Ordinary People (Redford, 1980)

 

Therapeutic alliance contributing to a genuine resolve doesn't necessarily mean the total elmination of the psychopathology that you will never suffer again, because the human condition of course necessarily that at different times suffering will continue to come back and occur and we sometimes might feel, in terms of mental health, not in a good place. 

Hopefully, though, with things that we learned in psychotherapy, we learn better coping strategies. We learn better modalities to accept ourselves, different ways of, seeking a more elevated perspective on what's happening to us and we become more mindful. 

We learn to live more in the present and not dissociate into other times in the past, etc. Or anticipate a future. 

We learn all kinds of different techniques so that we can cope better with what's happening to us. The idea is that we learn to work through the crisis, because we're never going to be able to ensure that the crisis won't repeat itself that probably will. There probably will be more difficult time, but hopefully  we learn to be better at navigating those tumultuous waters when we cross them again in the future. 

Wikipedia Plot: 

The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in suburban Chicago trying to return to normal life after the accidental death of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. Conrad, who has recently returned home from a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, feels alienated from his friends and family and begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. Berger learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that took the life of Buck, whom everyone idolized. Conrad, now deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and seeks help from his psychiatrist.

Conrad's father, Calvin, tries to connect with his surviving son and understand his wife. Conrad's mother, Beth, denies her loss, hoping to maintain her composure and restore her family to what it once was. She appears to have loved her older son more, and because of the suicide attempt, has grown cold toward Conrad. She is determined to maintain the appearance of perfection and normality. Conrad works with Dr. Berger and learns to try to deal with, rather than control, his emotions. He starts dating a fellow student, Jeannine, who helps him to begin to regain a sense of optimism. Conrad, however, still struggles to communicate and re-establish a normal relationship with his parents and schoolmates. He cannot seem to allow anyone, especially Beth, to get close. Beth makes several guarded attempts to appeal to Conrad for some semblance of normality, but she ends up being cold toward him.

Mother and son often argue while Calvin tries to referee, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Things come to a climax near Christmas when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. Afterwards, Beth discovers Conrad has been lying about his after-school whereabouts. This leads to a heated argument between Conrad and Beth in which Conrad points out that Beth never visited him in the hospital, saying that she "would have come if Buck was in the hospital." Beth replies, "Buck never would have been in the hospital!" It is also revealed that when Conrad attempted suicide, Beth was more upset about him getting blood on their towels. Beth and Calvin take a trip to see Beth's brother in Houston, where Calvin confronts Beth about her attitude.

Conrad suffers a setback when he learns that Karen, a friend of his from the psychiatric hospital, has died by suicide. A cathartic breakthrough session with Dr. Berger allows Conrad to stop blaming himself for Buck's death and accept his mother's frailties. However, when Conrad tries to show affection, Beth is unresponsive, leading Calvin to emotionally confront her one last time. He questions their love and asks whether she is capable of truly loving anyone. Stunned, Beth packs her bags and goes back to Houston. Calvin and Conrad are left to come to terms with their new family situation, affirming their father-son love for each other.