Cassandra Farmer

About
Reenah’s therapist. In truth, Dr. Farmer is a pretty stock therapist: friendly but firm, understanding but incisive. She’s, in equal measures, good and bad. She is able to cut through Reenah’s delusions and to talk to her without interruption; at least, at first. The therapy sessions happen exclusively inside Dr. Farmer's office.

Dr. Farmer is a clinical psychiatrist with a focus in cognitive behavioral therapy. She received her PHD in psychiatry from UCLA and has been practicing for 10 years. Since her focus was on unusual cases of PTSD trauma (so basically, not veterans or war stories), she comes highly recommended for those people who need that kind of help.

Dr. Farmer’s “character” is largely shaped by CJ. CJ paints her as cruel, manipulative, and evil. CJ convinces Reenah to see Dr. Farmer as a true villain. Perhaps this makes sense to Reenah. In a certain sense, Dr. Farmer is out to kill CJ, since she wants to help Reenah with her delusions and to heal and move on.

As the first season goes on, however, Dr. Farmer is less and less able to help Reenah. Tactics and processes that worked early on fail by the end, and so she must take more and more emotionally and mentally invasive actions to try and connect with Reenah. This intensity only feeds into CJ’s manipulations and Reenah’s submission to him, as it makes her seem evil.

Dr. Farmer also, in a way, represents the audience. The story is told through Reenah’s POV to Dr. Farmer, either through vocal admission or active omission (in which case the audience will be able to see that Reenah is lying or leaving important information out), so it is important to keep Dr. Farmer as plain as possible. Whether the audience sees her as the villain that Reenah does largely depends on how much they sympathize with Reenah.

Research Notes
https://www.mhanational.org/types-mental-health-professionals#targetText=The%20following%20mental%20health%20professionals,accredited%2Fdesignated%20program%20in%20psychology.

The following mental health professionals can provide psychological assessments and therapy; however, cannot generally prescribe medications (although some states will allow it):
 * Clinical Psychologist – A psychologist with a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited/designated program in psychology.  Psychologists are trained to make diagnoses and provide individual and group therapy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_psychology#Professional_practice

In clinical practice, clinical psychologists may work with individuals, couples, families, or groups in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, mental health organizations, schools, businesses, and non-profit agencies. Clinical psychologists who provide clinical services may also choose to specialize. Some specializations are codified and credentialed by regulatory agencies within the country of practice.[22] In the United States such specializations are credentialed by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention[1][2] that aims to improve mental health.[3] CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions (e.g. thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes) and behaviors, improving emotional regulation,[2][4] and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Originally, it was designed to treat depression, but its uses have been expanded to include treatment of a number of mental health conditions, including anxiety.[5][6] CBT includes a number of cognitive or behaviour psychotherapies that treat defined psychopathologies using evidence-based techniques and strategies.[7][8][9]

CBT is based on the combination of the basic principles from behavioral and cognitive psychology.[2] It is different from historical approaches to psychotherapy, such as the psychoanalytic approach where the therapist looks for the unconscious meaning behind the behaviors and then formulates a diagnosis. Instead, CBT is a "problem-focused" and "action-oriented" form of therapy, meaning it is used to treat specific problems related to a diagnosed mental disorder. The therapist's role is to assist the client in finding and practicing effective strategies to address the identified goals and decrease symptoms of the disorder.[10] CBT is based on the belief that thought distortions and maladaptive behaviors play a role in the development and maintenance of psychological disorders,[3] and that symptoms and associated distress can be reduced by teaching new information-processing skills and coping mechanisms.[1][10][11]

When compared to psychoactive medications, review studies have found CBT alone to be as effective for treating less severe forms of depression[12] and anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), tics,[13] substance abuse, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder.[14] It is often recommended in combination with medications for treating other conditions, such as severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive disorder, opioid use disorder, bipolar disorder and psychotic disorders.[citation needed] In addition, CBT is recommended as the first line of treatment for the majority of psychological disorders in children and adolescents, including aggression and conduct disorder.[1][4] Researchers have found that other bona fide therapeutic interventions were equally effective for treating certain conditions in adults.[15][16] Along with interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), CBT is recommended in treatment guidelines as a psychosocial treatment of choice,[1][17] and CBT and IPT are the only psychosocial interventions that psychiatry residents are mandated to be trained in.[1]