History Main / CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekE9DaggerOfTheMind Dagger of the Mind]]", a patient in a space-borne asylum for the criminally insane turns the tables on the institution's supervisor, turning him into a neurotic wreck who hands the keys over to the patient. And that's just the start...

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watchmen_rorschach.png]]

* In ''Manga/{{Ibitsu}}'', the Strange Lolita's doctor [[spoiler: appeared to have gone on a killing spree before committing suicide. [[SubvertedTrope But it turned out to have been all her doing]]]].

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': A patient in a space-borne asylum for the criminally insane turns the tables on the institution's supervisor, turning him into a neurotic wreck who hands the keys over to the patient. And that's just the start...

* In the first few seasons of ''Series/TheSopranos'', Dr. Melfi gradually gets distraught by her therapy sessions with Tony Soprano, leading to weight gains, [[DrowningMySorrows drinking]], and needing therapy herself.

* ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' did a sketch where Kermit goes to psychiatrist Sandra Bullock, complaining that every time he hears the word "phenomenon," the singers from the old "Manna Manna" song suddenly appear and start singing. Bullock asks if she can try it, says "phenomenon," and joins in the singing, leaving Kermit even more disconcerted.
* Inverted in ''Series/RedDwarf'' when we learn that Rimmer once volunteered on the Samaritans' suicide prevention hotline.

* In ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'', the healer Leetah tries to cure the AntiVillain Two-Edge, a half-elf-half-troll ChessMaster who spends a lot of time cackling insanely from behind walls. It goes pretty well until she starts calling him "son," pretending to be a comforting mother figure to him, which turns out to be a bad idea since it triggers Two-Edge's ''very'' deep MommyIssues. The result: Two-Edge runs off, only half-cured and becoming ''much'' more dangerous, and Leetah ends up guilt-ridden over her mistake. She's also very thoroughly squicked by the madness and mixed heritage she felt inside him while using her magic.

* ''Literature/JustAfterSunset'', a collection of short stories by Creator/StephenKing, features the novella ''N''. A compelling story about a mysterious circle of stones on the outskirts of town ensnares quite a few people, including a psychiatrist.

Not to be confused with TherapyBackfire, or CriticalResearchFailure in the field of psychology.

* ''Manga/{{Soil}}'' has a school counselor who is actually pretty knowlegable and spot-on about her subjects' problems (once she realizes how horrible they are), but [[spoiler: keeping her insane(?) son(?) locked in the basement behind an electric fence that he keeps trying to get out of to the point the wires' pattern is burned into his body]] kinda diminishes her authority.

* Happens in ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' when a ahead-of-his-time shrink attempts to psycho-analyze various criminals to set them on the right path. It works ridiculously well for a time (all the shrink has to do is ask the crooks to tell him about their childhood, after which they realize they would have loved to do something else with their lives), until he tries this on the series' BigBad, the Dalton brothers, who [[CardCarryingVillain don't regret anything about their lifestyle]]. They then ask ''him'' about his childhood...

* In ''ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage'', Carnage proudly proclaims that that's what's wrong with all of his shrinks - they think that all his problems boils down to sex and violence on TV or violent video games or any of that stuff when he's proudly all of that and more - he's a proud and murderous psychopath and all of those "ills" are a part of him.

* PlayedForLaughs in the newspaper comic ''ComicStrip/{{Pondus}}'', where Jokke (Alex in the English version) regularly visits a therapist, Dr. Zimmerknaben, to 'let out steam' over all his crazy misadventures with women. While Jokke himself hasn't got much problem with his experiences, Zimmerknaben is eventually driven mad by the experience of hearing Jokke drone on about his bizzare sex life week after week. One of the final strips of the two interacting shows Jokke playing the therapist role for Zimmerknaben while the latter goes on a tangent about how treating Jokke has turned him into a neurotic mess.

* ''Film/BasicInstinct2'': Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass is appointed to evaluate Catherine Tramell after she's involved in a car accident that kills her lover due to reckless driving. During their sessions she does a reverse psycho-analysis of Glass to mess with his mind, since she's not only a sociopath but studied psychology in college. It doesn't take long for her to dissect all his own personal failings and seduce him into a relationship with her.

-->'''Dr. Oatman:''' You didn't tell me [[ProfessionalKiller what you did for a living]] for ''four'' sessions. ''Then'' you told me. And I said, "I don't want to work with you any more." And yet, you come back each week at the same time. That's a difficulty for me. On top of that, if you've committed a crime or you're thinking about committing a crime, I have to tell the authorities.\\

* The psychiatrist in the ''Film/LethalWeapon'' films gets progressively crazier as she has to deal with Riggs. In the first film this is because he is angry and depressed. In the sequels though it's just because he likes messing with her.

* [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus John Cleese]] wrote a half-hour sketch in which Ronnie Barker plays a psychiatrist treating a man who thinks he's being stalked by a dwarf. Barker is skeptical at first, until the dwarf turns up in his office. The patient is relieved to know that he isn't crazy after all, but as he walks out, the dwarf vanishes...

* An episode of ''Series/ForeverKnight'' had a serial killer who escaped from a mental institution. He talks about killing in such an enticing way that he almost drives Nick (a vampire trying to "go straight") into killing again. Also, [[spoiler: his ranting has already gotten to his therapist: she kills one of her patients, and is about to kill another when Nick stops her]].

* ''Series/SomeMothersDoAveEm'': A psychiatrist tries to goes to convince Frank that he's not a failure. By the end of the episode, the psychiatrist is a nervous wreck, and Frank is delighted to have been proved right -- he ''is'' a failure.
* Niles and ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' often come across as more neurotic than the people they treat, and even end up in therapy in the {{Flashback}} tale "Shrink Rap". Several episodes revolve around Frasier and Niles analyzing the crap out of an issue, when it's really far simpler than they ever would have guessed.

* In one episode of ''Series/TheNanny'', there was a throwaway joke about the fact that Gracie was not able to get an appointment with her therapist to address some incident in the episode, because the therapist had an appointment with her therapist.

* ''Radio/TheJackBennyProgram'' did a RunningGag in the 40s where Jack kept hearing a yodeling echo whenever somebody said a word ending with an "Oh" sound. It culminated in Jack visiting a psychiatrist (played by long-time adversary Frank Nelson) who explained that it was just a mild psychosis he picked up in his visit to Switzerland, and that all he needs is a vacation, a change of scenery. Jack suggests "Idaho," cue the echo, Jack: "Well, okay I suppose ..." Frank: "''Just'' a minute Mr. Benny. Did you hear that?"

* Somewhat implied in the TabletopGame/UnknownArmies supplement ''Post Modern Magick'', which mentions that trying to treat adepts (insane magicians) in an mental institution is risky. The corebook, however, doesn't use this trope in the normal rules for curing madness (but GM can certainly inflict madness checks on the therapist if he feels it appropriate).

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate II'': when you first arrive to the Asylum, a Cowled Wizard tells you that the place is in disarray since its former director went insane after communicating with his mad patients for too long. [[spoiler:This "Wizard" turns out to be Irenicus who has, in fact, driven the director mad with his magic to take over Asylum.]]
* The patient interview tapes in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' feature a few examples, like a doctor being seduced by FemmeFatale eco-terrorist Poison Ivy. Who was able to cheat a bit as one of her lesser known powers is manipulating pheromones.

* Fred Bonaparte from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is a variation of this. He was originally the cheerful Chief Orderly of Thorny Towers Asylum, until he tried to cheer up chronically-depressed JerkAss Crispin by playing a board game. Crispin won game after game after game, and soon Fred snapped and developed a split personality (the GeneticMemory [[ItMakesSenseInContext of Napoleon Bonaparte]]) while Crispin took over ''his'' job running the asylum for [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr.]] [[CloudCuckooLander Loboto]].

** This is true for humans on the whole - the main problem with social workers is that they're very empathetic, and so essentially suffer critical psychoanalysis failures as they see the same situation over and over. Test it yourself - try spending a significant amount of time a website like [[http://www.fmylife.com/ FML]] and you start getting depressed at a lot of the crap that people go through.

* In ''The Fifty Minute Hour'', psychoanalyst Robert Lindner describes the case of Kirk Allen, a brilliant young physicist who claimed to have a parallel life in a [[SpaceOpera galaxy far far away]]. His fantasies were so consistent and extensive that eventually Lindner came to believe them himself, at which point Allen confessed that he had invented the whole thing. A brief outline of the story can be found in ''The Demon-haunted World'' by Carl Sagan.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach causes a gradual breakdown of his therapist's positive worldview and replaces it with his own existential perspective. Dr. Long comes to realize that nothing truly means anything, and that reality is just like the inkblots that gave Rorschach his name: the only meaning in life is that which we choose to impose. Despite this, though, he ''still tries to help people'', because to him, [[TheAntiNihilist it's the only thing that means anything]]. He's showing signs of a real recovery by the time [[spoiler:[[ShootTheShaggyDog he dies along with half the population of NYC.]]]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach causes a gradual breakdown of his therapist's positive worldview and replaces it with his own existential perspective. Dr. Long comes to realize that nothing truly means anything, and that reality is just like the inkblots that gave Rorschach his name: the only meaning in life is that which we choose to impose. Despite this, though, he ''still tries to help people]]'', because to him, [[TheAntiNihilist it's the only thing that means anything]]. He's showing signs of a real recovery by the time [[spoiler:[[ShootTheShaggyDog he dies along with half the population of NYC.]]]].

Not to be confused with TherapyBackfire.

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', the Unseen University thinking engine, Hex, briefly caught a bout of insanity from the Bursar after talking with him in the style of the "Eliza" program, which ''simulates'' a psychiatrist's banter. Ironically, the Bursar did seem to recover his wits following this primitive psychotherapy, although he quickly lost them again as UU's usual chaos resumed.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach causes a gradual breakdown of his therapist's positive worldview and replaces it with his own existential perspective. Dr. Long comes to realize that nothing truly means anything, and that reality is just like the inkblots that gave Rorschach his name: the only meaning in life is that which we choose to impose. Despite this, though, he ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome still tries]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments to help people]]'', because to him, [[TheAntiNihilist it's the only thing that means anything]]. He's showing signs of a real recovery by the time [[spoiler:[[ShootTheShaggyDog he dies along with half the population of NYC.]]]].

* Happens in ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' when a ahead-of-his-time shrink attempts to psycho-analyze various criminals to set them on the right path. It works ridiculously well for a time (all the shrink has to do is ask the crooks to tell him about their childhood, after which they realize they would have loved to do something else with their lives), until he tries this on the series' BigBad, the Dalton brothers, who don't regret anything about their lifestyle. They then ask ''him'' about his childhood...

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach causes a gradual breakdown of his therapist's positive worldview and replaces it with his own existential perspective. Dr. Long comes to realize that nothing truly means anything, and that reality is just like the inkblots that gave Rorschach his name: the only meaning in life is that which we choose to impose. Despite this, though, he ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome still tries]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming to help people]]'', because to him, [[TheAntiNihilist it's the only thing that means anything]]. He's showing signs of a real recovery by the time [[spoiler:[[ShootTheShaggyDog he dies along with half the population of NYC.]]]].

** Harley Quinn from ''Franchse/{{Batman}}'' was the Joker's therapist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, before he drove her insane. Now she's nuttier than a fruitcake and a VillainousHarlequin to boot. Really, though, she deserves it for not spotting the MeaningfulName and bailing to get it changed before things got too... [[LoveMakesYouEvil weird]]. {{Depending on the writer}}, Harley either slept her way to her degree (so was unprepared to deal with someone like Mr. J) or actually is extraordinary at psychoanalysis but ended up with one of the hardest cases possible right out of grad school. Poor girl should have stuck to gymnastics. In a certain ''Catwoman'' arc, she actually helps Catwoman work through some of her latent guilt and worries about Selina's younger sister, Maggie, and in ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'' accurately deduces Batman's origin (if not his ID). Harley states in ''Gotham City Sirens'' that she majored in psych to try to understand her own messed up family. Other than knowing when her dad is trying to con her, it hasn't worked.

While not entirely the case, this can occasionally be considered TruthInTelevision, seeing as some therapists do end up depressed or taking medication due to the relationship with their patients. To prevent this, it is common for therapists now to have their own therapist that they see preemptively.

** Harley Quinn from ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'' was the Joker's therapist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, before he drove her insane. Now she's nuttier than a fruitcake and a VillainousHarlequin to boot. Really, though, she deserves it for not spotting the MeaningfulName and bailing to get it changed before things got too... [[LoveMakesYouEvil weird]]. Harley was shown in "Mad Love" to have slept her way to her degree, so it's ''very'' likely she was unprepared to deal with Mr. J (on the other hand, some other works have shown her to be very good at psychoanalysis with pretty much anyone other than the Joker). Poor girl should have stuck to gymnastics. In a certain Catwoman arc, she actually helps Catwoman work through some of her latent guilt and worries about Selina's younger sister, Maggie, and in ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'' accurately deduces Batman's origin (if not his ID). Harley states in ''Gotham City Sirens'' that she majored in psych to try to understand her own messed up family. Other than knowing when her dad is trying to con her, it hasn't worked.
** A version of Dr. Quinzel's first meeting with Joker from ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'' shows her seeking him out with the name "Harley Quinn" already in mind. If he drove her mad, she was willing to carpool. It should be noted that in that version she was broken due to a professor using her and her boyfriend in an experiment that killed him, leading her to think only the Joker understood things the way the former boyfriend did...

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's super computer Multivac becomes suicidal from having to help countless humans with their psychological problems. They've already given it the job of predicting crimes, which mental health can affect; then they start laying plans to have it take care of all human sickness.

* Therapist Dr. Ella Whitby fell in love with {{Deadpool}} when he was briefly institutionalized. There was no way it could end well, and it didn't.

* Daniel Bryan and Kane were forced to attend sessions with a therapist named Doctor Shelby in an attempt to deal with their anger issues. He inevitably became infuriated with their stubbornness and constant bickering, although the pair were eventually able to bond.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/TheJackBennyProgram'' did a RunningGag in the 40s where Jack kept hearing a yodeling echo whenever somebody said a word ending with an "Oh" sound. It culminated in Jack visiting a psychiatrist (played by long-time adversary Frank Nelson) who explained that it was just a mild psychosis he picked up in his visit to Switzerland, and that all he needs is a vacation, a change of scenery. Jack suggests "Idaho," cue the echo, Jack: "Well, okay I suppose ..." Frank: "''Just'' a minute Mr. Benny. Did you hear that?"
[[/folder]]

While not entirely the case, this can occasionally be considered TruthInTelevision, seeing as some therapists do end up depressed or taking medication due to the relationship with their patients. To prevent this, it is common for therapists have their own therapist that they see preemptively.

** Harley Quinn from ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'' was the Joker's therapist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, before he drove her insane. Now she's nuttier than a fruitcake and a VillainousHarlequin to boot. Really, though, she deserves it for not [[GenreSavvy spotting]] the MeaningfulName and bailing to get it changed before things got too... [[LoveMakesYouEvil weird]]. Harley was shown in "Mad Love" to have slept her way to her degree, so it's ''very'' likely she was unprepared to deal with Mr. J (on the other hand, some other works have shown her to be very good at psychoanalysis with pretty much anyone other than the Joker). Poor girl should have stuck to gymnastics. In a certain Catwoman arc, she actually helps Catwoman work through some of her latent guilt and worries about Selina's younger sister, Maggie, and in ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'' accurately deduces Batman's origin (if not his ID). Harley states in ''Gotham City Sirens'' that she majored in psych to try to understand her own messed up family. Other than knowing when her dad is trying to con her, it hasn't worked.