his comedy-drama series unfolds in an inconspicuous-looking room with paintings on the wall, indoor plants in one corner and a coat hanger in the other. There is a bluish-grey couch at one end of the room. It sits across from two sofas. A rug is chucked on the carpeted floor, much like an afterthought, and sun filters in from the big framed windows draped with off-white curtains.

We are in the therapist’s office.

“Wow! Are you okay?”

A client who has been waiting for a while directs the question to a sleep-deprived and dishevelled therapist. Jason Segel, who also played the favourite lawyer Marshall from How I Met Your Mother, returns as a therapist, Jimmy Laird, in Shrinking.

Shrinking revolves around quite a serious subject; the intricate art and science of counselling, a speciality borne from a discipline in which the choice of words is of chief importance.

The words of one individual tend to ripple through and impact not only the client but also anyone the client interacts with. The police station holds the therapist, the client and a different client’s husband in one room.

“It sounds so unethical that I feel like an accomplice just listening to you.”

One of the first things psychology students learn is the importance of ethics. The consequences of breaching the ethical code of conduct can be dire.

It is against this backdrop that the show presents a frolic take on trauma coping, featuring a gradual abandonment of the book practice of cognitive behavioural therapy by a therapist as he finally snaps and starts being unapologetically honest with his clients. The drama is perhaps the best portrayal in recent times of a matter of pivotal significance to the field of psychology.

A common assumption about therapy is that you walk into the therapist’s office, and just let your emotions out. It often negates the fact that the therapist is also a human with a personal life. Shrinking contests this assumption by telling the story of a therapist who is as human and grief-stricken as his clients. Jimmy, the protagonist, is dealing with the recent loss of his wife, Tia. He has a tumultuous relationship with his adolescent daughter, Alice, that begins to interfere with his job.

The therapist becomes unabashedly honest with his clients at a point, leading to exchanges that range from comedic and acerbic to downright satirical. He persuades his clients to make abrupt decisions and becomes a source of constant worry for his boss, Dr Paul Rhoades, played by the iconic actor, Harrison Ford; and his colleague Gaby, played by Jessica Williams, because of his many spur-of-the-moment outbursts.

Shrinking tells the story of a therapist who is as human and grief-stricken as his clients. The therapist becomes unabashedly honest with his clients, leading to exchanges that range from comedic and acerbic to downright satirical.

“Are you just gonna burn down your career and take me down with you?”

Jimmy begins suffering from depression after his wife passes away. Due to his overwhelming grief, he is unable to be fully present for Alice, his teenage daughter. Meanwhile, Alice’s godmother Gaby is also struggling through a divorce.

Alice ends up being raised by Liz, a neighbour who takes up the job of tending to her after her child moves out. Liz, though maternal, is a bit overprotective. This seems to pose a barrier between an already-strained father-daughter relationship.

Even though it is 2023, global events indicate that racism and discrimination are far from being eradicated. While Shrinking has a diverse cast, representative of many different ethnicities, races and nationalities, it also highlights the everyday struggles faced by these minorities. For instance, in the tight-knit relationship between two white guys; Paul only turns to their black colleague for personal advice when he crosses swords with his blue-eyed boy, or the time when the post-traumatic stress disorder patient, Sean, questions if leaving the car on the curb would be safe and Jimmy quips:

“I’m a white guy in Pasadena; the cops will probably just take it back to my house for me.”

This draws a stark picture of how rights are unequal, even in 2023. Jimmy, as a white man enjoys the freedom of not being held accountable for breaking laws, whereas Sean as an African American man has a vastly different experience and has to be more cautious. The viewers note that completely different sets of rules exist for two people residing in the same city.

Similarly, Sean’s trauma from his deployment in Afghanistan indicates the severity of PTSD in returning troops after a war spanning over two decades where innocent families were slaughtered and guns were held to children’s heads.

Shrinking dives into several themes, creating a myriad of emotions and generating discourse on everything from the ethics of therapy and goals of therapists and rocky familial ties to the rights of black people and the trauma sustained from the US-Afghanistan invasion.

Thematically, the series delves into both the issues that are affecting people on an individual level and the global geopolitical events that had an adverse impact on the mental health of a vast population.

The year 2023 too has been far from normal with earthquakes, cyclones and wars, all happening simultaneously. Timely provision of therapy, counselling and assistance needs to be prioritised in such times of uncertainty. Unfortunately, mental health is either ignored or tabooed in a variety of cultures, including our own.

Positive representation, such as the one afforded by Shrinking, raises awareness about mental health issues and stresses the need to reach out for professional help. It also argues for humanising therapists and shows us that they too are people.

The series is perfect for having a good laugh while navigating through the principles of good practice for those who are seeking a subtle introduction to the field and know how prevalent discussions around mental health will remain in years to come.

The writer is an undergraduate student of psychology at FC College