Synopsis

When a burnt-out lesbian therapist with girlfriend problems finally abandons her fruitless attempts at self-help and gets her own head shrunk, she unexpectedly traces the root of her commitment issues to shocking truths her closemouthed mom has hidden from her all her life.

It’s spring, and Daryl Stone, a psychotherapist at a mental-health clinic in Providence, is MINDING THERAPY big-time: she feels burnt out in a job where it’s disheartening to see too many clients in too few sessions, and, rather than seek her own much-needed headshrinking, she clings to talk shows and food for answers and solace.

On one fateful day, Daryl faces two new life-changing events. The first comes when Nina, Daryl’s mom, calls her only child about the death of Daryl’s father, whom Daryl never knew. Daryl’s confused by Nina’s apparent grief and not at all enthralled with the prospect of attending this deadbeat dad’s funeral back home in Louisville. That evening, at the birthday party of her friend Pammy — her only non-therapist friend — Daryl meets and falls for a very appealing woman, Angie. Just a few small problems: Daryl’s already solidly entrenched in a dysfunctional and secretive relationship with Franny — also a therapist — who claims she’s straight and lives with her boyfriend; Daryl feels fat, miserable, and unworthy of a better girlfriend; and Angie is also a therapist.

Partially with the help of an imaginary talk with Dr. Shirley, the popular radio shrink who wrote the bestselling How Can You Stand Yourself?, Daryl realizes it’s not necessary to want to attend her father’s funeral for any other reason than to support Nina. Daryl drives home to Louisville and is warmly greeted by Jack, her father’s brother, whom Daryl has often speculated and hoped to be her mom’s lover. Nina’s interactions with Daryl quickly expose a certain lack of acceptance of her daughter — a fit and trim Nina has displaced Daryl by converting her old room into a personal gym and implies that Daryl needs to diet.

Trying to sleep on the eve of the funeral, surrounded by reminders of her past, Daryl recalls how little her mom has ever told her about her father, Albert, who was an alcoholic womanizer. Apparently the last thing ever disclosed was that Nina was the one who actually kept him away from Daryl. At the reception at the home of Gramma, Daryl overhears Nina shouting at Eva: “You don’t know what anguish is until your best friend steals your husband and leaves you with an unwanted baby!” Daryl’s parting shot: “Ma, an abortion would’ve been okay, you know.”

Back in Providence, Daryl’s dismay deepens after Angie reaches out and she sabotages their potential romance with her openness regarding Franny. For Angie, Franny’s a real deal-breaker. Finally Daryl stops resisting getting the help she needs, and, following a couple of dreadful consultations, she settles on Lauren — warm, caring, and wise. She manages to ditch the old girlfriend, getting a second chance at a happily satisfying romance with Angie, and seriously considers the idea of gradually developing her own private therapy practice.

At a conference, Daryl runs into Franny and is unable to resist a sexual escapade she instantly regrets. She decides not to tell Angie. Nina then proposes that she and Jack come to Providence for a week in August. On a day trip to Provincetown, Daryl learns another hidden family truth: Jack is gay, and it’s been Nina’s choice to keep Daryl in the dark. Another perceived betrayal. A major confrontation ensues. Distressed by her mom’s secrets and lies, Daryl can no longer live with her own omission. She admits to Angie that she slept with Franny. Quite unexpectedly, Angie confesses a similar transgression of her own.

As Daryl and Angie seem prepared to keep working at their relationship, Daryl prepares to reduce her hours at the clinic and develop her private practice, but she’s scared. Encouraging Daryl to live in the present, Pammy offers a quotation: “Move your feet today; tomorrow your feet will move you.” Stimulated to initiate a confrontation with her own mom, Daryl impulsively calls Nina. While undressing for bed, Daryl fishes out the photo she’d been given at the funeral reception but never saw — “proof” that Nina’s attempts to stop Albert from being in Daryl’s life were at least somewhat thwarted. What Daryl gains from the ensuing phone conversation brings her past into clearer focus, harkens a better bond with Nina, and unexpectedly paves the way for a brighter future with Angie.