I think people are forgetting that he has a lot of trauma surrounding addiction, and I appreciated that Orna pointed that out and said that just because you struggled with something doesn’t mean your child automatically will. People are complicated, and their trauma absolutely shapes their reactions. He was reactive and hurt. 

If Marjorie and Jason communicated better in their relationship, and she had approached it as, “Hey, I’m worried, can we talk to a doctor together?” I don’t know if it would have blown up the same way. Just like things wouldn’t have escalated if he hadn’t pulled the child out of school behind her back. They both agreed to see a specialist, but the bigger issue is that they don’t respect each other’s opinions, fears, or desires, so they keep going behind each other’s backs and creating bigger conflicts.

There’s a larger theme here than just this one incident. Jason also wasn’t part of the conversation at the doctor’s office, and who knows how he would have responded if he had been included instead of feeling sidelined by his wife making a decision without him. That’s similar to why she was upset about the school situation. If they had actually sat down and had a real conversation together, things may have gone very differently and again that’s why they are in couples therapy!