The Perfect Therapist, Does She Exist? Yes, Her Name Is Adele

Secure we are in the knowledge that after watching a captivating, pulsating, disturbing and unnerving film that we will never meet the characters involved in real life.

Thank heavens.

Oh wait.

Unless the movie is based upon a true story, but even then, what are the chances? Aren’t they already in prison? Or trapped within the confines of a Lifetime Network Movie?

Too, even if the actor involved is creepy as crap and we read about them in the tabloids having one problem after another, most likely we will never meet them either.

But what if you do want to meet them?

The character that is. After all, given the actresses resume, she evolves into one personality after another depending upon the film but sometimes when she gets it right and strikes artistic gold, we just might fall in love.

With the character.

Can we talk about that? Are we alone or is your truth out there too?

Sometimes way out there, right?

Now, please don’t adjust your TV set because we will do that for you. The following would normally be a list of characters who display quite the character in the hands of an adept and often beautiful actress. But given our penchant for constantly falling in love, the list is a little different here.

In fact there is no list.

There is only one female character.

Please remember, it is a character that we would love to meet in real life, even if for a dinner or professional association. Sometimes we have fallen in love with them but not necessarily.

You look confused. Let’s begin to clarify.

ADELE – IN TREATMENT

In Treatment is an American HBO drama, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, about a psychologist, 50-something Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients, as well as those with his own therapist at the end of the week. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on January 28, 2008, as a five-night-a-week series.

After winning critical acclaim and numerous honors, including Emmy, Golden Globe and Writers Guild awards, In Treatment returned for a second season, premiering on April 5, 2009. The second season built on the success of the first, winning a 2009 Peabody Award. The third and final season premiered on October 26, 2010, for a seven-week run, with four episodes per week.

As HBO analyzes, “Therapist Dr. Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) exhibits an insightful, reserved demeanor while treating his patients, but succumbs to crippling insecurity with his own therapist in this half-hour drama series.”

We loved all three seasons and especially the third and final one where we met Adele.

Yes she is a therapist. A young one. Very young.

Talk about forcing Buddha to painfully look within during his mid-life crisis.

As you might imagine, previously in the first two seasons as we sat like a curious fly on the shoulder of Paul’s tweed blazer, we met a host of crazy characters. Literally. But hey, as T.G, Sheppard sang so earnestly, “Some I never really knew, though I always wanted to, some I only met once in a room. Big, little short or tall, wish I could’ve kept them all.”

We loved them everyone. We would have loved to keep them too.

As long as they stayed in Paul’s room and didn’t come to ours.

Adele was different.

Why are you looking at us like that? You are asking if we wanted Adele to come to our room?

HBO describes her as “serious and intelligent” which in terms of a hookup is everything that we hate in a woman.

She will swiftly be kicked out of bed for eating crackers.

Where is young, beautiful, curvy and dumb when you need her?

Relax, put that knife down. We’re just kidding. Where is your sense of humor? Isn’t this the 1970’s where Fred Sanford and Archie Bunker can say whatever the heck they want?

Not? Okay fine.

What we mean to say is that Adele is an exceptional therapist and we would love to meet her and go to her room. Truly.

Not her bedroom. Her office. Now Paul on the other hand would love to go there.

Her bedroom. Not her office. He hates Adele’s office but he keeps coming back for more emotional butt whippings, all tied up and gagged.

We, you see, come as a patient and boy do we need her help. Paul sure did and he didn’t even know it. At least we know that we’re all screwed up.

When Paul first meets her he’s just there to go through the motions so he can get some prescription pills for his splitting headache no doubt brought by his previous Motley Crue of complicated wacky patients.

So with young (which he likes) Adele who is serious and intelligent (which he hates more than we do) Paul is abrupt, condescending, arrogant and wants to be in control but this is one tough pink cookie that he can’t crumble.

When he jabs left, Adele ducks right. When he throws an over hand right, Adele kicks him in the groin. Whichever way he is headed, she gets there about twenty five years faster which makes her about 10 years old and she’s still on to him.

This is what is so fascinating about Adele.

In our circle we have met a number of therapists over the years (okay, enough of your smirks) and in all seriousness, here is what we found out.

Very, very few could truly help us.

The epitome of the therapist who did her internship at Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars is Naomi Watts’s character in the Netflix original series, Gypsy, described by the reviewer at Vanity Fair as a woman who is bored and voyeuristic.

We might also add though “happily” married, she’s sexually ravenous, deceptive, unfaithful and treacherous.

But hey, as the expression goes (eye brows gently raised), she’s really a nice person. If only you could get to know her, which you can’t, cuz she absolutely won’t let you while she’s sleeping with your girlfriend. What?

That’s right. We didn’t stutter. She is romantically involved with your girlfriend. She encouraged you to open up and fully communicate and you did. You should be proud. You’re the one who described your sexy gal pal in such glowing terms that your therapist couldn’t resist.

Can you really blame her for wanting a free sample?

Oh those therapists.

So often they start out following the traditional therapist handbook but over time they become relaxed and just listen, even become borderline friends. No problem. It makes us feel important since no one else listens to us and it makes their work life easy but it doesn’t help us as the patient.

“I believe that the therapist’s function should be to help people become free to be aware of and to experience their possibilities.”… Rollo May

What we loved about Adele is that even though the far more experienced Paul wanted her for a supervisor, life partner, friend, lover or anything else except for her role as his therapist and the tough wise steely eyed young woman didn’t blink.

She stayed in professional character and began to slowly and irritatingly peel away at what was truly troubling Paul.

Adele did something novel.

She persisted in keeping her client’s best interest in mind. Imagine that.

Trust us. That was not easy. Paul is a very complex Zen Master. And what was the eventual result?

She helped him.

She did it in a way that no one had ever before. Eventually Paul had some life altering decisions to make. As he admitted, he was 57, had no real passion in life and had lost his way.

Adele guided him towards the frightening but necessary winding stone strewn path among the tall trees to eventually find his way.

That is why we would love to meet the character Adele as a therapist.

Sometimes in life, as arrogant and bright as we think we may be (brightest person in the room syndrome), there is a deep need for someone who is professionally resolved, serious and intelligent coupled with being extremely great at what they do.

Someone who takes great pride in their work.

Especially if they are our therapist.

Even if initially it is very painful.

~ ~ ~

OPENING PHOTO Netflix photo credit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Treatment_(U.S._TV_series)

https://www.hbo.com/in-treatment 

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/08/netflix-gypsy-canceled

https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/therapist