“Challenges don’t define us. How we respond to them often does.”
—Dr. Mark Lerner
Logline
Distinguished “clients” enact unscripted SESSIONS from challenging times and elucidate how they harnessed their painful emotional energy to overcome and become who they are today.
Synopsis
In 2008, an HBO drama entitled “In Treatment” debuted and ran through 2010. The program, about a psychologist and his patients, aired five nights a week. It won critical acclaim and numerous honors, including Emmy, Golden Globe, and Writers Guild awards. There was clearly an audience for fictitious, meticulously scripted therapy sessions.
Today, there is an unquenchable thirst for video-on-demand (VOD) content by VOD services and viewers alike. SESSIONS with DR.MARK LERNER is an inspiring and enlightening TV series focusing on the lives of renowned individuals who have overcome adversity.
Episodes cold open in years past, where distinguished “clients” enact unscripted SESSIONS from a turbulent time in the sanctuary of a psychologist's office. Viewers are the proverbial flies on the wall, keenly observing clients articulating authentic unscripted thoughts and feelings. The psychotherapeutic milieu provides a unique forum for people to elucidate their stories. Ultimately, clients return to the present day and share with Dr. Lerner how they harnessed their painful emotional energy to overcome and become who they are today.
People have a fascination with the lives of renowned individuals, particularly those who have overcome adversity. While interviews are structured, cognitive, rehearsed, and thought-based, SESSIONS with DR. MARK LERNER is unscripted and real.
Setting
In SESSIONS, Dr. Lerner embarks on a journey to capture distinguished "clients'" profound stories on film. Venturing across various realms, be it luxurious hotels, magnificent studios, sacred homes, or inspiring performance venues, his approach is one of intimacy and reverence.
Accompanied solely by a skilled videographer, Dr. Lerner navigates the depths of a therapist's sanctuary, attaining invaluable A-roll footage that encapsulates the rawness and authenticity of each individual's unique journey of overcoming and becoming.
By eliminating extravagant production costs, this approach allows Dr. Lerner to focus ardently on those clients who are driven to share their stories of triumph over adversity and the immense beauty of their evolution.
“Dr. Mark Lerner is an extraordinary teacher and healer, caring deeply about
the pain of others. His works are a road map toward recovery
and a path away from unjust suffering.”
— MICHAEL LEVINE
Media Expert and Best-Selling Author