"Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama detective television series Monk, and the show's 68th episode overall. The series follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a private detective with obsessive–compulsive disorder and multiple phobias, and his assistant Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard). In this episode, Dr. Charles Kroger (Stanley Kamel), Monk's psychiatrist, retires after blaming himself for the murder of his cleaning lady and Monk has to prove the culprit was not one of Kroger's patients. Written by Hy Conrad and directed by Andrei Belgrader, "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink" was created following a long-time desire of the staff to center an episode on Kamel and make a vacuum bag pivotal in a mystery. When the episode first aired in the United States on USA Network on August 18, 2006, it was watched by 5.2 million viewers. The episode was generally well received by critics, with most of the praise regarding Kamel's major role. It also led Shalhoub to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Plot Dr. Charles Kroger arrives at his office and finds Adrian Monk and Harold Krenshaw arguing over who should get the following session. They enter the office and find Teresa Mueller, the building's cleaning lady, dead, and the patient files scattered. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher suspect that one of Dr. Kroger's patients was responsible. Dr. Kroger says it could be Joseph Wheeler, who threatened him. Dr. Kroger blames himself for not taking the threat seriously, and decides to retire. Wheeler, however, is dismissed as a suspect as he has a confirmed alibi. When Monk returns with Natalie to Dr. Kroger's office, they meet Francis Merrigan, who owns an importing and exporting business based in the same building. That night, someone throws a rock with a threatening note through the window of Dr. Kroger's house, bolstering the theory that one of his patients is the killer. Monk says he recognizes the rock, though he does not know where he saw it. Dr. Kroger finds Monk a new therapist, Dr. Jonah Sorenson; in session, he remembers where the rock came from. Monk goes to Dr. Kroger's office and shows Dr. Kroger the rock came from the courtyard, which only Dr. Kroger and Merrigan have access to. In Merrigan's office, they find powdered milk but not a coffeemaker and,