I had an interesting Broadway theater experience with reality in December 2012, when a friend invited me to join him for Laurie Metcalf’s star turn in “The Other Place.”

Do you pay attention, or seek attention? Attention is just attention, right? No! There’s a huge difference between seeking attention and paying attention.

Do I have your attention now?! The quest to get people to do what you want brings many people into therapy, whether you want the partner, child, friend, client, or parents to stop smoking, be nice, have sex more often, have sex less often, eat more vegetables and fruit,

Do you have relationship rules for your partner? When one half of a couple makes rules for the couple, look out! Parents make rules for children, so the person who’s making the rules has cast him or herself as the parent and the partner as the child.

Does HBO have a monopoly on series centered around characters who suffer from narcissism? No, but the network sure has its share!

Dependency and blame: Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don’t get it? Why now? These are the three questions that writer David Mamet says each scene in a play or film should answer.

We come not to bury Bill Henrickson, but to praise him, or at least the wonderful HBO series, “Big Love,” in which he was the protagonist.I got HBO when my patients were asking what I thought of Dr. Melfi from “The Sopranos” and her therapeutic approach with sociopathic (duh!) mob boss Tony.

When choosing a restaurant for a special occasion, I go online. I check the menu and prices on the restaurant website; browse the Menupages reviews to learn about the dining experience of other customers; and look up any New York Magazine or New York Times reviews.

A few years ago there was a recurring TV spot aimed at getting kids to be more active, with the tagline: “Verb: It’s what you do!” Many people I see in individual and couples treatment look at love as a noun.

Many people start treatment because they have a certain dissatisfaction in life. They look good on paper, but their successes feel empty. They’re checking the boxes in life: Ivy League degree(s)? Check! Fast-track career? Check!

“Is this the right person for me?” How many times have you heard your friends ask this question when they’re dating someone? Or maybe you’ve asked it yourself.