Communication Failure

Communication Failure

Justin Taylor

University of Phoenix

COMM

102

Richard Steiner

April 18, 2013

Communication Failure

This state of affairs that shows a communication failure is between a therapist and a patient. The clip is part of an episode entitled cake, cake, cake from a television series called Whitney (YouTube, 2013). The television series stars the comedian Whitney Cummings and has a variety or characters that have trouble communicating with different people. Among the characters are the boyfriend, girlfriends, bartender, and of course, the therapist (YouTube, 2013). The therapist is played by the comedian Chelsea Handler who has no problem embarrassing herself in front of audience.

The clip was selected because of the television shows abundance of communication troubles between the characters (YouTube, 2013). At the start of the situation the patient Whitney sees her therapist doing something unusual in the local park. She sees the therapist eating a birthday cake alone, and just devouring the cake (YouTube, 2013). The therapist starts by eating a small piece then takes a bite with her hand, and then moves to a new seat to start the process over again. The therapist also divides the cake into giant slices cutting it in squares not triangles, which is described by Whitney as chilling (YouTube, 2013).

What troubles the patient Whitney about this is that she thought her therapist had her mental state together (YouTube, 2013). This ability to have a healthy psychological state is what makes her fit to give her guidance. After discussing the situation with her boyfriend, and her other friends Whitney decides to confront her therapist about what she saw. Whitney starts out by going to a scheduled therapy session, which begins just like any other session she has had. Because, this is a therapy session the communication usually goes in one direction (YouTube, 2013).

Whitney is the patient with the problems disclosing those problems to her...