love? And how much does love matter? These two questions lie at the heart of the movie I Am Sam. This paper examines some of the issues of relationship dynamics at the heart of this movie, issues that are at the core of a great deal of social work and various therapeutic or quasi-therapeutic relationships. Often counselors become involved in assessing primary relationships that are certainly marked by a high degree of love and devotion but that are not necessarily healthy for all of the parties concerned. Anyone who has been involved in the field of counseling knows that in some cases love is indeed not enough - although they also know that it is an excellent starting point for stable, healthy relationships. Here, love may well be sufficient.

The movie tells the story of Sam Dawson (played by Sean Penn), who despite the fact that he is mentally-challenged, is...
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