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Is this a Bad Therapist? Real Therapist Reacts to Adolescence

Georgia Dow

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In this video, Georgia breaks down the therapist scene from Episode 3 of Adolescence and takes a closer look at how well (or poorly) the therapist handled Jamie’s situation. Was the psychologist supportive or dismissive? Did they help Jamie open up, or shut him down with clinical detachment? Georgia explores the subtle moments in the conversation, touches on the topic of masculinity that comes up, and asks viewers to reflect on their own experiences with therapy. Join the discussion in the comments—was the therapist right, wrong, or something in between?

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20 Comments

@GeorgiaDow Creator 1 year ago Pinned

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@sasha_something 1 year ago

She’s not a therapist though, she’s a psychologist who’s assessing his mental state.

@dorfythepink 1 year ago

I'm genuinely shocked that they did all this in a single take, these two are fantastic actors.

@LAnimeMaster 1 year ago

As a therapist who works on a forensic unit at a psychiatric hospital, there was so much of this episode that reminded me of my day to day work. Except I work with adults and not children or adolescence, and I don't do evaluations, but I help prepare them for evaluations as well as group therapy.

Anyways, I'm so glad you chose to do this show and this episode. I'd love to see you do some of the other episodes.

@epaul525 1 year ago (edited)

Yeah, the important thing to remember here is that her job is not to help him come to grips with his problems or learn to control his emotional outbursts. As a forensic psychologist she’s been hired to assess his mental state, determine if he is emotionally mature enough to truly understand what he’s being accused of and has the required mens rea to stand trial. Her being a female psychologist, I think, makes him let his guard down in unexpected ways because he seeks the desire or approval of the women and girls he’s attracted to, so he tries to be more open and honest but is then angry when his honesty horrifies her.

@MissKashira 1 year ago

When she starts yelling at him, I don't think she's losing control. I think it's a ploy to see how he handles stressful situations given what he told her about his dad. And turns out, when under stress he reacts the exact same way his father does, which was information she needed for her evaluation considering his actions were part of an outburst.

@trinaq 1 year ago

Such chilling acting, especially from young Owen Cooper. He has a bright future ahead of him. It's especially interesting that they revealed that Jamie really did kill Katie, at the end of the first episode.

@bennybe1977 1 year ago

The problem with your analysis is in the title - She is not a therapist in this role, she is a forensic phsycologist.
In order to asses how he reacts to a woman (or girl) asserting her self as better/stronger than him,
She needs to get him there, also in order to s watch how he cools down. This is NOT therapy

@Empathetik 1 year ago

Hi Georgia. Love your videos. Notice how Jamie says, "No, that's weird" when the psychologist asks if his dad is "loving"? That's a massive red flag right there. Jamie views genuine love and affection as "weird", perhaps because he doesn't know the difference between love and sexual attraction.

@AsFlowingWater 1 year ago

If you have the time, I feel like some commentary on episode 4 would also be extremely interesting! I thought the family dynamics were worth spending time on. Even though some of the people I've spoken to found it a "boring" episode, it was the most emotionally draining to me. Thank you for this video, I appreciated hearing you speak about the difference between the job of someone who handles evaluations and someone who does therapeutic work.

@novactic-s9k 8 months ago (edited)

Oversimplified, there are:
* Psychologists
* Crisis workers (who are hopefully somewhat trained in social work sector)
* Psychotherapists (usually a psychiatric nurse or psychologist)
* Occupational therapists (useful for example to some ADHD people, kinda comparable to psychiatric nurses)
(* Practical nurses; in for example, psych wards)
* Psychiatric nurses
* Psychiatrists (doctors, PhD)
* Neuro-psychiatrists (doctors, PhD)

And THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING

@ataraxia7439 1 year ago

I wish there was a widely agreed upon definition of the word "manipulative" that was more narrow than "acting in a way towards someone to get a desired outcome."

@Baku-san_Dreameater 1 year ago

This TV series was an eye-opener. Because of 'Adolescence,' I became involved in youth activity programs. Currently, I’m planning a football ⚽️ social club for young people and adolescents in my local area, where anyone is welcome to join and play, regardless of skill level.

@RawTimee 1 year ago

To everyone…SHES not a therapist in the show, shes a psychologist. Shes not supposed to baby him and shes not gunna comfort him. She just wants answers and the truth so shes digging for that, not digging to FIX anything. She just needs answers and shes done

@DawnRego 1 year ago

Yay! So glad your perspective is now out in the world for this scene.

@dustiestspade339 1 year ago (edited)

My coping mechanism is laughing and smiling and boy it gets weird after someone points it out

@Boredom45 1 year ago

She isn’t a therapist. This is quite clear from the episode if a modicum of attention is given.

@Flutterbyby 1 year ago

Both excellent actors. Brilliant performance for a first timer. Convincing.

@catdogmousecheese 1 year ago

If you liked Adolescence, I'd recommend watching Defending Jacob next. It has a similar story, a father (who is also a lawyer) tries to defend his son after he's arrested for killing his classmate, but as the story continues the more the father believes Jacob might actually be a murderer.

@epaul525 1 year ago (edited)

I love that every time we had the instinct to make excuses for his behavior or try and give a reason why he might not be guilty, the show quickly reminds the audience that there is no doubt he did it. The filmmakers actually force us to confront why “we” keep excusing this. It’s brilliant.