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10 movies about psychotherapists and psychiatrists

10 movies about psychotherapists and psychiatrists

March 22, 2024

There are many pieces of cinema that can be cataloged as movies about psychology, but there are not so many that explore the relationship between therapist or patient , or that show us the consequences that the step by the consultation of a psychologist or psychiatrist can have for a person.

This is a more specific issue, yes, but no less current, considering the number of people who rely on mental health professionals to reorient their lives, and the importance that the figure of the therapist has in our collective imagination . That's why a list of films about psychotherapists and psychiatrists makes sense: not only does it offer us clues about how society sees the figure of the therapist, but it can also transform the idea we have of this role.


Here you can find a selection of these movies. Surely they will happen to you more, so ... Welcome are the suggestions!

1. The strange passenger

We started the list of films about psychotherapy with a classic of the 40s that is, in turn, the adaptation to the cinema of a novel. It's about the history of Charlotte Vale , a woman long submitted to the will of her mother, that when he comes in contact with a psychologist he sees how the hunger for living life fully and autonomously begins . That's why he decides to start a trip that will disrupt his whole world.

2. Another woman

One of those films in which the influence of psychoanalysis is Woody Allen , the director of this tape. It is about a woman who, from the studio she has recently rented for work, is able to listen to the therapy sessions that are offered on the other side of her wall. As a second and involuntary patient, the protagonist will begin to ask herself, for the first time, questions that concern the existential foundations of her own life .


3. Running people

One of the great works of Robert Redford as a director and one of the best movies about psychotherapists, their patients and the harsh reality that many of them must face. Is about a drama that portrays with great sensitivity the chimeras of each character .

4. A dangerous method

The origins of psychoanalysis according to the director David Cronenberg , well known for his memorable remake of The fly and movies in which the industrial mixes with the organic. On this occasion, however, Cronenberg abandons the genre of terror and the strange relations between human beings and technology to talk about careers Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and his methods to help his patients regulate their repressed desires .

5. Antwone Fisher

Film based on real events about a Marine who is forced to attend therapy for his violent behavior . This film was the premiere of Denzel Washington as a film director, and the truth is that it went very well: a sober film that treats with sensitivity the personal dramas of the young marine.


6. The indomitable Will Hunting

A title that previously appeared in the article about motivating films is also one of the best movies about psychotherapists . It is true that the relationship established between Will Hunting and the professor does not fit into the formal therapeutic framework of a psychological consultation, but it is no less true that the role of the character played by Robin Williams It emulates the role that some psychotherapists have when it comes to promoting the spirit of personal improvement of their patient.

7. What's wrong with Bob?

A comedy in which Bill Murray seems to want chase your psychiatrist even during the holidays this . Of course, the pretensions to the reflection of many films about psychotherapists and psychologists give way here to the simple desire to make people laugh and offer fun moments. We will not complain about that.

8. K-PAX

Dr. Powell sees how his own patient questions the fundamentals of his own reality , since it claims to come from another planet and seems to have an extraordinary capacity to find evidence in favor of its history. Besides having a script with hook, this is one of those films about psychotherapists and their relationship with patients with more commercial pull.

9. The limits of silence

The actor Andy García he plays Michael Hunter, a psychiatrist who has spent several years without working in consultation, decides to treat a young teenager apparently traumatized . However, the fact that Michael sees in the young man the son he lost years ago will endanger not only his therapeutic relationship with his patient, but even aspects that touch his own family.A film that makes us think about the limits of the relationship framework between the mental health professional and the people he serves.

10. A dangerous therapy

Finally, to add a touch of humor to the list of films about psychotherapists and patients, we remember that blockbuster movie in which Billy Crystal It looked forced to make therapy to a mafioso (interpreted, of course, by the magnificent Robert de Niro ).


Real Psychologist Reviews Mental Illness In Movies (March 2024).


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