Therapists Have Problems Too—Apple TV+’s Shrinking Delivers Laughs with a Side of Chaos

Apple TV+’s sitcom Shrinking offers laughs, great performances, and a refreshing take on mental health professionals — just don’t mistake it for a therapy manual.

By Asma G

TV shows about therapists or shrinks are always a bit of a gamble in terms of whether or not you should watch them especially while you are in therapy. On the one hand, you have shows like The Shrink Next Door while on the other, you have Shrinking. While both shows are available on Apple TV+, they are diametrically opposite in terms of their plots. 

The Shrink Next Door is based on real-life events and chronicles how an unethical therapist inserts himself into a wealthy patient’s life over three decades, manipulates the patient into isolating himself from his friends and family, and takes control of his finances and is a show I will probably never watch myself, let alone recommend to anyone. I read a few articles about the real-life inspiration for the show—Isaac Herschkopf and his patient Marty Markowitz—and I feel like I’ve been scarred for a lifetime! 

Shrinking, on the other hand, is a delightful comedy series on Apple TV+, starring Jason Segel (perhaps best known for his role on How I Met Your Mother), Harrison Ford, and Jessica Williams. The show follows Jimmy (played by Jason Segel), a therapist grieving the loss of his wife, as he raises his teen daughter. Jimmy is largely an absent parent in the immediate aftermath of his wife’s death and his daughter’s care falls to a helpful neighbour, Liz and her husband. 

Harrison Ford, who I usually associate with action/adventure movies, essays the role of his mentor and colleague, Paul, wonderfully. Paul is gruff and sarcastic, constantly keeping his colleagues at arm’s length, yet he’s also incredibly caring, going out of his way to look out for Jimmy’s daughter with informal therapy sessions where she pays him in candy. This slightly contradictory mix of characteristics makes him a delight to watch. At one point, Paul does an imaginary mic drop. (Yes, you read that right…Harrison Ford does a mic drop with an imaginary mic… will wonders ever cease?!)

The show revolves around Jimmy’s life and those of his best friend, his neighbour, Liz, and his two co-workers. Jimmy, who at one point calls himself a “psychological vigilante”, decides to take a more hands-on approach with his clients, taking a client with anger-issues to an MMA class, giving another client an ultimatum to leave her abusive husband, allowing a client, Sean, to move into his house while still being his therapist—all incredibly unethical practices for a therapist to act on in real-life, but incredibly entertaining situations that make for great TV.

Shrinking does a great job of humanising therapists—they are people just like us. As a regular therapy-goer, I am embarrassed to admit that I usually assume therapists and other mental health professionals don’t have issues in their relationships with others. After all, they guide numerous patients and clients through familial relationships and other challenges in life. Seeing Jimmy, Paul, and Gabby (the third therapist in the practice) struggling while setting boundaries with their families, making questionable choices, and blundering their way through parenting and life in general was a great reminder that knowledge is one thing, but putting that knowledge into practice is a completely different beast. In a strange way, I found the show reassuring and a useful reminder that no one’s lives are perfect, not even those of therapists.

While Shrinking is clearly a sitcom with a deeply unserious portrayal of a therapist who finds himself in outlandish circumstances as a result of his choices, I am still slightly wary of recommending the show to anyone I know who hasn’t been to therapy yet out of the fear that they might assume that the show is reflective of what happens in a therapists’ office. At face value, this might sound like a bizarre fear but given how few psychiatrists and mental health professionals exist in our country, and the amount of stigma and mockery that exists around mental illness, I’d rather not take any chances. 

For everyone else i.e. regular therapy-goers or people who have a reasonable understanding of therapy, I’d recommend Shrinking for some much-needed laughter!

Bio: Asma G is a feminist writer with an interest in public policy and mental health. You can read more of her pieces right here, and find her on Instagram at @asmag7