Christy

By Christy Smith

In Treatment - Week 7 Round up

Posted March 18, 2008

I know I've asked this before. But do parents really screw up their children this much? Sure, In Treatment is just a TV show. But there's probably some small grain of reality to it, right? Parenting was a common theme for everyone this week -- even for Jake and Amy who are normally off in their own little world.

Laura didn't show up for her session on Monday. Yes, Paul told her he can't treat her anymore. But that didn't stop her from showing up and whining to him last week. Anyway, Paul hardly had time to miss her. He was up to ears dealing with his children. His daughter (Rosie) knows that her mother (Kate) flew off to Rome with another man; she called her mom's cell phone and heard Edward (yes, he finally has a name) in the background. In a nutshell, Rosie is understandably devastated, scared and angry with her father. She pleaded with him to do something to "fix" the situation, which makes me think Paul has never shown any assertiveness when it comes to his family.

And then we finally get to meet the elder son (Ian), who was home from college for the weekend. This is where I started to get angry with Paul. Paul sits his son down, and tells him that he and Kate are having problems. Ian obviously resents his mother because one of the first things he asked was if she had cheated on Paul. Insightful, huh? Paul lied about this. I don't know why he's trying to protect Kate now. Instead, he admitted to being in love with another woman. What kind of father tells that to his son? That's why you are in therapy, Paul. So you can share these things with someone whom you won't hurt.

Alex shows up on Tuesday, all decked out in his Navy uniform and ready to go fly again. What's up with that? He had a melt down during last week's session, and then went to his son's birthday party, where his own father shunned him and made him feel like crap. So, in order to feel like a man again, Alex decides he needs to get off the couch and get back in the sky. He hasn't really dealt with any issues yet. This man has problems galore, and he is in denial about them all. I guarantee you that he'll go back up in his plane and crash. I don't care how good he is in the cockpit, he'll freeze up.

Sophie. Where to begin with this pathetic, caustic child? She's still wondering why Paul thinks she's been sexually abused. He never even said that, which makes me wonder if she's trying to tell him something... Anyway, we do know now that her famous photographer father paraded naked models around the house while Sophie's mother was at work. Sophie even came home from school early one day and found her dad in bed with one of these women. He made her feel like she needed to keep this a secret from her mother. Okay. That's awesome parenting right there. Way to mess up your little girl, who is probably anorexic from being around all those models and who probably slept with her gymnastics coach to fill some fatherly love void.

Then we have Jake and Amy. I'm beginning to hate these two self-absorbed whiners even more than I hate Alex. I'm not going to spend much time here. Basically, Amy slept with her boss last week. She chooses to tell Jake during their therapy session, and he starts crying. Where do we go from there? Maybe Jake will grow a pair and leave Amy. Really, his codependency is annoying. But the topic of parents forced its way into this discussion, too. Apparently, Amy was out getting ice cream with her father when he was struck and killed by a car. She's, of course, scarred by what she saw. She probably blames herself for the whole mess -- and it sounds like her mother didn't make her feel any better about it.

Now, Paul and Gina (and Kate). These two spent far too much of my time arguing who is the better parent. Let's see... Paul tells his son that he's in love with another woman ... and Kate stands by while her daughter does drugs and sleeps around. Hum... It's a toss-up, guys. Neither one of you are winning the Christy Smith Parenting Award of the Year. You know, maybe it's not too late for you to seek redemption by raising your youngest child properly. How old is he? 8? 9? Oh, heck, just send him off to boarding school. They'll do a better job of raising him than you two ever will.

One interesting thing: Right after Paul walked out of Gina's house, he got a phone call. He had a surprised look on his face. Something tells me it's Laura. We haven't heard from that messed up, "I've got a daddy complex, too" slut. Wonder what's up? Maybe her father died. He was ill. Let's just hope she made amends with him. Otherwise, we'll be hearing all about her regrets from here on out.