Christa Miller Talks About The Taboo Around Therapy

The AppleTV+ series Shrinking is a fan favorite, but not just because it is laugh-out-loud funny with a phenomenal ensemble cast. The show gives its viewers the wonderful gift that it’s ok not to be ok.

Centered around therapists in need of therapy and their troubled patients, Shrinking puts it all out there regarding mental health, the struggles of being a human being, and how we’re all in this wacky thing called life together.

The series not only gives its viewers permission to be flawed, but it also normalizes having issues and dealing with them with a therapist. In an interview before the finale aired, Christa Miller, who portrays Liz, said this is key. “You know, I love this show because everyone is just trying to get better. I like that it’s getting people to talk about therapy. I have benefitted from it. Why is there this taboo on it? I appreciate it.”

Shrinking was co-created by Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, alongside Jason Segel. The story is loosely based on Miller’s real-life psychiatrist, who is brilliantly portrayed by Harrison Ford as Paul, a rough-on-the-exterior, tell-it-like-it-is therapist battling Parkinson’s disease.

Of her experience in therapy, Miller says that like Paul, her psychiatrist is all about taking action and changing behavior. “But even when you do all of it, sometimes you have a slip. Sometimes, you go back into old behavior. You have to always keep striving to be better. Most people I know want to change.”

A self-described private person, Miller realized it was important to open up about her own experience in therapy. “I just thought, I’m gonna talk about it. This show is based on my psychiatrist and he’s changed my life. I agree people don’t change unless they want to and when they see that changing will make their life better. But it’s hard.”

Segel portrays Paul’s protégé, Jimmy, a therapist who hits rock bottom after his wife is killed in a tragic car accident. He’s failing as a father to his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) but somehow his patients start to improve when he breaks all the rules of traditional therapy.

He can heal others but somehow struggles with his issues, which he seems to finally get a grasp on until Louis (Goldstein), the man who caused that car accident, enters their lives.

The first ten-episode season was excellent. The 12-episode second season was pure perfection up until that very last scene between Jimmy and Louis at the train station. If you haven’t watched the finale, you may want to wait to read further, since this article contains spoilers.

Miller confirmed what was alluded to in that breathtaking scene: Jimmy goes to the train station to stop Louis from committing suicide. She praised Lawrence (her husband) for his impeccable directing skills in the finale episode, which consistently teetered on the edge of hilarity and grief.

Miller describes Shrinking as a show about forgiveness of self and others. “Sometimes people get into this black-and-white area in life. There’s a gray area, too, and you must realize you haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes. People make mistakes and people can change.”

When asked if she could forgive a person in this situation, she said it would depend on the circumstances and that it would be an issue of recklessness versus a person making a terrible mistake.

In this case, however, she’s not certain that this moment is about forgiveness but rather empathy. “Jimmy is a therapist and you see his journey from season one. He’s trying to change. You also see how he got to show up as a dad this season and I think he’s showing up as a human here. So, I don’t know that he’s quite forgiven him, but he cares enough to show up at that moment.”

Ever since Louis entered their lives, Jimmy has been on the brink of spiraling right back down into that rock-bottom abyss where viewers first met him. Things progressively get worse as those in his life find a way to forgive Louis, including his daughter.

The story was also inspired by a neighbor of Miller and Lawrence who lost his wife in a tragic car accident. “He had two kids. He lost it. He had parties at the house. It was nuts. We felt so bad for him. Bill went over and we went over and talked to him; it was difficult. He got past it, which is the hopeful thing.”

As for the blending of comedy with tragedy, Lawrence talked about this during the show’s first season. “What I love about the streaming television era is that I can say, ‘I wanna do a show about a guy who lost his wife, he’s a therapist, and his partner at work has Parkinson’s disease, he’s been a terrible father to his daughter, and he’s using alcohol and narcotics to cope, and he’s not connecting to anybody, oh and it’s a comedy.’”

Miller says that though Liz may come across as a know-it-all, she has a soft spot in her heart for her. “I was a working mom and those moms who may annoy others saved me. I love her. She’s just a fun character.”

She also says a lot of women reach out to her because they can relate as empty-nesters wanting to find a passion. This gets us onto the topic of Liz’s rocks, which was inspired by Miller’s real-life rock-collecting hobby. All the characters in the show know what it means to get a rock from Liz: It means she loves you.

Miller told me that she had a rock tumbler as a child and about ten years ago, picked up the hobby again. “I love agates in particular,” she exclaimed, holding up gorgeous coasters she’d just made for friends.

During the pandemic, her passion and equipment overtook the backyard. “It just got into the dorkiest territory. I have rock tumblers and a sanding machine. It’s a meditation for me. I love it.”

It became a thing in their household wherein friends and family, including their three children, could pick from her collection. Like Liz, Miller can often be found working on her rocks. “After they have tumbled, they’re like glass. They’re really beautiful. Agates look like marbles when they’re tumbled.”

This is a serious hobby. Miller even has a rock identifier app on her phone. When Goldstein came over to their house to work with Lawrence one day, he was amazed by Miller’s outdoor workstation. “I had set up a rock station with rocks, saws, and wet saws. He said, ‘This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen!’ He couldn’t wrap his head around it and immediately said it had to go in the show.”

As if inspiring the show and infusing Liz’s rock tumbling into it wasn’t enough, Miller also serves as the show’s music supervisor, which she also did for Scrubs, Cougar Town, and Ted Lasso.

The ensemble cast includes Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Ted McGinley, and Michael Urie. Shrinking will return for a third season.