" How About a Friendly Shrink ? " received generally mixed reviews . According to Nielsen Media Research , the episode was seen by 11.2 million viewers . It was the lowest rating for an individual '' Desperate Housewives '' in the series ' history , a distinction it held only two weeks until the subsequent episode , " The Glamorous Life " , drew even poorer ratings . The viewership for " How About a Friendly Shrink ? " suffered due to competition from the 67th Golden Globe Awards on NBC and the two-hour eighth season premiere of '' 24 '' on Fox
67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
How About a Friendly Shrink?