Nicole’s Ideal Clients as TV Show Characters

This article uses fictional characters and publicly shared experiences from media figures as relatable examples to help potential clients better understand the kinds of personalities, struggles, emotional experiences, and life transitions I often work with in therapy.

The fictional characters discussed are personal interpretations based on their stories and are not meant to serve as formal psychological evaluations or diagnoses. Any public figures mentioned are discussed only in relation to experiences they have spoken about publicly themselves.

These examples are not meant to define any character or person as a whole. It’s simply to help readers recognize themes they may connect with and better understand what therapy with me may look like.

The goal of this article is simply to help people feel seen. Sometimes it is easier to recognize yourself through a character, storyline, or public experience than through a list of clinical terms on a website.

Spoilers Ahead!

What makes Max a good client for me?

Max is an upbeat teenage girl who knows who she is and is working on getting the things she wants. She’s high achieving both in school and in the theater program at school but that’s leading to some nervousness. She also has a lot of big feelings that she wants to share with her friends but they don’t always have the space for her to do that. The people around Max are struggling with a number of different things like Ginny with, well, everything, Marcus with alcoholism, and Abby with her identity and body image. Max often feels like she has to keep it together for everyone, especially for her brother, Marcus. She feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders while pushing down her own struggles so that she doesn’t worry anyone.

What would I do with Max in therapy?

I would first make sure that therapy would give Max a place to have all her big feelings without guilt, judgement, or restrictions. I’d spend time with her working on how to communicate with her friends so that she can see if they have the capacity for her venting, asking about what’s going on with them, and getting their opinions on decisions she wants to make that will impact them. We’d work on finding positive intent in other’s actions and trying to see their perspective on things. In season 3, Max is trying to be there more for her friends but they’ve pushed her away so we’d talk about how to talk to them about what they need from her without her getting defensive. She would also need to learn that she doesn’t need to be perfect. She doesn’t need to pretend to be okay just because everyone else isn’t. Her feelings aren’t less important just because she’s not going through the same things as everyone else. We’d have to challenge her guilt around telling on Marcus in order to help him. Max needs someone to say that it’s okay to not be okay.

What makes Nia a good client for me?

First and foremost, we need to recognize that Nia is a real person who has spoken about her life and wrote a beautiful memoir about her experiences especially involving those as they relate to her time on the reality show Dance Moms. So what makes her my ideal client? Nia has spoken about suffering from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome which is more commonly called CRPS. CRPS is an extremely painful condition that comes with a lot of emotional struggles including trying to figure out what the future looks like. Like many people with CRPS, Nia is incredibly strong. On top of all of that, Nia has spoken about having to deal with the dance world where some people were attempting to emotionally knock her down, make her smaller, and nitpick her for the sake of “perfection”. For all of these reasons, Nia would’ve been a great client for me during that part of her life.

What would I do with Nia in therapy?

Being that I don’t know Nia personally or her true thoughts and feelings, this is based only on what tends to be seen in people with CRPS and what was written in Nia’s memoir. This does not reflect what Nia should’ve gotten from therapy, what would have worked for her “perfectly”, or Nia as a person.

When working with CRPS, I spend time talking about how my clients feel about their pain, who they can turn to, and the emotions around what is going on in their life. If they are missing out on activities or they experience being “othered” like having to use mobility aids, we spend time processing the feelings of disappointment and if they are self-conscious. We build-up their coping skills to manage flare-ups. We script how to advocate for them with work, school, doctors, and others that they come in contact with. We grieve the life they thought they would have, work on pacing so they can do the things they want to do, and mentally prepare for the procedures and hard work to come. We talk about the potential trauma they’ve experienced involving the injury and everything that came after.

When working with high-level athletes like dancers, we talk about all the anxiety that comes with that pressure. We discuss the importance of self care, being okay with not being perfect, and knowing who they are when others try to talk down to them. This also works great when working with teens too.

What makes Phil a good client for me?

Phil Dunphy might not talk about having ADHD in the show but there’s a good chance that he does. He’s forgetful, impulsive, and hyperfixates. He’s excitable but also takes rejection hard.  Although he’s extremely loving towards his family, he tends to show that in ways that seem like he’s not paying attention to their needs. These things can make him a great client for me.

What would I do with Phil in therapy?

Before anything else, Phil needs to work on coping skills and executive functioning skills to help regulate some of the symptoms and mitigate some of the negative effects of them. The point wouldn’t be to change him and his fun and goofy personality but to make his life easier. We’d spend time talking about some of the things going on in the household and conflicts he’s having with Claire and discuss how some of his symptoms may have played a part into it. We’d work on his listening and communication skills that will also involve him educating Claire on what he needs from her. He would have to work on not putting the mental load on Claire by trying to do things before she has to worry about it. We’d work on finding the positive intent with what people say to reduce that rejection sensitivity. We’d also make sure there wasn’t something else going on because ADHD rarely exists on its own. Most importantly, we would celebrate all the wins that he has and how to build off of those for the future.

What makes Zuko a good client for me?

Let’s be honest about Zuko, from the start he is a brooding teenage boy who would think going to therapy is dumb and pointless. But because of how he responds to Uncle Iroh, we see that he would benefit from therapy. Someone like that can end up being clients who get the most from working with me. I always joke, “My favorite client is a teenager who doesn’t want to be in therapy.” Zuko went through a physical trauma leaving him with a scar that he still experiences pain from. This has also come with a major identity shift as he feels shame and guilt. Later on that identity shifts again in a big way as he redefines what his future could be. He’s discovering who he is as a person and what he wants. He has to manage the guilt of getting his uncle locked up and becoming even further estranged with the rest of his family.

What would I do with Zuko in therapy?

The hardest part would be to first get Zuko to start talking and opening up. I’d meet him where he’s at and acknowledge how weird therapy can feel. Once he’s ready to talk, we would work on coping skills for his pain so that it doesn’t take up too much space in his mind. We’d grieve the “perfect life” he thought he was going to have as the prince and work on taking that original life off the pedestal that he originally had it on. We’d process the trauma of what happened and redefine what the future will look like.

What makes Devi a good client for me?

I love working with teens who are figuring out who they are, family and school stress, and what school they want to go to. All of this would make Devi an ideal client for me. She spends the first season feeling awkward and trying to find her place at school. She’s an over achiever but also processing the grief of losing her father. She spends a lot of her time talking about boys and because of that has become a bad friend at times. Her story deals with self-worth, jealousy, and learning how to make good decisions.

What would I do with Devi in therapy?

Devi needs a therapist that will call her out and be direct with her while still being compassionate about what is going on. Devi struggles to see someone else’s perspective when she’s having strong feelings and her therapist often has to point out what others could be thinking or feeling. I would spend time looking for positive intent with her especially when it comes to her mom. We’d spend time talking about the death of her father and how her being in a wheelchair plays into what she does today. One important thing with Devi would be setting boundaries but also explain why so that she doesn’t feel dismissed. Devi just wants to feel important and understood so working on her self worth and how she doesn’t need to be number one in school or have a boyfriend in order to be important would go a long way with her.

What makes Derek a good client for me?

Derek suffered a crush injury in his hand from the plane crash. He was experiencing extreme pain and weakness from this. This also led to him to lash out on those around him and fear that he will never be able to do surgery again. These things are exactly what would make him my ideal client. I work with chronic pain and all the emotions that come along with it.

What would I do with Derek in therapy?

Derek needs a space to let out the anger and frustration. I would never tell him to look on the positive side or tell him all the good things going on in his life. He feels like he lost his future and he needs someone who can sit in that. We would work closely with his other doctors to prepare for the road ahead of him. This means grieving the things he’s missing out on and talking about the mental ramifications of the different procedures he’s having. We’d talk about what happens if the procedure doesn’t work or only gets him back to 50% functioning at best. We might also work with his physical/occupational therapist to try things like mirror therapy or green light therapy depending on his feelings about it. He knows the newest and top research so we’d lean into that. We’d talk about how to communicate with the people around him so that he doesn’t isolate or push them away. Lastly, with him being such a driven high achiever, we would have to work on how to pace himself so that he has more good days than bad days.