Review:
HBO’s series "In Treatment” is a drama that has been nominated for over 15 awards, and has won an Emmy, Writer’s Guild Award and Golden Globe. "In Treatment” allows the viewer to shadow counseling sessions led by Paul (Gabriel Byrne). The show is divided into five thirty minute episodes a week with each episode depicting a therapy session for one of the five clients. Every season, the viewer is introduced to four new clients; this past season the clients included: Mia, defense lawyer; April, teen with cancer; Oliver, child of a broken family; and Walter, high power CEO. The fifth episode is Paul’s visit to his therapist. Every episode includes relationships that are built and broken, with some clients healed and some falling apart.

As a counseling student, "In Treatment” helped me to see clear examples of the skills we were learning, and even allowed me to see what happens when certain skills are not utilized properly. For example, one skill that Paul has trouble with is keeping emotional and physical boundaries. This show is beneficial in that it allows me to "enter the shoes” of the counselor and assess how I would approach the client issues. Because it is a drama, there are aspects of it that you would hope never happen to you (i.e. malpractice suits, clients trying to seduce you, etc.). By seeing what could happen if proper procedures are not followed, viewers’ eyes are opened for what to avoid or how to approach a problem differently.