Grey’s Anatomy: Focusing on mental health is exactly what we needed

Grey’s Anatomy is focusing more on mental health — and unlike many other shows, it’s actually doing it right.

Carly is the therapist we all wish we had. And we are so glad she made it through the episode and got the happy ending she deserved.

This past week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t the first one that ever touched on mental health, but it remains an extremely relevant topic, especially today.

In addition to Jo’s depression settling in last season, we have also seen Bailey dealing with anxiety, stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Meredith and other staff of the hospital had to undergo therapy to deal with their trauma surrounding the shooting, and couldn’t return to work until they were cleared to do so.

So we’ve also experienced therapy sessions in this show before, having watched Meredith struggle to deal with her feelings … because she’s Meredith Grey and it’s just her nature.

But this week, in particular, relied heavily on showcasing the meaningful relationship between a therapist and her patient. We all sort of felt like we were in those sessions with Jo, listening and nodding and wishing we, too, could throw stuffed things at walls.

Carly (the therapist) is great. We’d love to see more of her in the future. But what’s also great is seeing how well Grey’s Anatomy is handling the subject of mental health, which is portrayed so poorly in so many areas of pop culture.

Personally, my fear going into Season 16 was that they were going to completely gloss over Jo’s treatment and focus on the aftermath instead of highlighting the long-term healing process. But they’ve dealt with both almost flawlessly over the past five episodes, and it’s not just refreshing — it’s also necessary.

It’s not that everyone necessarily wants to tune into their favorite show every week to watch someone else attend therapy. It’s just nice to see issues like these being represented realistically. They’re being made relatable. And it’s important to be reminded that even after many therapy sessions, it’s still completely normal to struggle. Therapy is a process, not a quick fix.

More of this, please.

Some fans want Jo to switch specialties and go into psychiatry, and honestly, why not? She’d be great at it, especially having seen firsthand what it’s like to experience a mental health crisis.

Hey, this could even be Shondaland’s next Grey’s spinoff, focusing completely on the psych department at GSM. Not that this show should try to juggle too many spinoffs at once, but you know, for future consideration.

Did you feel better after that impromptu therapy session? You didn’t even have to do any talking! We’ll take it.