These days, according to a New York Times Opinionator article by Richard Brouillette (March 16, 2015), the psychotherapist's job is on shifting ground. Doctors are now dealing less with relationships and family problems and treating more patients suffering from workplace trauma and financial stress. Brouillette writes: "I see a lot of early and mid-career professionals coping with relentless email and social-media obligations, the erasing of work-life boundaries."
Apparently, more people are lying on the couch to talk about work and money than about love and sex.
In "Backtrack," however, Peter Bowen (Adrien Brody) is pretty much an old-school psychotherapist. His patients have serious personal issues that they wear on their sleeves and want to discuss, and they all cling to Peter as their last hope. After reading that NYT article, this seems refreshing, quaint and very late 20th century. Until Peter realizes that all his patients are actually deceased. Cue the whispering voice of Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense," though this is not a spoiler.
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