Psychoanalysts continue to discuss The Sopranos: ‘There is no doubt the Jennifer finds herself in an extremely difficult
therapeutic situation. Gloria and Tony are toying with her like
“great cats of prey”–contemptuously flaunting their power and
defiance–and there isn’t much Dr. Melfi can do.’ Slate. Looking at the archives of this discussion, by the way, it’s clear the four analysts are enthralled by the show’s characterization and plotting. Comments indicate that they (including the renowned Dr. Gabbard, who has written a well-received book, Psychiatry and the Cinema) consider this ongoing subplot the most realistic media depiction of the psychotherapy process they’ve seen. And Gabbard observes:

Two of the writers, Robin Green and Mitchell
Burgess, also executive producers, spoke at an analytic
meeting last year in L.A., where they were given an award.
When we asked them about how they came up with such
accurate depictions of psychotherapy in the series, they said
that most of the writing team had been in psychotherapy
themselves. They don’t actually use consultants for the therapy
scenes (except for medication questions), but the accuracy
appears to stem from good treatment experiences in their own
lives.