In Mr. Robot, the depiction of therapy and mental health treatment offers a complex and often ambiguous look at healing and control. While Elliot Alderson’s mental health journey is a central theme throughout the series, the show doesn’t present therapy as a clear-cut path to recovery or self-
understanding. Instead, it portrays therapy as both a potential source of healing and, at times, as just another form of control. The character of Mr. Robot, Elliot’s alter ego, plays a significant role in this dynamic, influencing Elliot’s perception of treatment, care, and self-awareness. The show’s treatment of therapy raises important questions about whether seeking help can be liberating or whether it is merely another mechanism of societal control.
Therapy as a Path to Healing
At the core of Elliot’s journey is his desire to understand himself and the trauma that has led to his dissociative identity disorder (DID). Therapy, particularly his sessions with Dr. Irving, becomes one of the few spaces where Elliot can confront his internal struggles in a relatively safe environment. Dr. Irving is portrayed as a
sympathetic, patient figure who attempts to help Elliot make sense of his fractured mind and guide him toward healing. In these moments, therapy is presented as a space of potential recovery, where Elliot can begin to understand the origins of his trauma and how it affects his behavior.
For Elliot, therapy is an essential part of his path toward self-awareness. In his sessions with Dr. Irving, he begins to unpack the pain caused by his abusive father, the pressures of societal expectations, and the ways in which his mind has constructed Mr. Robot to cope with the overwhelming sense of helplessness and rage. Dr. Irving provides a space for Elliot to confront these painful truths, helping him articulate the fragmented parts of himself that he has long suppressed.
This therapeutic process offers Elliot an opportunity for integration—the chance to understand that Mr. Robot is not a separate, malevolent force but a part of himself. Through therapy, Elliot could potentially learn how to reconcile his different identities and move toward a more cohesive sense of self. This presents the idea that, at least in theory, therapy has the power to heal and empower individuals by giving them the tools to understand their internal conflicts and the trauma that shapes their behavior.
Therapy as Another Form of Control
However, Mr. Robot is not content to present therapy as a simple solution to Elliot’s problems. The show complicates the notion of therapy by suggesting that it is not always a purely liberating experience. Instead, it can also serve as another mechanism of control—especially in the context of a larger societal system that seeks to manage and regulate individual behavior. Elliot’s treatment, particularly with Dr. Irving, is entangled with larger issues of societal control, manipulation, and the blurred line between freedom and conformity.
Throughout the series, Elliot’s therapy sessions are often interrupted by his inner conflict with Mr. Robot, which suggests that even in the space where healing could take place, control is never far behind. Mr. Robot represents a part of Elliot’s psyche that rejects the idea of vulnerability and submission. This alter ego questions the validity of traditional treatment and often distorts or sabotages Elliot’s efforts at self-improvement. At various points, Mr. Robot seems to question whether therapy is a way for Elliot to regain control over his fractured mind or whether it is another way for the system to pacify and subdue him.
In this sense, therapy in Mr. Robot is not just a healing process but also an institutionalized practice that fits within the larger machinery of control. The psychiatric establishment, like the corporate and political structures Elliot seeks to dismantle, can be seen as a way of managing individuals rather than empowering them. This is especially evident in the way Dr. Irving’s role is often questioned. While he may genuinely want to help Elliot, he is still part of a system that defines mental health in clinical terms, which can sometimes reduce Elliot’s complex emotional and psychological struggles to mere diagnoses and symptoms. In this regard, therapy becomes just another process of labeling and managing the “problem” that is Elliot’s mind, rather than addressing the root causes of his pain.
Moreover, therapy often intersects with themes of surveillance and control. Elliot’s therapy sessions are not entirely private—his mental state is constantly being monitored, whether by his inner voices (including Mr. Robot) or by external forces like the FBI. The notion of
surveillance in therapy raises a significant question about the authenticity of self-exploration. Can Elliot truly heal if every aspect of his identity and treatment is subject to scrutiny and control? Does seeking help in such an environment merely reinforce the systems of power that he is trying to rebel against?
The Role of Mr. Robot in Therapy
Mr. Robot’s role in Elliot’s therapy sessions further complicates the depiction of treatment. At times, Mr. Robot acts as an antagonist to therapy, undermining Elliot’s progress and manipulating him into resisting help. Mr. Robot’s rejection of the therapeutic process is rooted in his desire to maintain control over Elliot’s mind, and to some extent, the power that comes with that control. Mr. Robot represents Elliot’s refusal to confront certain painful truths, and his interference in therapy suggests that even the pursuit of healing can be viewed as an act of submission or vulnerability—a dangerous thing in a world where power dynamics are so pronounced.
Additionally, Mr. Robot’s interventions often expose the tension between personal freedom and societal control. When Elliot attempts to open up in therapy, he is confronted by the internalized forces that want to keep him in a state of resistance and defiance. This creates an ongoing battle where therapy represents both a potential path to freedom and a potential form of control.
Therapy and the Question of Agency
The question of agency is central to Elliot’s therapeutic journey. Can Elliot truly control his own recovery, or is he merely responding to the dictates of those around him—his therapist, Mr. Robot, or society at large? The series constantly challenges the idea of individual agency, as Elliot is often pulled in different directions by his fractured psyche and the external forces acting on him. Therapy, in this context, becomes a battleground where Elliot must navigate the competing forces of control and self-liberation.
In some ways, the show suggests that therapy, as traditionally conceived, is not necessarily the answer to Elliot’s problems. Instead, it presents a more nuanced view of healing—one that requires not just confronting the past but also dismantling the very systems that contribute to one’s sense of powerlessness. Elliot’s struggles in therapy reflect his broader struggle with the forces that control him, whether they are psychological or societal.
Conclusion
In Mr. Robot, therapy is depicted as both a possible means of healing and a subtle form of control. While Elliot’s therapy sessions with Dr. Irving offer moments of introspection and potential recovery, they are also riddled with doubts and complications. The presence of Mr. Robot—a manifestation of resistance, defiance, and control—serves to undermine the therapeutic process, suggesting that even the quest for self-awareness and healing can be influenced by deeper forces of repression and control. Ultimately, Mr. Robot challenges the conventional notion of therapy as a straightforward path to recovery, proposing instead that therapy, like any form of care, can be both liberating and confining depending on the circumstances and the forces at play.