Author email
 Roscjohnson@gmail.com
 Mindingtherapy.com

Overview:

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.
 
Moreover, 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.

 Then, 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 yes, Angie is also a therapist—and the last thing Daryl needs is another one of those in her life and more “mental-health talk” after work.  

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, KY, and is warmly greeted by Jack, her father’s brother, whom Daryl has often speculated and hoped to be her mom’s lover. He leaves, and Nina’s interactions with Daryl quickly expose a certain lack of acceptance of her daughter. For instance, a fit and trim Nina, who has displaced Daryl by converting her old room into a personal gym, implies that Daryl needs to diet—despite knowing that Daryl has given up yo-yo dieting in favor of attempts, however feeble, at eating healthier.

Nina also fails to show much interest in Daryl’s life. In a solitary moment, Daryl mockingly attributes this in part to her mom’s homophobia. Pretending to be Nina, she asks, “Are you dating anyone? (A beat.) A man, I mean? Please tell me you’re not still ‘one of those.’”

Despite their problems, Daryl is there to support her mom. On the eve of the funeral, however, trying to sleep and 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.

As if seeing her deceased father’s body as well as the hysterically grieving widow, Eva, at the funeral isn’t unsettling enough, the following reception at the home of Gramma, Albert’s and Jack’s mom, is worse. Just as an annoying relative tries to get Daryl to look at an old photo of herself as a baby, she 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!”

Nina later tries to explain how hard it was to have her husband stolen by her friend: “If you had a husband and he left you when you were pregnant…” Despite feeling some sympathy, Daryl can’t stand to be around Nina any longer. Nina, on the other hand, thinks it’s a feather in her cap that she gave birth to Daryl—that she actually “kept” her—despite her ordeals. Daryl’s parting shot: “Ma, an abortion would’ve been okay, you know.”

Back in Providence, Daryl’s dismay deepens even further after Angie reaches out to her and she sabotages their potential romance with her openness regarding Franny. For Angie, Franny’s a real deal-breaker, considering that Angie’s ex was a cheater.

Finally, Daryl stops resisting getting the help she needs, and, following a couple dreadful consultations with other shrinks, she settles on Lauren, who’s warm, caring, and wise. Although all she misguidedly hopes for is the kind of quick fix her boss expects her to give her own clients, to a certain extent this works. For one, she manages to ditch the old girlfriend, getting a second chance at what becomes a happily satisfying and mutual romance with Angie. In addition, realizing that her burnout is related to feeling oppressed by the mental health system itself, she even seriously considers the idea of gradually developing her own private therapy practice.  

She skirts, however, the deeper issues, such as the origin of her food issues, all things Nina, and increasing fears about Angie’s dependency on her. And she’s certainly not ready to see the links between her choices and attitudes regarding Angie and the effects of growing up with Nina.

Daryl deals with some of her frustrations of being a therapist-who-is-also-a-client by developing her own “treatment plan.” She declares to her favorite coworker, “I’m my own new, best client!” She becomes more dedicated to her weight loss efforts and to making plans to start seeing private clients.

When Angie, meanwhile, starts to bug Daryl about living together, she’s treated to mostly avoidance and some uncharacteristically sharp words: “Haven’t you heard what they say about codependents? They don’t take partners, they take hostages!”

It’s in this state of mind that Daryl goes away to a conference and runs into Franny. Daryl is unable to resist being drawn into a sexual escapade she instantly regrets. She realizes she’s indeed “Angie’s worst nightmare.” Determined to never let such a thing happen again, she decides not to tell Angie about it.

Nina, not taking well to Daryl’s ongoing emotional distance, proposes that she and Jack come to Providence for a week in August. By this time, Daryl has lost enough weight that when Nina first sees her, she exclaims, “My God! You’re anorexic!” In fact, although Daryl’s nowhere close to this, a recent knee injury has contributed to Nina falling off her own perpetual diet and thus packing on some unwanted pounds.

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.

So 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.” Daryl: “Dr. Shirley, I presume?” In fact, it’s Pam’s mom who has taught her this.
 
Thus stimulated to initiate a confrontation with her own mom, Daryl impulsively calls Nina; however, she can’t handle Nina’s inability to accept responsibility and just as suddenly hangs up on her. While undressing for bed, Daryl fishes something out of her pants pocket—it’s the photo she’d been given at the funeral reception but never saw. It turns out to be “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 not only brings her past into clearer focus and harkens a better bond with Nina but also unexpectedly paves the way for a brighter future with Angie.

Awards Won

Gold Award, LGBTQ-Unbordered International Fall Festival 2022

Quarterfinalist, Cynosure, “Female” category, September 2010.

Quarterfinalist, Cynosure, “Minority” category, September 2009.

Semifinalist, Women in Film and Video/New England, April 2009.

Winner, Hollywood Script (www.hollywoodscript.com), January 2009.

Top 10 finalist, Indie Producer, December 2008.