Shrinking – it’s great TV and ethical dilemma bingo all wrapped up in one show

Shrinking Promo - Apple TV

A couple of weeks ago my partner and I stumbled upon Shrinking, noticing that both Brett Goldstein (co-writer and the wonderful Roy Kent in Ted Lasso) was involved with Harrison Ford as one of the leads. It’s got a lot going for it:  razor sharp humour set against deep tragedy, a good looking and finely tuned cast, enviable internal decor, and story lines that tread the line between realistic and frankly ridiculous.  And it’s hard not to enjoy watching Harrison Ford deliver deadpan lines with perfect timing.

It’s a great show. It’s also—if you work in coaching or therapy—something of an ethical rollercoaster.

Without giving anything away, the programme focuses on three therapists, all co-partners in a practice.  The three of them regularly step into territory that would make most professional coaches and therapists take a beat:

• Boundaries are… flexible

• Personal disclosures are… plentiful

• Client relationships are… complicated

• Supervision is more implied than structured

• And advice-giving? Occasionally… dramatically consequential!

  
  

All of which makes for excellent television. Less so for ethical practice.

Because here’s the thing: in coaching, boundaries aren’t there to create distance—they’re there to create safety. For the client, and for us.

When those lines blur, a few risks quietly creep in:

• The focus shifts from the client to the relationship

• Objectivity gets harder to maintain

• Dependency can replace empowerment

• And good intentions start to outpace good judgement.

And then there’s the advice trap.

Shrinking leans into a version of practice where therapists don’t just facilitate insight, they actively steer decisions. It’s entertaining. It’s bold. And at times, it leads to outcomes that spiral far beyond what anyone in the room might have anticipated.

That’s the quiet cautionary tale.

Because when we move from helping clients think to telling them what to do, we also step closer to owning consequences we can’t fully predict or control.

In coaching, that’s a line worth treating with care.

Because even well-intended advice can:

• Short-circuit a client’s own thinking

• Create unintended consequences

• Shift ownership away from the client

• And blur the line between support and influence.

And yet, this is where Shrinking is surprisingly useful.

It highlights, in an exaggerated (and often hilarious) way, the very tensions many coaches navigate every day:

• How do I show up as a real human being in this space?

• When does empathy tip into over-identification?

• Where is the line between connection and over-involvement?

• And when, if ever, is advice actually helpful?

Great coaching lives in that balance: warm, human, connected, but also boundaried, intentional, and client-led.  And this is where supervision comes into its own: a confidential and safe place to explore all of these things and ask how am I doing here and have I overstepped the mark?

So yes, watch Shrinking. Enjoy the humour. Feel the pain.  Appreciate the characters for their vulnerability.

And if you’re a coach (or therapist) play my new game: ‘ethical dilemma bingo’.  Gently notice the moments that make you think ‘crikey’.

Because sometimes the clearest way to understand good practice is to see what happens when it’s stretched.