<P> In the Season 3 episode "Employee of the Month", Melfi is walking alone through the parking garage to her car when she is attacked by a man . He grabs her from behind and, after she attempts escape and cries out for help, proceeds to drag her to the stairway of her building, where he violently rapes her . He leaves her lying helpless in the stairway, crying . </P> <P> At the hospital, she is visited by her ex-husband, Richard, who is relieved to find she is okay . Once he discovers the man who raped her also has an Italian surname, he begins to feel embarrassment for himself and the Italian people, indicating that rapists make Italians like him look bad . Melfi feels his reaction is ridiculous and irrelevant . Although her rapist is arrested, he is subsequently released because of an improper procedure performed by police . This infuriates Melfi, in shock that he was released . She comments to her psychiatrist and colleague Dr. Elliot Kupferberg, "I could have that asshole squashed like a bug," meaning that she could easily have her rapist killed by telling Tony that she was raped . More shock comes when Melfi is in the fast food restaurant where the rapist works . She sees his smiling picture on the wall as Employee of the Month (hence the episode title). She is tempted to tell Tony what happened but is torn between wanting to see her rapist punished and not wishing to involve herself in Tony's world . During her second session with Tony after the rape, Melfi is overcome by her inner conflict and breaks down . When Tony, apparently distraught at her grief, attempts to console her and asks "Do you want to say something?", she regains her composure and responds flatly, "No ." </P> <P> Melfi also sees a psychiatrist and colleague, Dr. Elliot Kupferberg (played by Peter Bogdanovich), on a regular basis . In "The Second Coming," he tells her that a recent study has shown that talk therapy may only help a sociopath become more sociopathic . Elliot has commented that treating Tony Soprano gives her a "vicarious thrill ." Melfi tells Elliott she used to find Tony attractive at first, but no longer . She does not mention that shortly before this session, she had an erotic dream about herself and Tony . </P> <P> Despite several failed attempts by both Melfi and Tony to end their therapy sessions, a dinner party Melfi attends with colleagues during the episode ("The Blue Comet") breaks the balance . Dr. Elliot Kupferberg mentions a study that found therapy is a failure with sociopathic people, and goes on to reveal to the other guests that Melfi is treating Tony Soprano, which angers Melfi . Following the discussion, Melfi reads the article, which states that therapy can sometimes justify the criminal acts of a sociopath or criminal . She begins to realize that perhaps treating Tony has been useless and has aided his criminal lifestyle . </P>

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