The long winter is hard in Northern Indiana. The snow still covers the ground in March, and the benefits of traveling to a warmer climate are erased by the difficulties of air travel. So what to do? Well, you could get therapy. But that's expensive, emotionally difficult, and let's face it--in late winter, you're sick of your own problems too. So why not participate, vicariously, in the therapy of others? Why not sit down with a nice glass of red wine and find out about their problems? If you already have HBO, it doesn't cost a dime. Now that's a plan.Since late January, I've been watching In Treatment, HBO's new series about a psychiatrist named Paul Weston (played by Gabriel Byrne) and his patients. Based on an extremely popular Israeli series, the show's programming is unusual: It's on five nights a week, following the appointments of four of Paul's patients, and his own appointment with his own psychiatrist. On Monday, he sees Laura, a young anesthesiologist who's in love with him (and whom, it turns out, he also loves) ; on Tuesday he sees Alex, an intense fighter pilot thrown into a crisis when his mission results in the unintended death of Iraqi school children; on Wednesday, he sees Sophie, an aspiring Olympic gymnast with food and Daddy issues; on Thursday, he sees Jake and Amy, a married couple whose fights might require a UN Peacekeeping force, and on Friday he lets it all out with Gina (played by Dianne Wiest) who is his disapproving and sympathetic mother figure.I didn't like the patients very much at the beginning; I still don't like them, but their stories are addictive. What's also addictive is the way that we see facets of Paul's own lives and problems reflected in theirs. Ultimately, I don't like Paul very much either, but I have a soft spot for Gabriel Byrne --I have given him a pass on heresy (Dogma), so I think I can forgive him for being a egocentric shrink. He is mesmerizing in the role of a professional whose best self is given to his vocation, not to his loved ones. You might want to be Paul Weston's patient, but you really don't want to a member of his family. In an interview, Gabriel Byrne, who was raised Catholic, stated that he drew upon the Catholic experience of confession in crafting the character of Paul Weston. I found myself thinking about the relationship of psychotherapy to spiritual direction, and penance. Here's the thing that struck me from the show: Paul seems intent on convincing his patients that they are not responsible for bad actions or events in which they participated in the past. Confessors, or good spiritual directors, seem to try to convince people to take responsibility, and seek forgiveness, and move on.Am I wrong about this? Anyone else see the show? If you haven't, it's on HBO on Demand, if you have digital cable with DVR.