by Allan Barsky, JD, MSW, PhD
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not yet watched the Shrinking series on AppleTV and plan to do so, you may wish to read this column afterward. This article reveals various plot developments.
In Shrinking, the key protagonists include three psychotherapists, Jimmy (played by Jason Segel), Paul (Harrison Ford), and Gaby (Jessica Williams). The series provides an insider’s portrayal of psychotherapy, showing not only how each therapist works with various clients, but also how their personal lives intersect with their professional lives, and how they struggle with their own feelings toward clients (countertransference). Initially, the primary modality of therapy that they employ is cognitive behavioral therapy. The series provides viewers with insights into how to develop positive work relationships with clients, how to help clients manage trauma and anxiety, and how to make use of clinical supervision.
Unfortunately, the characters often violate professional boundaries and engage in dual relationships with clients. While various episodes depict how “bad things” can arise as a result of these ethical violations, the characters do not seem to learn from them. They not only continue to engage in these questionable behaviors; they embrace them as if they are innovative or superior models of practice.
Although the therapists in Shrinking do not identify as social workers, this series certainly has relevance for social work. In the following analysis, I use the term “therapist,” which may include therapists with different types of mental health training and licensure. I will refer specifically to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NASW, 2021), however, given the focus of this publication and its primary audience.
The “Jimmying” Method
The character Jimmy labels his unconventional therapeutic model as “Jimmying.” Rather than navigating therapist-client boundaries in a manner that avoids boundary confusion and dual relationships, the Jimmying method intentionally violates recognized therapeutic boundaries. Jimmy becomes deeply enmeshed in his clients’ private lives, for instance, inviting a client to move into his home, socializing with clients in the community, introducing them to his friends and family, and providing advice outside professional office hours. Instead of empowering clients to make their own decisions, Jimmy provides clients with blunt, directive advice on how to lead their lives and how to make critical life choices. Sometimes, he pressures them into making certain decisions, acting as a coach or authority figure, rather than a professional therapist.
Jimmy views his approach as much more effective than traditional CBT. He believes that he is able to connect with clients in a more meaningful way. He is there for them when they need him, not just during client hours. By engaging with clients outside the office, he can help them with issues that arise in real time and help them practice the skills that he has been teaching them during formal therapy sessions. For instance, he encourages a client with social anxiety to be assertive in asking someone for a date. He also tries to help a client in an abusive relationship by providing her with specific advice to end the relationship.
Initially, Gaby and Paul are appalled by Jimmying. Over time, however, they begin to adopt similar boundary-blurring methods. Gaby is working with a client experiencing depression, partly because she has recently lost her only close friends. To help the client, Gaby becomes her friend, playing quiz games at a bar, taking her to kickboxing, and inviting her to call Gaby whenever she needs to talk. While seeking treatment for Parkinson’s disease, Paul meets another person with Parkinson’s (played by Michael J. Fox), who he quickly befriends. Eventually, Paul engages him in therapy, creating a dual relationship.
In each case, the therapists justify their actions as acting out of care and concern for the clients. They believe they are acting in their clients’ best interests, providing them with the types of help, support, advice, and friendship that they desperately need.
But All Is Not Rosy With Jimmying
So, when therapists go out of their way to be helpful to their clients, and are willing to go beyond the strict limitations of their scope of practice, what could possibly go wrong? Well, the series illustrates a number of negative consequences, for the clients as well as for the therapists.
Overinvolvement and Impaired Judgment
Jimmy repeatedly advises a client, Grace, to leave her abusive husband. Following Jimmy’s advice, she gets into a confrontation with her husband and pushes him off a cliff. Jimmy’s actions raise serious ethical concerns, including a potential violation of client self-determination, professional competence, and dual relationships (NASW Code of Ethics, 2021: Standards 1.02, 1.04, and 1.06). Jimmy has pressured Grace to do something she is not ready for. Jimmy and Grace do not properly assess all the risks. They do not consider safety planning, and Jimmy does not allow Grace to work through concerns at her own pace. In terms of dual relationships and boundary violations, Jimmy has been overinvolved with Grace. This may have clouded his professional judgment. He overidentifies with her, treating her as if she were a friend or family member rather than a client. Friends may urge friends to make certain decisions, even putting a certain degree of pressure on them. Therapists should avoid pressuring clients, allowing them to make self-determined choices, even if the therapist thinks those choices are unwise.
Boundary Confusion and Mixed Risk Signals
When Gaby befriends a client, Maya, she invites Maya to call her whenever needed. By blending friendship and therapy, Maya experiences confusion about their respective roles and expectations. Maya telephones Gaby while in crisis. Gaby is preoccupied with other concerns and asks if the issue can wait until their next meeting. Gaby does not realize that Maya is in crisis. Tragically, Maya dies by suicide. We do not know whether Gaby could have helped prevent the suicide, but Gaby feels deeply responsible. She falls into depression, leading her to take a leave of absence from work. When things had been going well between Gaby and Maya, they both felt good about their friendship and professional relationship. However, Gaby’s professional judgment seems to have been clouded by her friendship. Maya reached out to Gaby in a time of crisis rather than reaching out to crisis services that may have been more helpful in that critical moment. This incident demonstrates how dual relationships can harm both practitioners and clients.
Self-Disclosure and Role-Reversal Risks
When Paul provides therapy to clients with Parkinson’s, he is able to connect with them because he has a shared lived experience with them. He can identify and empathize with them. However, he also overshares with them. He is still struggling with his own issues around the progression of Parkinson’s, including the negative effects on his professional career and personal relationships. Although the series does not depict overt harm to clients, Paul’s excessive self-disclosure may have harmful impacts on them. For instance, Paul’s oversharing raises questions about whether his therapy sessions have become overly focused on his experiences and feelings, rather than those of his clients (a potential violation of NASW Code of Ethics, 2021: Standard 1.01). His self-disclosures may also lead clients to feel compelled to provide Paul with empathy and support, rather than the other way around. Perhaps we do not see Paul’s clients suffering harm, because he is more reserved, deliberate, and cautious with clients than Jimmy is. Still, such dynamics can undermine therapeutic effectiveness, potentially leading to client harm, malpractice lawsuits, or licensing complaints.
Lessons From Shrinking
The Shrinking series is certainly not a how-to documentary for people wanting to learn about being effective, ethical therapists. Still, it raises interesting issues about the complexities of dual relationships, professional boundaries, and ethical practice. The therapists are portrayed as empathic, human, and well-intentioned, but also prone to ethical drift. While ethical practice requires therapists to be caring and compassionate, it does not require them to overstep their professional roles and befriend the clients they are serving. Rather, the capacity to exercise thoughtful, context-sensitive judgment in maintaining professional boundaries is central to preserving the integrity and effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship (Stanek, 2026).
Maintaining appropriate professional boundaries requires careful judgment, ongoing self-reflection, and deliberate use of self (Barsky, 2023). Therapists need to take the context of their client relationships into account. This context includes the client’s culture, developmental stage, and expectations, as well as the clinician’s model of practice and the policies of the organization in which they are employed. In rural communities, for instance, therapist-client relationships tend to be more informal. In forensic settings such as prison, criminal court, or child protection, therapist-client relationships tend to be more formal.
Regardless of the context of practice, clinicians can demonstrate empathy and concern for clients without compromising their professional judgment and responsibilities. When helping clients with challenging life decisions, therapists can offer options, reflection, and support without becoming authoritative or coercive. When therapists become aware of concerns related to overidentification, countertransference, dual relationships, or blurred boundaries, they should seek assistance from clinical supervisors or consultants (Barsky, 2023).
Perhaps future seasons of Shrinking could demonstrate more ethical models of clinical practice. Humorous, dramatic, and entertaining situations may arise even in the absence of fuzzy professional boundaries and dual relationships.
References
Barsky, A. E. (2019). Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach for a comprehensive curriculum (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (2021). Code of ethics. Author. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Stanek, C. (2026). “More than Just a therapist”: Psychotherapist perspectives of the impact of boundary-setting on therapeutic alliances in youth residential treatment facilities. Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, 43(2), 205–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/0886571X.2025.2484220
* For some brief examples of “Jimmying” on the Shrinking series, please see https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UxjdfM7kYDs
Allan Barsky, JD, MSW, PhD, is Professor of Social Work at Florida Atlantic University and author of Social Work Values and Ethics (Oxford University Press).
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of any of the organizations to which the author is affiliated, or the views of The New Social Worker magazine or White Hat Communications.