A growing number of horror films are placing therapists at the center of their narratives, portraying them as deeply flawed individuals grappling with their own mental health crises. This trend, seen in movies such as Mary Bronstein's If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and the 2022 film Smile, taps into contemporary anxieties about therapy and the human capacity to heal others while struggling oneself.
The Rise of the Unraveling Therapist
In If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Rose Byrne plays Linda, a therapist and mother caught in a downward spiral. The film's hallucinatory style mirrors her deteriorating mental state. Similarly, Smile features a psychiatrist (Sosie Bacon) pursued by a malignant metaphor for her own poor mental health. These characters are no longer relegated to supporting roles, as in Good Will Hunting or The Sopranos, but are now lead protagonists.
Within a month in UK cinemas, two more films join this trend. Backrooms stars Renate Reinsve as a psychiatrist and self-help author who unravels from a calm professional to a nervous wreck navigating her own mind. In Rebecca Zlotowski's A Private Life, Jodie Foster plays a therapist who investigates a former client's death, unaware she is compensating for her own shortcomings as a spouse and parent.
Why Now? The Therapy Boom
The trigger behind this cinematic shift is the increasing prevalence of therapy. A 2026 survey found that 37% of adults in the UK were seeking therapy, a 2% increase from the previous year, according to the source. Once stigmatized, therapy is now branded as “sexy,” with TherapyTok influencers and podcasts like Esther Perel's Where Should We Begin? bringing therapeutic language into mainstream culture. Reality shows like Couples Therapy have further normalized the practice, pushing it to the epicenter of collective consciousness.
The critic Billie Walker notes the dubious use of therapy-speak in films like Renfield (2023), where the sidekick realizes he has a co-dependent relationship with Dracula. Beyond gimmicks, the cinematic reputation of therapists has deteriorated over years. In Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (2010), asylum staffers may be conspiring against a detective. Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley (2021) features Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a therapist who extorts clients. In Beau Is Afraid (2023), the therapist is revealed as a nemesis.
From Villainous to Human
This trope of the villainous therapist has evolved into more rounded portrayals. Filmmakers recognize that therapists, as Bronstein notes, are not “perfect” like Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, but flawed human beings. In If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Linda is unable to care for her daughter or patients, while her own analyst (Conan O’Brien) is also unable to support her, creating an infinite chain of frustrated therapists.
These erring therapists exist in the realm of horror, with supernatural elements designed to mirror negative thought patterns. Whether a labyrinth in Backrooms, a magical hole in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, a trauma-hungry demon in Smile, or a sinister hypnosis trip in A Private Life, the otherworldly parts enhance claustrophobia and dread. Rare comedy equivalents like Shrinking exist, but generally, fictional shrinks live in terror.
Deeper Fears About Therapy
More than suggesting therapists are out to get us, these films tap into a greater fear: how equipped can any therapist be to handle another's issues when they are weighed down by their own baggage? The real dread sets in when a previously self-possessed therapist loses their cool. With skepticism enduring about therapy as an infallible cure, it is unsurprising that these anxieties are projected onto the screen.
