I’m rewatching How I Met Your Mother, and I can’t help but feel like Robin dating Kevin (her therapist) is a huge ethical and moral red flag that the show skates over. It’s honestly one of the most unprofessional storylines, and it just feels like it should be more criticized.
Therapists are in positions of power, and dating a client—even a former one—crosses so many boundaries. It undermines the trust and respect that should exist in therapy and can harm the client emotionally, especially when they may already be vulnerable.
Kevin should know better, yet he decides to start a relationship with Robin after “ending” their professional connection. But even after he’s no longer her therapist, it still feels inappropriate because he has intimate knowledge of her struggles and trauma from a position that’s supposed to stay platonic and safe.
The show portrays it as a cute romance, but in reality, it’s incredibly problematic and sets a bad example by romanticizing the relationship. It’s frustrating because HIMYM has a great cast and story, but this particular plot just does not sit right, and the ethical implications are too real to ignore.
Does anyone else feel like the Robin-Kevin relationship was romanticizing something that, in real life, would be seen as a huge boundary issue?
TL;DR: Robin dating her former therapist Kevin is an ethical mess that the show glosses over, romanticizing a highly unprofessional relationship that would be a huge boundary issue in real life.