Laura >>
Alex >>
Sophie >>
Jake and Amy >>
Paul and Gina >>
Kate >>
Ian >>
Max >>
Olivia >>
Zach >>
Alex, Sr. >>


Laura played by Melissa George
An attractive young anaesthesiologist who’s been Paul’s patient for a year, Laura is in the midst of a relationship crisis and faces an ultimatum – either break up with her boyfriend, Andrew, or marry him. But that dilemma seems simple in comparison to the revelations she unleashes on Paul during their sessions.

Laura’s Synopsis per week
Week: 1
A young, attractive anaesthesiologist named Laura shocks Paul by divulging the real motives behind her sordid bar encounter with a stranger.

Week: 2
Laura surprises Paul with some unexpected news about her boyfriend.

Week: 3
When Laura arrives late, Paul broaches a difficult subject: whether or not their sessions are helping her.

Week: 4
To Paul's discomfort, Laura informs him — in intimate detail — about her burgeoning relationship with Alex.

Week: 5
A close call at the hospital triggers unexpected revelations from Laura about an older man during her youth.

Week: 6
Paul makes a point to Laura about fantasy and reality through the example of his own childhood infatuation.

Week: 7
Laura's absence gives Paul the opportunity to connect with Rosie and his oldest son, Ian, with mixed results.

Week: 8
A tragedy takes Paul away from the office, where a case of mistaken identity lands him in trouble.


Alex played by Blair Underwood
An arrogant Navy pilot who prides himself on his high standards, Alex is drawn to Paul's reputation as "the best," yet continually tries to poke holes in the therapist's logic. A recent brush with death and a disastrous mission in Iraq sound like obvious reasons for Alex to seek counselling, but he maintains that neither have had any effect on him.

Alex’s Synopsis per week
Week: 1
Alex, an intense Navy pilot, puts Paul's credentials to the test, while recounting the unfortunate events in Iraq that drove him to therapy.

Week: 2
Alex tells Paul about his stoic return to the site of his botched air strike and reveals that he's having problems with his wife.

Week: 3
Alex offers Paul some unexpected news about his encounter with another patient, and Paul explores the similarities between Alex and his father.

Week: 4
Alex describes his recent encounter with Laura, questioning whether therapy can help him.

Week: 5
Alex's intimate knowledge of Paul's private life pushes the therapist to the brink.

Week: 6
After apologizing for crossing a boundary, Paul tries to decipher the meaning behind one of Alex's dreams.

Week: 7
Alex insists he's prepared for the commitment and structure that his marriage and career offer him.

Week: 8
Paul upholds the merits of psychotherapy.


Sophie played by Mia Wasikowska
A precocious teenage gymnast who won the Junior Nationals, Sophie saw her dreams of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team fall apart when the bike she was riding rammed into the side of a car. Though she first shows up, in a cast, for Paul to validate her sanity on an insurance document, he coaxes her into returning after catching a glimpse at her complicated family relationships and general malaise.

Sophie’s Synopsis per week
Week: 1
A precocious young gymnast, Sophie, seeks Paul's professional opinion for an insurance report following the girl's recent, suspicious accident.

Week: 2
Sophie vents about her gymnastics team and her parents before Paul catches her off-guard with his psychological assessment.

Week: 3
Paul probes the circumstances surrounding the breakup of Sophie's parents and takes interest in the relationship she has with her coach.

Week: 4
Exhausted from staying up all night, Sophie finds herself detailing the events that lead up to her accident.

Week: 5
Sophie's mother joins her daughter's therapy session, and Paul witnesses the young girl's hostility first hand.

Week: 6
Sophie's "gusto" evaporates after Paul presses her to confront the hidden anger she holds for her father.

Week: 7
Sophie, who sees Paul as a threat in her dreams, attempts to convince him of the unique relationship she and
her father share.

Week: 8
Paul coaxes an agitated Sophie to stop blaming herself for her parents' mistakes

Week: 9
Sophie comes to terms with her father's accountability and asserts her own independence.


Jake and Amy
Jake played by Josh Charles
Struggling as a songwriter, Jake is clearly uncomfortable with the power differential in his marriage. Jake is prone to fits of anger, and when Amy provides vague details about her daily activities, he immediately assumes the worst and begins to interrogate her.

Amy played by Embeth Davidtz
After five years of struggling with infertility, Amy finally gave up… and then got pregnant. Having focused on – and excelled at – her career in the meantime, she's no longer sure she wants to be a mother, which infuriates her suspicious husband, Jake.

Jake and Amy’s Synopsis per week
Week: 1
Jake and Amy bicker their way through a marriage-counselling session, eventually pinning Paul with the root of the arguing: whether or not Amy should have an abortion.

Week: 2
After Paul's session with Jake and Amy ends abruptly, his wife, Kate, forces him to confront the realities of his own marriage.

Week: 3
Amy examines the unusual reaction she had to her miscarriage, which ends up inciting Jake's suspicions.

Week: 4
Paul explores the issues that have fuelled Jake and Amy's volatile relationship.

Week: 5
The previous week's chaos gives way to a critical decision by Amy — and an emotional admission from Jake.

Week: 6
Amy considers rejecting "the new and improved Jake" with a destructive alternative, eliciting a warning from Paul.

Week: 7
Amy shocks Jake with a revelation tied to her father's death years before.

Week: 8
A recent drive to his parents' home links Jake's problems with Amy to those with his father.

Week: 9
Jake and Amy arrive at a resolution.


Paul and Gina
Paul played by Gabriel Byrne
A psychoanalyst in his 50s who conducts his practice from a home office, Paul has two boys and a girl with his wife Kate, and his career has led him to a respected and successful place. But Paul is beginning to feel his tolerance wane behind the easygoing front he displays for his patients; even worse, his gut reactions are beginning to seep through the cracks. After four particularly trying days of therapy, Paul decides he needs the counsel of a retired therapist, Gina.

Gina played by Dianne Wiest
Gina served as Paul's professional supervisor years ago. Since then, she has lost her husband, turned 60, retired as a therapist and started writing a novel. Yet when Paul unexpectedly calls her to discuss the growing issues with his practice, Gina allows him to return, renewing a complicated relationship between them. Gabriel Byrne

Paul and Gina’s Synopsis per week
Week: 1
Worried he's "losing patience with my patients," Paul pays a visit to a retired therapist, Gina, whom he hasn't seen in nearly 10 years.

Week: 2
In light of Paul's distressing week, Gina makes a suggestion, but he discredits her assertions by bringing up the
past.

Week: 3
Gina attempts to uncover the root of Paul's connection with Laura.

Week: 4
An old wound reopens as Gina and Paul debate the boundaries that exist between therapists and patients.

Week: 5
Kate joins Paul in therapy for the first time, where they start to examine the disintegration of their marriage.

Week: 6
Paul and Kate's concern over their daughter Rosie gives way to a heated exchange about Kate's role in Paul's
life.

Week: 7
Paul bristles at Kate and Rosie's secrets, but finds that Gina's obligatory therapy exercise proves helpful.

Week: 8
Paul's lament about the value of therapy gives way to a surprising disclosure from Gina.

Week: 9
In the season finale, Paul must face the consequences of his romantic pursuit of Laura.


Michelle Forbes as Kate
Paul's wife, Kate, resents competing with his patients for attention, and though she pitches in to help with daily snags in his practice, she feels purposefully shut out of his professional life. The secrecy necessary to protect patient confidentiality feels excessive to her, but she also keeps some secrets of her own.

Mae Whitman As Rosie
A typical text-messaging, iPod-toting 16-year-old with a new boyfriend, Paul's daughter Rosie also has some less conventional issues to iron out with her family.

Jake Richardson As Ian
Going to college and dealing with girl trouble, Paul's son Ian has consequently missed out on some of the developments at home.

Max Burkholder As Max
At 9 years old, Paul's son is the youngest of three kids, but he's already starting to grow up.

Julia Campbell As Olivia
Sophie's mother, attractive in her late 30s, struggles with nervousness, and her daughter's treating her like a constant enemy doesn't help.

Peter Horton As Zach
Zach works as a photographer, trotting the globe and shooting supermodels. His daughter Sophie adores him, even though his schedule prevents them from see much of each other.

Glynn Turman As Alex, Sr.
A distinguished military man, Alex Sr. raised his son with good old-fashioned values, but at the end of the day, he's still not sure how well he knows Alex Jr.