There are many pieces of cinema that can be catalogued as films about psychology, but there are not so many that explore the relationship between therapist and patient , or that show us the consequences that a visit to a psychologist or psychiatrist can have for a person.

This is a more specific issue, yes, but no less current, considering the number of people who rely on mental health professionals to redirect their lives, and the importance that the figure of the therapist has in our collective imagination . That is why a list of films about psychotherapists and psychiatrists makes sense: not only does it offer us some clues about how society sees the figure of the therapist, but it may even transform the idea we have of this role.

Here you can find a selection of these films. I’m sure you’ll think of more, so… welcome suggestions!

1. The strange passenger

We begin the list of films about psychotherapy with a classic from the 1940s which is, in turn, a film adaptation of a novel. It is the story of Charlotte Vale , a woman who has long been subject to the will of her mother, who, on coming into contact with a psychologist, sees how her hunger to live life fully and autonomously is born . That is why she decides to start a journey that will upset her whole world.

2. Another woman

One of those films in which the influence of psychoanalysis is seen in Woody Allen , the director of this film. It is about a woman who, from the studio she has recently rented for work, is able to listen to the therapy sessions offered on the other side of her wall. As a second and involuntary patient, the protagonist will begin to ask herself, for the first time, questions concerning the existential foundations of her own life .

3. Ordinary people

One of the great works of Robert Redford as a director and one of the best films about psychotherapists, their patients and the harsh reality that many of them have to face. It is a drama that portrays with great sensitivity the chimeras of each character .

4. A dangerous method

The origins of psychoanalysis according to the director David Cronenberg , well known for his memorable remake of The Fly and the films in which the industrial is mixed with the organic. On this occasion, however, Cronenberg abandons the genre of terror and the strange relations between humans and technology to talk about the careers of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and their methods of helping their patients to regulate their repressed desires .

5. Antwone Fisher

Film based on real facts about a marine who is forced to attend therapy for his violent behaviour . This film was the debut of Denzel Washington as a film director, and the truth is that it turned out very well: a sober film that deals with the personal dramas of the young marine with sensitivity.

6. The indomitable Will Hunting

A title that appeared earlier in the article on motivational films is also one of the best films about psychotherapists . It is true that the relationship established between Will Hunting and the teacher does not fall within the formal therapeutic framework of a psychological consultation, but it is no less true that the role of the character played by Robin Williams emulates the role that some psychotherapists have when it comes to fostering the spirit of self-improvement of their patient.

7. What about Bob?

A comedy in which Bill Murray seems to want to chase his psychiatrist even during his vacation . Of course, the pretensions towards reflection typical of many films about psychotherapists and psychologists give way here to the simple desire to make people laugh and to offer funny moments. We will not complain about that.

8. K-PAX

Dr. Powell sees his own patient questioning the foundations of his own reality , since he says he comes from another planet and seems to have an extraordinary ability to find evidence in favour of his story. Besides having a script with a hook, this is one of those films about psychotherapists and their relationship with patients with more commercial pull.

9. The limits of silence

The actor Andy García plays Michael Hunter, a psychiatrist who, having spent several years without working in a practice, decides to treat a young adolescent who is apparently traumatised . However, the fact that Michael sees in the young man the son he lost years ago will jeopardize not only his therapeutic relationship with his patient, but even aspects that touch his own family. A film that makes us reflect on the limits of the framework of relationships between the mental health professional and the people he serves.

10. A dangerous therapy

Finally, to give a touch of humour to the list of films about psychotherapists and patients, we remember that blockbuster film in which Billy Crystal was forced to give therapy to a gangster (played, of course, by the magnificent Robert de Niro ).