The Giudices and the Gorgas have been feuding for nearly three seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey now, and things may finally be starting to head in the right direction for the families after a breakthrough session with Dr. V during last night’s episode. Dr. V spoke to Bravo.com about how she managed to help Teresa Giudice and her brother Joe Gorga.
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For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Venus Nicolino (aka Dr. V) is one of the stars of Bravo’s show LA Shrinks. She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and often works with families and married couples.
“Coming from a big, loud, volatile and awesome Italian family, maybe I was able to zero in on certain dynamics that a non-Italian might not be so quick to pick up on,” Dr. V said. “Don’t get me wrong, regardless of race, color or creed, EVERYBODY’S family has some crazy in it. It’s just that I’m a little more familiar with the Italian Style Crazy.”
Despite having a little experience dealing with unstable families, Dr. V was still a little uneasy when she arrived, given how out of control things had gotten the day before in her absence.
“I wanted to feel slightly removed and clinical so I could be most effective at being the cool, calm third party who was going to help these folks resolve some problems. But it’s hard not to get swept up in the frenzy when you’re sitting in the middle of it. I couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious being surrounded by upset, angry people.”
As for Joe Gorga’s attitude about needing time for his wounds to heal before making up with his sister, Dr. V assessed that his hesitation may have been something else completely.
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“When Joe told me he wasn’t ready to try and repair his relationship with his sister, I feel like what he was really saying wasn’t that he wasn’t ready, but that he was scared. Because to try and resolve this stuff probably means having the courage and strength to be vulnerable again.”
Dr. V also stressed the importance of Teresa and Joe Gorga having some one-on-one time with each other without any influence coming from either of their significant others.
“Until they escaped all the BS and noise created by everyone else, there was no space for the two of them to just cool down, clear their minds and really remember who they are as brother and sister,” she said. “Our siblings are the only other people in the world who truly know how crazy our parents are — it’s important to keep that relationship healthy … if you can.”
In the end, Dr. V says the reason the breakthrough happened is because it’s what both parties wanted.
“I always feel like when my work goes best, I’m hardly doing anything. Joe and Teresa did the work to get to that breakthrough, all I did was clear out the crazy (for now). I think because they were able to rise above all this rotten crap that’s been really hurting them both and the whole family along with them, they were able to look at one another and remember, ‘Oh, yeah. I love you, ya big lug.'”
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(Image and videos courtesy of Bravo)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
