A new season of the HBO therapy-focused show, "In Treatment," began April 5 and one twentysomething patient, April (played by Alison Pill), is dealing with a cancer diagnosis and mentions she has a brother with autism.Each "In Treatment" episode revolves around a patient's therapy session, and as the weeks progress, each show is the next session. All the patients are treated by psychologist Paul Weston, (played by Gabriel Byrne) who has his own "issues," and one of the weekly sessions is his with his own therapist. (The two are pictured in a scene from the show.)
In the April episode, she reveals that she is an architecture student with two parents and one brother, Daniel, who has autism and who she says she is very close to. At one point, she mentions that Daniel sometimes has violent outbursts, but toward himself, not toward her. It will be interesting to see if the show explores the life experiences of a sibling of someone with autism or if this is random mention. But just like real therapy, the show usually doesn't just randomly bring up a topic unless it will become important.
More significantly, the April character reveals she was given a diagnosis of lymphoma five weeks before. She hasn't told her parents and wants to explore alternative therapies, even though her cancer is rapidly progressing and she should begin chemotherapy as soon as possible. Psychologist Weston presses April about these destructive decisions, and the episode ends with April leaving in a huff.
But it's no spoiler to note that the April character has a full run of episodes so she will be back.
"In Treatment" is superbly acted, and like a good therapist delves deeply into issues. So it will be interesting to see how it handles cancer and a sibling with autism in this one character.
The April character's episodes will air at 9:30 p.m. on Sundays.
