Geek Therapy Awards
2025 Staff Picks

These are 2025’s most impactful media, as selected by Geek Therapy staff. Go here to learn more about the Geek Therapy Awards. 

Josh Lockhart
RCC, CCC
Heroe's ACE blog, GT Awards Coordinator

This show generated a lot of conversation about social media exposure, masculinity, parent involvement, and so on. But what stuck out to me is the episode with the therapist - and just how well it depicts the flow of a session, but also how outside forces can impact the direction of a session.

Season 2 struck so many chords and topics. A main theme is how to live consistent with your values while under pressure. I also loved that you can go right from the last episode of Andor to then watch Rogue One to then A New Hope - such a satisfying flow.

A shift in traditional batman from art to Batman's season of life. Batman now has a child and pretty much runs a group home. With that setting, it creates opportunities to navigate different family dynamics and how to get through to the other side together.

By: Tom Grummet, Mike Rooth.

As a Canadian - the cover generated a lot of conversation, and also validation. Seeing Captain Canuck upper-cut Uncle Sam felt so great. It added to an earlier cover of Captain Canuck grabbing Trump by the arm and waving a finger with a customizable bubble to fill in what you think Captain Canuck would say to Trump. With everything happening with our southern neighbour, it has created a common enemy, and Captain Canuck was part of that face.

Great two player board game. Simple to learn and play. Enough light competition to practice co-regulation.
Josué Cardona
GT Founder
GT Radio, GT Board Member

(Season 7, Episode 5)

It’s basically a mood booster. Pure joy in video game form. Astro Bot won Game of the Year at the game awards because it’s a very good game, but most importantly I think it will put a smile on anyone’s face. You’ll enjoy it even more if you have some PlayStation nostalgia, but that’s a bonus. It’s also a unique sensory experience as it uses the PS5’s DualSense controller in ways that most games don’t. 

My #1 recommendation for meeting new people, especially after a move or life transition, is to find a local game store on a friday night, almost anywhere in the world, and play some card games. So this story of two academic rivals in middle school who become lifelong friends around the trading card game Magic: The Gathering is what I like to call meta Geek Therapy. It's a book about using games to connect with people! It takes place during the 1990s and serves as a nostalgic look at Magic, but also an introduction to the game through helpful notes that explain its themes and mechanics. It's a great story about using our hobbies to create relationships and join communities and a fun coming-of-age story. I love that it's about Magic so you can actually play the game in the story. Print versions even come with promo cards you can play!

DtmF, or Debí Tirar Más Fotos, ("I Should Have Taken More Photos" in English) is a nostalgia trip for anyone with Puerto Rican heritage. I'm Puerto Rican, and the album feels like it was made for me. No, really, the references are very specific to uniquely Puerto Rican experiences. It's also entirely in Spanish. And yet, the album is relatable in how it laments not appreciating what we had and, most importantly, looking toward a brighter future. The album has sparked conversations about the United States' role as colonizer, such as in the song Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii (What Happened to Hawaii), where Bad Bunny hopes that Puerto Rico doesn't end up losing its autonomy like Hawaii. His singing and doing interviews almost entirely in Spanish is also a political act that got people talking about what it means to be an American and recognizing the different languages spoken in the country. DtmF has been nominated for Album and Record of the year at the 2026 Grammys and, like Kendrick Lamar last year, Bad Bunny will headline the next Super Bowl Halftime Show. This album shows the power of music to bring people together, spark important conversations, and invite others to learn about a new culture. There is also a hilarious Pokémon reference in the song LA MuDANZA that I hope to have more opportunities to repeat in public. Lugia, Ho-oh...

The most-watched movie on Netflix of all time (as of 2025) is about a group of warriors who battle demons and use music to maintain a barrier that keeps demons out of our world. Its central theme is what happens to us when we hide parts of ourselves and how freeing it can be to finally be yourself in the world. You may have heard the song Golden at some point (it was everywhere), but I suggest also listening to What It Sounds Like as both songs have impactful lyrics about shame and acceptance.

(The Final Season)

MHA is about a school of superheroes where we follow Deku on his journey to become one of the world's greatest heroes. Deku's greatest strength is his ability to inspire others to be heroes and go beyond what they believed they were capable of. This isn't the first show to do this, but I think it's one of the best and it's definitely the best shonen to do this in a very long time. The show is full of memorable characters and fun action. I think its most relatable themes are dealing with expectations (What does it mean to be hero or a villain?) and generational trauma. These kids interited a lot of the problems they're facing and we get to see how the previous generation either helps or makes it worse.
Ariel Landrum
LMFT, ATR
Happiest Pod on Earth, Education Coordinator, GT Board Member

This series captures modern unease—eco-anxiety, distrust of institutions, and longing for healing in a broken system. The Blue Angel mushroom becomes a symbol of hope and fear: nature as medicine, but also something easily exploited. The show reflects real conversations about psychedelics, autonomy, and access to care, without romanticizing them. Beneath the conspiracies is a human story about friendship, meaning, and the urge to turn suffering into something that matters.

At its core, this is a story about dignity. Arj’s brush with wealth highlights how financial insecurity erodes hope, but also how money alone can’t create meaning. Jeff’s perspective-shift forces empathy through lived experience rather than theory. Gabriel’s arc will resonate with helpers who want to ease suffering but wrestle with limits and unintended harm. The film holds a mature truth: material stability matters deeply—and so do connection, agency, and purpose.

Sinners uses horror and history to explore how unhealed collective trauma lives on inside people and communities. The film sits with identity under pressure—how culture, racism, faith, and survival shape who we’re allowed to be. Music and shared spaces become lifelines, not luxuries. There are no clean heroes, just flawed humans navigating pain, loyalty, and moral ambiguity. It asks viewers to tolerate discomfort and complexity rather than rush toward simple answers.

(Season 2)

Season 2 centers grief as something that reorganizes a person’s entire moral world. Joel’s death isn’t a plot device—it’s a rupture that reshapes identity, attachment, and judgment. The show refuses easy moral binaries, showing how trauma fuels violence without excusing it. Ellie and Dina’s relationship is quietly normalized, emphasizing care over labels. Community, belonging, and survival are framed as emotional achievements, not just physical ones.

This film treats trauma like something you can’t outrun forever. Yelena and Bob cope by staying busy, isolating, or numbing out—but the pain leaks through anyway. What lands is the refusal of a tidy cure. Healing here is awkward, slow, and relational. Strength doesn’t come from fixing yourself, but from letting others see the parts you’d rather hide. Vulnerability, not perfection, is what actually moves people forward.
Link Keller
Media Psychologist
GT Radio

A semi-autobiographical story about the teenage life of developer Jenny Jiao Hsia. A series of minigames simulating slice-of-life activities. The cute art helps soften the difficult topic of eating disorders, the need for control, and the immense pressure of youth.

In this game you play as Shimizu Hinako, a young woman in 1960’s Japan who is facing down the horror of patriarchy, the death of childhood, and the struggle to know oneself. Through multiple playthroughs, Silent Hill f encourages players to consider Hinako’s fears and beliefs about the people closest to her, and the choices she has available, and how they change with self-reflection and perspective.

An incredible horror musical that has quickly become one of my favorite movies of all time. It shows the realities of living in the Mississippi Delta in the 1930’s as a Black person and artfully expands the vampire mythos to reflect White Supremacy’s violent, vampiric consumption of culture. This film is beautifully crafted and encourages conversation about topics like race, sex, and the power of music.

(Season 2)

This season, Nathan is rehearsing plane crashes. The meta-humor and obsessive self-reflection can be cringe-inducing, but using roleplay and simulation to help pilots improve communication is a pretty good way to spend HBO’s money. The series discusses how the aviation industry is structured in a way that discourages pilots from speaking out about their own mental health issues, or concerns about their co-pilots’, and that the culture of not speaking up against authority can have deadly outcomes. But don’t worry, Nathan is doing his part to change regulations by (rehearsing) presenting his findings to the Congressional Subcommittee on Aviation.

Comedian Lou Wilson does pretend talk therapy with real therapist “Paul” (Harry Dreyfuss) in order to “End Mental Health!” This series provides an incredible example of a very avoidant client, how a therapist might ask expansive questions and redirect conversation back to emotions, and the difference between performing ‘doing the work’ and actually Doing The Work. It’s a clever, occasionally meta, performance piece that will have you asking yourself if you’re “ptsDTF”
Jessie Duncan
LCPC
GT Board Member

A musical exploration of all of the feelings that come with living in the world at this present moment. This album is very straight forward on it's political messaging and anger at the current state of the world. It also touches on love and community and mental health. The song "Everyone I Love is Depressed" explicitly explores what is it to be and love people who are struggling with depression and suicidal ideation

(Season 2)

Season 2 of Fionna and Cake continues on in the Adventure Time tradition of exploring emotional and philosophical concepts within the land of Ooo and beyond. This season looks at relationships, love, self-doubt, navigating expectations, and communication.

This story looking at identity, internalized white supremacy, and how stepping into someone else's shoes can help you to actually see and love yourself

From relationships, to grief, to parenthood, to generational trauma, to perfectionism, to growing up this series tackles different issues in totally 100% relatable situations; I mean, who hasn't had their giant demon robot baby destroy the city. But with a lot of heart and satire, this series explores what it is to be human and love as well as having reflections on the world that is being given to the next generation and how previous generations shape us.

A great celebration of the creation of art and the impact on trauma and colonialization on how we are able to gather, create, share, and trust, Sinners is a great movie. I've used it to have conversations on how to engage and process trauma communally through music and body expression. The music is wonderful as a powerful expression of emotion and connection to the past. It's also a great horror movie
Jorge Perez
GT Volunteer
People of Con

Above & Beyond is a DJ group from London, United Kingdom that plays EDM. They mainly play the subgenre Trance, Progressive Trance, and Progressive House. They always show themes of love, self discovery, and over coming hardships in their music. I have followed them since 2017 and their music has always been a healing balm for my soul.

Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is a turn based RPG that is developed by the French studio Sandfall Interactive. This story revolves around a group of volunteer expeditioners are set on defeating The Paintress. An entity whom disintegrate people when they reach a certain age. It is called the Gommage and in hopes to prevent younger individuals from perishing once they reach a certain age, Expedition 33 go off on a mission to destory The Paintress before humanity perishes. This game is one of the most creative games I have played. The game play is turned based with real-time elements in which you would either dodge or parry your enemy's attacks. It also expertly weaves an amazing tale in which how the characters handle grief and try to complete their goal ahead of them dispite the emotional challenges they face.

Folktales is a documentary following three students who decide to attend Pasvik for the year. This film shows the unique challenges they face to grow as individuals and they continue down their journey to self discovery. These three students attend a specialized school providing an atmosphere full of support and challenges that help these students grow through the process of connecting through nature and discovering their self worth.

Meet Philipo Vanderploeg, a struggling American actor living in Tokyo trying to find his purpose in life. He gets hired for an unusual position where he plays a stand in role for stranges. The company's name is Rental Family and they provide a unique service where actors are hired to play a certain role in their life. This movie explores the themes of lonliness, wanting to belong, and general human connection. Philip begins to see the beauty of human connections as he acts in roles such as a father who has been gone for years or a womans fiance. This movie explores the need for human connection and how we may find it in the most unlikley of places.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is an anime adaptation of a manga of the same name. You meet Rintaro, an intimidating looking but sweet high schooler from the school Chidori. His family runs a bakery in which he would sometimes help out. While helping with the shop, he meets Kuko. A small high school girl who loves to eat sweets. He discovers that she attends an all girl school call Kikyo, which is right next door to his high school. The girls at Kikyo despise the students the male students at Chidori but not Kuko. She becomes friends with Rintaro and soon a romance begins to bud. This show explores the concepts of how you should not judge a book by its cover as well as the importance of communication. It also explores the themes of emotional growth, self acceptance, and overcoming prejudice.

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top