through the timeline.
246* Played literally straight in ''Series/TheTribe'' as it's a world without adults. And a very large portion of the cast could seriously do with one.
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:Music]]
250* ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'' features the overlap with AdultsAreUseless. Jimmy asks a therapist, vicar, and his mother in the very second song, but it doesn't do any good.
251[[/folder]]
252
253[[folder:Podcasts]]
254* In ''Podcast/InStrangeWoods'', Peregrine offhandedly mentions counseling after Jacob's death, but none of it helped. By the time she makes plans for the Final, everyone else has moved on and expects her to do the same.
255[[/folder]]
256
257[[folder:Radio]]
258* ''Radio/BleakExpectations:''
259** Parodied, when Pip Bin becomes traumatised after a long period being tortured by his arch-nemesis while his family was of no help. The psychiatrist he goes to makes the situation worse, and it all turns out to be part of a plan by said nemesis to steal Pip's fortune.
260** And again when Harry Biscuit and Pippa start experiencing marital difficulties. Since this is Victorian England, marriage counselling is, in Pip's words, "not as advanced as it is now" (where "now" means turn of the 20th century). Harry is shouted down for daring to suggest that as a man he feels ''anything'', and Pippa is told as a woman, science "proves" she cannot think. The marriage falls apart.
261[[/folder]]
262
263[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
264* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': Played extremely straight. There are a lot of characters in the universe suffering from all sorts of mental issues, but the setting seems to be completely devoid of any form of metal health care at all, leading to a lot of {{Shell Shocked Veteran}}s and more than a few leaders who are outright insane.
265* Inverted in ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech''. The New Earth Government recognizes the inherent mental stability problems resulting from battling [[EldritchAbomination things from beyond the stars]] with BlackBox technology created from [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow things man was not meant to know]], and as a result, they have an extensive psychiatric care infrastructure that puts anything in reality to shame.
266* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
267** Several of the Primarchs and a great many of their sons desperately needed a more structured kind of counselling than the tried and tested "pick a convenient baseline human or nearby Astartes and monologue to them about your emotions" method, particularly in cases like Perturabo, whose martyr complex and emotionally uptight nature led to an increasingly obsessive resentment of everyone else. Nor did it help that the people helping Lorgar through ''his'' personal crisis were [[SinisterMinister already secret cultists of the dark powers]] who took advantage of his vulnerability to lead him to those gods instead of the one who had rejected him.
268** Oddly enough, averted in some cases: Literature/CiaphasCain mentions that some soldiers who'd gone through a particularly bad experience (gunning down allied troops to protect their Tau passengers to prevent sparking a war) had talked with the regiment's chaplain and seemed to be doing better for it.
269[[/folder]]
270
271[[folder:Theatre]]
272* ''Theatre/IAndYou'': Caroline points out that Anthony should really go see a professional to help deal with the trauma of seeing a kid his age die right in front of him at his basketball game, and wonders why everyone let him go home to work on an English assignment with her like nothing had happened. Anthony brushes her off, but it turns out that [[spoiler: the reason no one tried to reach out to him afterwards was that ''he'' was the dead boy]].
273[[/folder]]
274
275[[folder:Video Games]]
276* Parodied in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' if Mike is played as a brutal, violent {{Jerkass}} to Madison. She'll ask him if he has ever sought professional help. He replies that he hasn't because he ''killed'' all his therapists.
277* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' ultimately invokes the question of whether the world's professional therapists chose to have their 2194 Christmas Ball in Ibukido, as the cast is largely a DysfunctionJunction with their own issues tormenting them. Even Kagura Mutsuki, the most well-adjusted of them, is a veteran of the Ikaruga Civil War with some mental stigma left over, and that's if [[HandsomeLech his crotch rocket isn't hogging the blood]]. Even worse, of the characters who can actually dispense functional therapy, all of them have their own problems: Litchi is weighed down by her GuiltComplex regarding Roy Carmine (who we know as Arakune) and has gone so far as to mimic his corruption in an attempt to cure him herself; Makoto is trying to keep her personal Pandora's Box of racism issues shut; and Celica is utterly naive and has a bit of a martyr complex to go with it. And that is not to speak of Yuuki Terumi and Relius Clover, who not only are [[TheSociopath mentally unsound]] (Terumi moreso) but go around making everything ''worse''. [[FridgeBrilliance This might have]] [[JustifiedTrope the justifications]] in the way that compared to its predecessor ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' (which draws heavy influence in American music), Blazblue is ''very'' Japanese-themed, not only its anime influence but also Japan's real-life cultural aversion on psychology.
278* Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion''. We learn very early on that its BrokenHero, Gulcasa, has a lot of serious issues due to having been abused and abandoned by his parents, and he's only able to function because his childhood friends (who are also pretty much his adoptive parents) [[LivingEmotionalCrutch are there to act as amateur counselors for him]]. During the canon route of the game, Siskier dies, and [[TraumaCongaLine this is really only just the start]]. Gulcasa blames himself for everything and winds up with a raging case of PTSD which [[FailureKnight makes him so terrified of failure]] that he stops hesitating altogether and starts acting much more stoically. His remaining childhood friend and mentor mistake his symptoms for Gulcasa losing his humanity, as [[FantasticRacism it was conveniently revealed that he's part demon]]. [[EtTuBrute And they try to kill him]], leaving Gulcasa a complete psychological wreck. The only people who even bother to try to help him have their own agendas, not to mention their own festering cesspools of mental-emotional trauma. In all likelihood, things wouldn't have gone quite so badly for Gulcasa and company [[VideoGame/YggdraUnion three years later]] if someone had just gotten the poor kid a competent grief counselor.
279* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' has had a lot of instances where a therapist could have changed so many things:
280** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' takes the cake for causing a hell lot of psychological damage to the parents ''and'' children from the past and future parts. Some of the villains gleefully go out of their way to make life for the heroes a living hell.
281** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' follows rather closely to ''Jugdral'' (mostly because ''Jugdral'' was used as an inspiration for ''Three Houses'') with the many playable characters who start out as teenagers:
282*** There's Edelgard, who was [[spoiler:tortured as a young child and forced to take a second Crest]].
283*** There's Dimitri, who was traumatized by the Tragedy of Duscur that ended with his whole family slaughtered. Notably, this event became a source of worry from his closest friends: people judge him for having Dedue as his closest ally despite him being from Duscur and being nothing but very loyal to him; and Felix has nothing but utter contempt for him by calling him "the boar" and outright pointing out that Dimitri's friendly behavior is nothing but a facade he puts on to hide his merciless nature. Needless to say, [[spoiler:when Dimitri finds out that a close friend of his was the one who murdered his family, the rest of the Academy Arc leaves him as a psychopath bent on gleefully killing the culprit. Besides a few comments here and there, basically ''no one'' wants to bother giving him some emotional support even while he suddenly talks just to mention his cynical wishes and excitement to murder anyone getting in his way. In fact, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration you can't even Support with him because he's too much into deep end to care about sitting for tea]]]]. This behavior [[spoiler:carried over for 5 years (directly leading to a dark AdrenalineMakeover), though he eventually gets better if his route was pursued]].
284*** Bernadetta has an [[AbusiveParents abusive dad]] who [[spoiler:locked her in a basement and lashed out at her whenever she stepped out of line]] and caused her to basically squeal in fear and beg for her life any time any other person shows up from nowhere to talk to her. She's always trying to find a way to stay the hell away from him and is perfectly happy being holed up at Garreg Mach to relax. For added DramaticIrony, [[LightIsNotGood her father is the corrupt Minister of Religion of the Adrestian Empire.]]
285*** Despite how much of ThePollyanna he is, Sylvain hides some dark secrets: [[spoiler:he absolutely abhors how women only care about eloping with him because of his Crest giving them a chance to become royalty and have influence by having a child with his Crest. Corruption runs deep in Fodlan that he hasn't had a real relationship with the random women he woos on a daily basis]].
286* This trope is literal in ''VideoGame/{{Furcadia}}'' as psychology has not been invented yet and magic generally only heals the body and not the mind. Several of the gods in this setting are also insane (oh, and like to wander among the mortals...).
287* Most of the plot of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' could've been avoided if Kratos and the Olympians bothered to sit down and discuss their grievances instead of answering to every slight with cataclysmically DisproportionateRetribution. Zeus, in particular, cannot stop himself from taunting, insulting, and belittling Kratos and overall making him suffer as much as possible at every turn [[SelfFulfillingProphecy over a prophecy that he's unwittingly steering Kratos towards fulfilling.]] Hell, [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI the first game alone]] starts because Kratos would rather have the gods magically remove his nightmares of himself killing his wife and daughter than talk to someone about it.
288* Played with in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', where in Intro Quotes Ryan Choi[=/=]ComicBook/TheAtom suggests that some characters seek therapy. Yet as most of these characters are insane or heavily mentally troubled (such as the Red Hood), none take him up on the idea. [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Red Hood]] outright calls murdering criminals his therapy.
289* Key to the plot of ''VideoGame/{{Kinder}}''; a running theme is that 'mind illnesses' are not recognized as a real problem in its world, instead attributed to things like "they're just lazy" or "they're just complaining for no reason." Naturally, this causes major problems. The BigBad Yuuichi, who turned to evil as a result of his hard home life, eventually states that there's probably worlds out there where 'mind illnesses' actually ''are'' recognized and treated more seriously.
290* In ''VideoGame/{{LISA}}'', it appears that Lisa and Brad never received any form of therapy for their severe trauma, as suggested by the fact that [[spoiler: Lisa commits suicide at a young age]], and by the time the game's events take place, Brad is still traumatized to the point of substance-dependency and hallucinations.
291* ''Videogame/NightInTheWoods'' plays with this trope. There is indeed a therapist on Possum Springs, however, said therapist is also the only doctor in town, so he fills in roles of every medical field for the people in the town, including also orthodontist. The result is that he, while acting as a therapist for the town, is lampshaded by characters to be incompetent at it, with people who go to see him getting none of the treatment they actually need. [[spoiler:Mae was one of those people. After the Killer Incident, she was sent to therapy with him, where she talked about her problems, which were clear signs of dissociation. His only treatment to her at the time was giving her a diary, instead of any treatment with medicine she might need.]]
292* A lot of the problems in ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'' might've been avoided if the title character had received even a lick of professional help, though it's justified since the only "help" would come from a crazy technicolor DreamLand that's more insane than he is. [[spoiler:And then the justification goes out the window when we learn that Omori is the alter ego of Sunny, who lives in the real world and is clearly ''[[TheMentallyDisturbed not right in the head]]'' after the death of his sister four years ago. There's more to the story than it seems, but even for those not privy to the AwfulTruth, apparently someone decided that Sunny seeing his big sister dead [[HarmfulToMinors before he even turned thirteen]] was not worth counselling. Presumably, Sunny himself avoids seeing a therapist because he believes he would have to confess accidentally killing Mari and end up in jail, or he fears it would get out and his loved ones would hate him for it.]]
293* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'':
294** Even after [[spoiler:[[PaedoHunt Kamoshida's horrifying crimes]]]] come to light, there's no sign of any sort of mental health services at the school for its students, many of whom are doubtless deeply traumatized, [[spoiler:one to the point of AttemptedSuicide]]. ''[[UpdatedReRelease Royal]]'' fixes this by introducing Dr. Takuto Maruki, a therapist the principal hired after the scandal, but even then he's not specifically a therapist but a psychology ''researcher'', and it's pretty clear to the students that his hiring is just a desperate-yet-halfhearted attempt to cover the staff's collective asses. They're lucky they Maruki is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes he has a lot of baggage of his own]] and definitely isn't the best person for the job. [[spoiler: He's also the ArcVillain of the third semester, albeit he's a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to help people by retconing their traumas out of reality.]]
295** Due to her harsh DarkAndTroubledPast, Futaba Sakura became a full-time shut-in. Even if Sojiro had brought a doctor to see her, she just wouldn't go out of her room to receive treatment. [[spoiler:The team manages to heal her by helping her face and defeat her inner fears of a false cognition within her mind. They then decide to help her get used to living outside her home by spending time with her. It works.]]
296* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': It's become something of a fandom joke that [[PlayerCharacter Yuu]] is basically Night Raven College's resident therapist because everyone there has issues and there doesn't seem to be an official school psychologist. [[spoiler:Book 6, however, averts this revealing that counsellors for overblotters ''exist'' and sessions for overblot victims are mandatory.]]
297* There is not a single major character in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' who couldn't be reasonably theorized to be mentally ill, but none of them ever mention therapy. [[spoiler:Notably, Sans and Napstablook probably have depression, and Alphys is explicitly straight-up suicidal.]] They ''do'' get help... from an ambiguously aged (but presumably preteen) kid.
298* Justified in ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus''. Even though quite a few of the Resistance are in serious need of therapy, including (but by all means not limited to) B.J, Grace, and Wyatt, they are also wanted fugitives in a world dominated by ThoseWackyNazis, [[TruthInTelevision who in real life]] considered mental illness and physical disabilities to be executable offences. For instance, there was a mental health hospital in the prequel - [[KickTheDog and then the Nazis purged the hospital]], shooting most of the patients in their beds and the doctors when they started fighting back.
299* For the residents of Keves and Agnus in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', this is {{justified|trope}}, since they're artificially aged up in stasis tubes to fight in wars and only have a lifespan of 10 years, meaning there would be little time for them to vent their issues, especially after [[spoiler:it's revealed that the characters are reincarnated every time they die with no old memories]]. However, therapy would've really helped a member of the City, who ''does'' have a natural human lifespan, that being [[spoiler:Shania]]. Aside from Hollis, who only specializes in physical treatment and maternity, the City has no known medical professionals, much less mental health professionals, and [[spoiler:because Shania's mother viewed her as a failure child for wanting to create artistic projects and not help with Aionios' ForeverWar, she grew to be self-resenting and see life as [[StrawNihilist inherently worthless]]. Sena comes ''close'' to setting Shania on the straight and narrow thanks to her [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre rousing speeches]] to her, but one manipulation from Moebius later, and Shania's nihilism and self-hatred come to a boiling point when she comes within a hair's breadth of destroying the City and successfully manages to [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself]]]].
300* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'', as the protagonist is a {{hikikomori}} that adamantly refuses to leave her room to see a therapist, despite being in dire need of one.
301[[/folder]]
302
303[[folder:Visual Novels]]
304* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': Quite a few characters are pretty obviously in need of somebody to help them deal with their post-traumatic stress:
305** Miles Edgeworth witnessed the murder of his own father at the age of nine after being trapped in an elevator in an earthquake and is shown to have panic attacks in earthquakes even as an adult. He also avoids elevators whenever possible, a major inconvenience considering he works on the tenth floor of a building. He even believed himself to be the murderer having nightmares about it nearly every night until proven innocent.
306** Ema Skye [[spoiler: witnessed a murder]] at fourteen, and is still shaken from it two years later. Her sister, who takes care of her, is pretty well-off, so it's not inconceivable that she could get a therapist.
307** Athena Cykes is the closest aversion in the entire series, being an attorney who specializes in reading and addressing abnormal emotions, but even she bears emotional scars so deep that she's one of only two characters to show black Psyche-locks. [[spoiler:She was a witness to the murder of her mother as a child and watched as one of her students was convicted of the crime, studying law in the hope of proving his innocence. She didn't know that the accused man had framed himself to save his mentor's daughter from a false conviction, since the murderer was a spy whose true identity was a complete mystery.]]
308* A therapist actually ''does'' appear in ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', but she proves to be a quack in her only appearance.
309* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Shirou is suffering from a form of PTSD where he feels the need to protect people at the cost of his own well-being due to being one of the few survivors of [[DarkAndTroubledPast the Fuyuki Fire]]. This causes trouble a few times, including Shirou shielding Saber from a strike from Berserker, which should've horrifically killed him if it weren't for [[HealingFactor Avalon]].
310** Kirei Kotomine qualifies as this. He feels no empathy for people (including his "loved" ones, such as his father and wife), except that he [[{{Sadist}} enjoys bringing pain and death to them]] (including [[KillTheOnesYouLove people who love him]])... and he [[IAmAMonster hates]] it. In the prequel ''Literature/FateZero'', Gilgamesh exploits this by telling Kotomine to embrace it, leading to where he is in the present. Considering his father was somewhat aware he had issues and his wife was aware of it, you'd think that he'd have seen a therapist sooner or later.
311* Becca from ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' is studying psychology... so why didn’t she see a psychologist herself to deal with her crippling shyness?
312[[/folder]]
313
314[[folder:Webcomics]]
315
316* In ''Webcomic/GiftsOfWanderingIce'' Surprisingly averted for a post-apocalyptic world, and in more than one instance:
317** Rita received physical therapy while in recovery with the Cave Dwellers after her surgery. She mentions having to relearn how to walk and talk.
318** Rita, Lara, and all members of the hunters' tribe [[spoiler: with a [[TheSociopath sociopathic brain type]] are taught to [[http://mildegard.ru/Gifts_of_wandering_ice/English/page325_eng.html recognize emotions in others]] and gain control over their own emotions -- developing "cognitive empathy" in lieu of the emotional empathy they lack -- in order to function properly in society]]. Years of this therapy [[spoiler: instill a subpersonality [[labelnote:Note]]From an author's note on [[http://mildegard.ru/Gifts_of_wandering_ice/English/page323_eng.html page 323]], a subpersonality is a personality mode that kicks in (appears on a temporary basis) to allow a person to cope with certain types of psychosocial situations.[[/labelnote]] that "controls" the sociopath's violent nature, molding natural-born killers into guardians and leaders]].
319* In ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' there are many cases of this, sometimes lampshaded, but the one that tends to stick out most is when Davan never gets help after being raped by a woman he was attracted to. Sadly this is probably TruthInTelevision for many rape victims, especially male ones, and especially when the rapist is a woman. That example is possibly justified, given [[https://somethingpositive.net/comic/advantage-pt-6/ his in comic discussion]] of the subject. Sadly this attitude is also [[TruthInTelevision Truth in Webcomics]] too.
320* Played with in ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}''. The ''I.A. Starbanger'' does have a Therapy-bot, but he's terrible: his therapy consists solely of telling patients that their feelings are irrational. Eventually, Martina realizes that one of her crew desperately needs treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, so she replaces Therapy-bot with a ''qualified'' therapist--the bartender bot.
321* Played with in ''Webcomic/FreakAngels'' comics. Sirkka is the local equivalent of a psychologist and helps abuse victims and people [[MindRape mind raped]] by Mark. Her own love life, on the other hand, is a total mess. Other Freakangels [[DysfunctionJunction are not much better]] with the group consisting of TheOphelia, an IneffectualLoner, a KnightTemplar, a guy [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone driven crazy by his own guilt]], AGodAmI wannabe and a few other dysfunctional personality types. Some hide it better than others. In the end, they all get a quick therapy from [[spoiler:Arkady]] of all people and [[spoiler: Luke]] is [[HeelFaceBrainwashing fixed]] on his own request. Even [[spoiler:Mark]] seems to be much more sane. It is implied that their problems [[EpiphanyTherapy didn't magically disappear]], but they will eventually get over their issues with some [[ThePowerOfLove love]] and hard work. They are TrueCompanions after all.
322* Zig-zagged in ''Webcomic/ALoonaticsTale''. There ''are'', in fact, therapists, they're even major characters in the comic, but they have a whole host of psychological issues all their own which may or may not prevent them from actually doing their patients any good (at least one is too apathetic to do his job, so he just medicates them into oblivion). On top of that, most of them reckon that, since they're therapists, they're immune to psychological disorders, and wouldn't need help even if they weren't.
323* Zig-zagged in ''Webcomic/BetterDays''. After Fisk [[spoiler:hits his principal with a baseball bat for trying to rape his mother]], the police officer who arrives on the scene gives Fisk the number of a child psychologist for him to meet with to deal with the trauma of the situation. The chapter ends with Fisk meeting the psychologist and, when asked how he feels, gives a very frank explanation of how he felt completely justified in what he did, even if he knows he shouldn't. The psychologist smirks and draws a dollar sign on her notepad, implying that she is just interested in milking money out of his case. Shortly after though, it's shown that Fisk is continuing with his therapy sessions and that they're very helpful in helping him deal with [[spoiler:being coerced into sex with Nikki, a young girl who was sexually abused by her father]]. The psychologist also helps out by [[spoiler:investigating Nikki's home life, learning that her dad is a wanted criminal, and having Sheila keep Nikki out of the way on the day the police plan to raid her home]].
324* Zig-zagged in ''Webcomic/SexyLosers'': talk radio couples counselor Dr. Lovetalk typically gives advice that is well-meant and intelligent, but completely inapplicable to the situations of her callers.
325* In ''[[Webcomic/WalkyVerse It's Walky!]]'', while the series mostly played it for laughs, the lack of mental health treatment for the Abductees is palpable and, [[CerebusSyndrome in the end, tragic]]. The idea that the best way to help some 600-odd young adults with superhuman powers who have been repeatedly been abducted by aliens, experimented on, subjected to [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment bizarre forms of torture]], and then had most (but not quite all) of their memories of the events erased, is to separate them from friends and family, arm them with high-tech alien weaponry, give them secretive police powers, and let them loose on their abductors, should have been enough to make the original Big Boss' [[YourHeadAsplode head explode]] at the thought of the liability he'd be taking on. The subject did get a few [[LampShadeHanging lampshades hung on it]], but it really was incredibly reckless by RealLife standards.
326* Played with in ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan''. Both Szark and Snowsong go to the Aberthast Cathedral to get mental help after their introductory arcs, the characters generally do talk about their problems and take actions to work through them in a safe way and therapy in general is mentioned to exist in the setting. But neither Dominic nor Luna, the two people with the most mental burdens, are shown actually going to one. This eventually catches up to Dominic when he has a public breakdown and comes dangerously close to undergoing a full magical meltdown.
327* ''Webcomic/LegostarGalactica'' introduces Counselor Alice Tolman fairly early in Season 1 specifically to avert this, but she's got a number of issues of her own and Angrius points out that ''she'' has no one to turn to.
328* PlayedForDrama in the autobiographical ''Webcomic/JoeVsElanSchool''. All of Elan's "therapies" are handled by students and staff who have no professional qualifications of any kind. [[https://elan.school/11-its-a-scream/ Chapter 11]] explicitly mentions that the school's attack therapy wasn't overseen by any licensed professionals.
329[[/folder]]
330
331[[folder:Web Original]]
332* Goes both ways in ''Literature/BraveNewWorldUniverse'': The original character, Arachnya desperately needs a therapist at one point -- [[spoiler:her father is murdered because of who she is, and she resorts to drinking to dull the pain. She's fifteen years old]]. She doesn't get professional help.
333* The ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'' is a DysfunctionJunction where almost every member has experienced some form of trauma and has to cope with it through their own means, healthy or not. Justified by the fact that no one there is a qualified psychiatrist and even Puffy, the one person who has decided to take up the role of therapist, [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes has her own problems]] that effectively take her out of the role for the time being. This ultimately becomes {{deconstructed|Trope}} and PlayedForDrama, as the resident [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Woobies, Destroyers of Worlds]] and [[TookALevelInCynic jaded idealists]], [[spoiler:Wilbur and Quackity]], would not have spiraled so badly or turned out this way if they had received psychological help for the trauma they had experienced.
334* This trope is {{deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Literature/FunnyBusiness'', in that the character who desperately needs psychiatric attention is [[StepfordSmiler hiding any indication that something's wrong]]. In other words, the only reason there are no therapists is that the patient doesn't want to go to one, which is sadly TruthInTelevision for some victims of depression.
335* [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] discusses this in his review of ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', disgusted by the fact that a deeply troubled and hurting Characters/ScarletWitch is instead sent away to Xavier and Magneto's care where six months of psychic powers doesn't help her at all and the only recourse seems to be to put her down. While he agrees that that may be a last resort, he can't stand the fact that there doesn't seem to be any kind of doctor -- heroic or muggle -- who could help people out, though he quickly points out Doc Samson and asks why he wasn't brought in, either. He does it again with ''ComicBook/HeroesInCrisis'', which he rips apart the fact that, instead of actual doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists, Sanctuary is run by an AI that ''supposedly'' has the "best traits" of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.
336* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic used to mention going to a therapist a lot, but that stopped, probably because the character was getting more and more damaged and it was funnier that way. In fact, a running gag among multiple reviewers is their constant danger of insanity due to the bad things they are "forced" to experience. Plenty of reviews have gags where the reviewer pops "happy pills" like they were candy, chugs from a bottle of booze, or is forcibly restrained by men in white coats. Some have even tried to destroy the world in a bout of rage. [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] deserves special mention as a full-on insane convicted serial killer.[[note]]Which only gets HarsherInHindsight when Noah himself went through a CreatorBreakdown...[[/note]]
337* ''WebVideo/PiratesSMP'':
338** Alluded to on Day 36, following the server-wide event "In Too Deep". After investigating the Whirlpool and [[spoiler:watching Aimsey get KilledOffForReal]] with most of the server, Acho asks the Travelling Merchant if there's anywhere around to get therapy or [[INeedAFreakingDrink get drunk]]. The Merchant directs star to the tavern in town, with no further mention of getting anyone any psychological help.
339** Later addressed on Day 93: after the [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween server event]] which consists of {{literal|Metaphor}} NightmareFuel, Acho's stream chat start petitioning for his character to get some therapy.
340--->'''Acho the content creator:''' A "therapy stream"? I don't think there's any therapist on the Faction Isles, guys. [[JustifiedTrope I don't therapy has been invented yet]]. I think that would explain a lot of things.
341* Played with in ''WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum''. Canon characters traumatized by the events of a story to a degree beyond what a simple memory wipe can fix are sent to [=FicPsych=] for more significant treatment. Agents are also heard of going there after particularly bad missions, but therapy for them is only enough to get them back onto the field instead of fixing whatever innate problems they had before signing up.
342* Played with by the Freelancer Program of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', which has the Counselor as its number two leader. Only problem is that he doesn't actually care about mental health, only whether or not the Agents are at their peak in terms of combat ability. Agent Washington, implied to have spent considerable time with him after being driven insane by Epsilon, is afterwards notably more efficient, less empathetic, and only recovers a semblance of normality by taking over for Church as the Gulch's self-appointed StraightMan.
343* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is set in a world with both advanced medical technology and soulless beasts known as Grimm that are drawn to negative emotions and have regularly [[TheUsualAdversaries destroyed kingdoms]] in the past. Despite this, therapy doesn't seem to exist. When Yang hallucinates Mercury attacking her and shoots him in the leg, General Ironwood and Velvet both react to this by saying that it's "normal" for Huntsmen and Huntresses to hallucinate sometimes and the only consequence is that she's banned from the tournament. When Yang falls into a deep depression after [[spoiler:losing her arm]], Taiyang is unable to help her. While nearly every character has mental problems and trauma, none of them suggest therapy or anything similar. [[spoiler:The closest thing the world has to therapy is the Blacksmith, an entity from another dimesnion that was created by an omnisicent divine tree for the purpose. When Ruby tries to kill herself in that dimension, the Tree takes her and brings her to the Blacksmith who gives her magical EpiphanyTherapy.]] There might be some justification to this, as the world is a battleground for a SecretWar against [[HumanoidAbomination Salem]] whose primary tactic is to [[ManipulativeBastard use her opponents' emotional flaws against them]] and sow fear and hatred among the populace. It's possible that she sabotaged or else destroyed any developments in psychiatry as a threat to her plans.
344* Syera of ''Website/{{Springhole}}'' considers this a harmful trope because it makes it harder for people to realize they can get help for their problems. But xe also recommends showing the way therapy works in real life (i.e. not a magic cure that fixes everything immediately).
345[[/folder]]
346
347[[folder:Western Animation]]
348* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
349** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] as Ooo is a [[CloudCuckooLand very strange place]] with a lot of [[CloudCuckooLander even stranger people]], but there actually ''are'' mental health services for those who need them. For a lot of the earlier episodes, however, this trope was played straight, with people such as [[TheMentallyDisturbed Lemongrab]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Ice King]] basically just being dealt with when they caused trouble and ignored when they didn't. Both of them have now been getting a lot more help.
350** Played straight with [[KidHero Finn]], since There Are No ''Human'' Therapists. He has a mental ''vault'' he puts his traumatizing moments in and has been through plenty of experiences being the hero of Ooo while also being the MoralityPet to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline.
351* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': DoubleSubversion thanks to [[AdultsAreUseless most of the adults being useless]] -- the school's counselor Mr. Small is a recurring character, but he almost always makes things much worse.
352* ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'':
353** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in one episode where Ginger becomes jealous of Darren's new relationship with [[AlphaBitch Miranda]]. Of course, she didn't technically '''see''' a psychologist.
354--->'''Ginger:''' It's just that Dr. Phonsfeelings said--\
355'''Darren:''' Whoa, you went to see a therapist?\
356'''Ginger:''' Not exactly. She was on Channel 9.
357** Said TV psychologist appears in another episode and causes more problems when Ginger starts freaking out that her mother is still single.
358** And inverted in another episode where Ginger is sent to the school psychologist because she writes a poem about a girl who wishes to disappear. Everyone assumes Ginger has suicidal intentions because of this, but she's actually fine.
359* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'': Hank Pym fakes his death, then goes around with a new personality and calling himself Yellowjacket, who is much more ruthless and prone to violence. Everyone is aware that is unhealthy, but no one mentions therapy.
360* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': People typically go into the Train if they're going through some sort of trauma which can range from grief of losing a loved one, going through a divorce, or the death of a pet lizard. And yet there's no signs of actual therapy in that universe that could easily fix these problems instead of stranding people in a DeathWorld for months or even ''years'' on end.
361* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': At first characters would go through one-episode events caused by old traumas or mistakes and not have it commented on, to the point that several villains had {{Freudian Excuse}}s that only got so bad because there was no one to help them. However, mental health improves over the course of the series. [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] tasked one of the main characters with reforming a villain, [[LoveGoddess Princess Cadance]] is known to reignite a couple's love, and Twilight Sparkle helped to rehabilitate a former cult leader. Even the B-plot Cutie Mark Crusaders have moved into the field of cutie mark advice -- and given that ponies consider cutie marks a huge part of their identity, that can be considered some form of therapy. Perhaps most importantly, [[TheSacredDarkness Princess Luna]] [[DreamWalker visits ponies in their dreams]] ([[FriendToAllChildren especially foals]]) and helps them work through whatever problems are giving them nightmares. Note that the villains with {{Freudian Excuse}}s all suffered their trauma long before Luna [[HeelFaceTurn was freed from being Nightmare Moon]], and we see several foals who could have easily gone in the same direction without her help.
362* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. Although initially mistaken for a SuperpoweredEvilSide, over the course of the series, it becomes more and more clear that TKO is born not of evil, but of psychological problems, and is essentially an embodiment of things that KO refuses to accept about himself. Nobody comments on the fact that the kid has multiple identities, nor do they suggest that he get help -- KO instead deals with this on his own, with mixed results. The repressed anger issues which are a major part of what TKO resulted from ''are'', to some extent, addressed -- his mother tried to teach him ways to deal with said anger when he was younger, [[spoiler:and his disregarding those methods is more-or-less the reason why TKO exists]] -- but nobody helps with or talks about his issues much beyond that. [[spoiler:Ultimately, KO manages to figure things out on his own and undergo a SplitPersonalityMerge at the end of the series.]]
363* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': It's canon that Luz has ADHD, implied that she suffers from a social anxiety disorder and struggles with her mental health in general. All of which greatly impact her life. There is also no indication that anyone in her life ever thought she would benefit from professional help. Not when [[spoiler:her father dies]]. Not when she has well-documented difficulties socializing. Not when her behavior becomes increasingly disruptive and dangerous to herself and those around her. Nothing. When it is decided that something needs to be done, the only solution anyone has is to send her away to camp hoping it will "fix" her rather than try to diagnose and treat her obvious mental health issues.
364* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': There's a reason that one of the fandom's most popular memes is [[https://web.archive.org/web/20191229214053/https://66.media.tumblr.com/5689f2ce0f371de2e6b15534da1a8f28/2e514e78c3642f53-df/s1280x1920/9e9cfb9e93ec97384a5eea990a7c3ae998f0cf37.jpg "My Baby Needs Advanced Therapy"]].
365** The Horde is particularly bad about it; Catra's issues are basically just left to fester and develop into full subscriptions until she goes screaming off the deep end [[spoiler:and tries to end the world]].
366** Likewise, [[spoiler:Hordak]] has no access to professional help in the Horde after [[spoiler:he incorrectly believes that Entrapta betrayed him and spirals into a depression in "Coronation"]].
367** Bright Moon is a far healthier environment by any measure, but it is telling that neither her TrueCompanions nor her [[BigGood liege lady]] give ''any'' thought to seeking a professional's help in keeping Adora's martyrdom complex, self-esteem issues, and PTSD symptoms down to a dull roar.
368** Even Bow suffers from this, confessing that he's sick of always being upbeat and working to keep the gang together when he's got his own problems to deal with and is exhausted by battles and bickering friends.
369** Similarly, [[spoiler:Glimmer]] gets shoved into a position of high authority while still grieving the loss of the most important person in her life, and then people are surprised when this turns out badly. It turns out that a couple of hugs from your TrueCompanions are no substitute for actually learning how to deal with grief constructively.
370* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': DoubleSubversion in that there ''are'' numerous mental health officials, but they are generally depicted as [[TheShrink incompetent and misguided]] at best and [[PsychoPsychologist sociopathic and manipulative]] at worst. This is best demonstrated in "[[Recap/SouthParkS15E8AssBurgers Ass Burgers]]", where Stan does not receive the help he needs for his depression because everyone was so stupid that they misinterpreted it as a sign of UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome.
371* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' as the USS ''Cerritos'' has Dr. Migleemo on board, even if he’s a little too happy with the food metaphors. It’s downplayed in the episode "The Inner Fight" as Tendi suggests sending Mariner to Migleemo to figure out why she’s on a self-destructive bender, but there’s time as they've been assigned to find and retrieve disgraced cadet Nick Locarno and they need a distraction before Mariner takes over and goes nuts.
372* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': {{Subverted|Trope}} with Big Shot, a {{parody}} of {{nineties antihero}}es in general and ComicBook/ThePunisher in particular. In "The Tick vs The Ideamen", he is a clearly unstable maniac who riddles random things with bullets until they resemble skulls; the Tick warns him that "Guns and superheroes don't mix. Seek professional help." When he reappears in "The Tick vs The Tick", he has been to therapy and, while he still has anger issues, he has them under control and is overall a calm, stable man who even invites the other Tick to attend his group sessions to work out his own issues.
373* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': The episode "Webworld" is about the Decepticons finally getting sick of Galvatron being insane and sending him to a planet [[PlanetOfHats whose hat]] is curing the mentally ill. Galvatron just ends up ravaging the planet.
374* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Played with. The Trix are sent to a place where they are supposed to be reformed, but it only manages to tick them off even more.
375* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. Black Canary is a trained therapist and is often shown having sessions with the superhero teens after traumatizing events, as well as mandatory routine checkups.
376** When Arsenal begins to suffer from serious issues that have interfered with their missions more than once Nightwing benches him, which is pretty much the same as telling him he's off the Team until he can deal with his personal demons. Although this gets somewhat subverted in that no one thought to have him counseled by Black Canary ''before'' he joined the Team, despite it being clear he was still deeply traumatized over [[spoiler:getting kidnapped, having his arm chopped off, being put in cryogenic stasis, replaced with a clone, and thought to be dead by just about everyone]] to the point he actually [[spoiler:tried to murder Lex Luthor for revenge and ''came damn close to doing it'']].
377** She also counsels [[RunningGag the children (and grownup driver) who were on the school bus]] that Klarion the Witch Boy hijacked into a journey through space and time in Season 4.
378** Finally, she gets Beast Boy to admit that he needs help after his TraumaCongaLine throughout the previous seasons finally catches up with him and he alienates everyone around him until [[BigSisterInstinct M'gann]] strong-arms him into going to therapy.
379[[/folder]]

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