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When the show was originally conceived, the idea was that people would do intensive therapy but it would be more retreat-style. They would be able to have a glass of wine with dinner or have some beer while bowling, as long as it didn’t impede on their therapy, it was fine. Before everyone comes to the house they go through a psych eval and in the first two seasons, it was determined that a couple of people had substance abuse issues and as a result we were not allowed to have alcohol in the house. During season three we did allow it in the house and it wasn’t a problem. Nobody drank excessively and it was not a problem. This season we did the same thing. It was allowed because everyone passed their evaluations. When they went bowling, unfortunately things got a little out of control, which was unexpected and hasn’t happened before. In a certain way it was unfortunate but it ended up giving me really important material to work with in therapy because I got to see a side of Taylor in particular that was really important for me to see and to address. You’ll see the therapy that resulted out of this in episode three and it was really a huge breakthrough.
What did you think when you saw how she was behaving and treating your staff and everyone around her?
You will see me address it in episode three, but I got a call from Gabrielle Moore, who is my counselor and who is, besides being a great therapist, one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. She is so kind and thoughtful and Taylor treated her very poorly, she was doing the best she could. There was a skeleton staff at the house, and I ended up getting a call from Gabby and later got on the phone with Taylor , which you’ll see in the next episode.
Did that situation affect how the group perceived Taylor after that?
I think everybody was shocked by it. It was a very dark side of Taylor that affected the way they felt until the next therapy session where I got to the bottom of what was really going on.
At the beginning of this week’s episode, Taylor says Farrah is the most self-absorbed person she’s ever met. Was their relationship contentious in therapy right away? It seemed to start off supportive, but obviously this week things unraveled quickly between them.
Exactly. I think that Taylor saw a lot of herself in Farrah and she talked about that a couple times in group, in that Farrah talked in the group about her relationship with men and being mistreated and I think Taylor really identified with her and there were times where Taylor, over the course of our work together, said “I really identify with you and I remember what it’s like to be 22 and I’m afraid of you having some of the same patterns that I have and I hope that doesn’t happen for you.” I think that kind of pushed Farrah’s buttons. And I think Farrah pushed a lot of Taylor ’s buttons and it created a lot of tension.
At the end of the episode, what was it about Farrah’s behavior at the bowling alley, ordering her food before everyone else, that so annoyed Taylor ?
To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t understand why Farrah being hungry and wanting to order her food before everyone got their drinks was such a button-pusher for everyone. I think that in general Farrah pushes people’s buttons and it’s how Farrah can come across, kind of bristly and kind of defended, and sometimes she doesn’t realize how she comes off when she’s talking about her accomplishments and it can be very off-putting, so I think that during those initial few days when the couples were getting to know each other it created a lot of tension."
You can read more on what Dr. Jenn had to say about the rest of the cast and episode 2 HERE!
There you have it, do you agree with Dr. Jenn? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
There you have it, do you agree with Dr. Jenn? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
Catch Taylor on Couples Therapy every Thursday night at 9/8c only on VH1!
Source/Photo Credit: VH1
