Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice: Healing in the New Year

Both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice have started out the new year with some of their most important characters undergoing healing processes. On Grey's Anatomy, Christina Yang has always been one of my favorites because of her enthusiasm for cardiovascular surgery. Aside from her new husband, Owen, and of course her best friend Meredith, surgery is what drives Christina, and when she suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the murder/massacre at the hospital when a deranged husband of a deceased patient returns to get revenge on Derrick, Christina just wasn't Christina anymore. She was severely traumatized after having to perform life-saving surgery on Derrick, who is a neurosurgeon as well as her best friend's husband, while at gunpoint. She was so unlike herself for so long that I was beginning to think that she would never recover from her ordeal. I definitely didn't want her to leave the show like George and Isi did. Christina totally refused to perform any surgeries on patients, and at one point she didn't even want to perform any other procedures. She even considered quitting her residency at Seattle Grace Hospital period and no longer being a doctor. Thank goodness Yang is starting to heal following an unlikely fishing trip as well as a similar shooting at nearby college that re-sparked her interested, and has resumed her residency at the hospital. She's again enthusiastically performing cardiovascular surgeries, and I'm really excited. Dr. Christine Yang is back, and now things are thankfully back to normal...or at least as close to normal as possible, considering the many experiences that my beloved characters undergo on a regular basis.

When it comes to Private Practice, Dr. Charlotte King, who is an important character, although not really one of my favorites, is also healing from a horrific experience in the new year. After being brutally raped by a stranger, Charlotte and her fiancé Cooper are both suffering from the aftermath of the rape, and it's negatively affecting their relationship, especially their sex life. Cooper wants to resume a sexual relationship, but Charlotte, who is still suffering from the negative after-effects of the rape is reluctant-and understandably scared. What Cooper fails to realize until they both actually attempt to become intimate again is that he too has been negatively affected by the rape and can't even perform even though Charlotte is willing. What I liked about Charlotte and Cooper prior to the rape was that they had a very healthy sexual relationship that many might consider to be wild, crazy, and very spontaneous. It didn't matter where they were, if they got the urge to make love then that's exactly what they did. I am hoping that very soon Charlotte and Cooper will be able to heal enough to resume their healthy intimate relationship because their relationship among others on Private Practice is what makes the show unforgettable, addictive and extremely provocative.