Mental clinic //therapy

Shattered Memories's playing experience is punctured by interruptions made by a certain psychiatrist named Kaufmann, who talks to someone unseen -- to us, that is, to Cheryl as we later find out -- and shows us several tests, some of the most important features in the game, since they will build the Psych Profile, which will modify the game's characters, places and events. Kaufmann and his unusual treatment are what help Cheryl relive all of her traumas. Physical manifestations of different aspects of Cheryl's life and thinking patters are helpful in the treatment, and may even be considered of crucial importance, given the fact they are what allows us, players, to form our (variable) opinions about Cheryl.

Cybil Bennet, Lisa Garland and Michelle Valdez are some of these physical manifestations, along with Dhalia Mason, the Raw Shocks and Harry himself. They don't necessarily collaborate with the treatment, some of them, like the three last mentioned manifestations, work as a distraction from the therapy, trying to drive Cheryl and Harry off the right way and inducing them to leave things as they are. The other beings are mostly helpful, in varying ways. Michelle and Lisa both work as references to the truth ignored by Cheryl, that her father would usually cheat on Dhalia. But also, Michelle shows her the fragility of marriage and the ilusion that you can love someone that is both physically and emotionally distant from you. Lisa shows us, as Kaufmann would say, the oposite side of the emotional themes treated by Michelle: death. Lisa's death in the game can be over-analyzed to the point in which we'll be constantly seeing references to Harry's own death and how Cheryl blamed herself for it. And lastly, Cybil is the character that compells Cheryl to go further into her search for the truth, constantly pushing Harry fowards. She is the manifestation of the part of Cheryl who wants to know the truth.