It looks like it may take more than a few therapy sessions for the women of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" to put their differences aside.
Sarcasm, yelling and misunderstanding -- not empathy and dulcet tones -- dominate upcoming episode 17, where Nene Leakes and her fellow cast members attend a group counseling meeting.
Leakes called the session, following an incident when the normally calm, cool and collected attorney Phaedra Parks almost beat Kenya Moore with her purse at a group dinner.
At that dinner, Cynthia Bailey brought up the text messages that Parks' husband Apollo Nida passed along indicating that Parks may be having an affair with an African high-roller named "Mr. Chocolate." Moore called Parks a hypocrite at the dinner and Parks suddenly jumped up, purse held high overhead, and was immediately restrained by others.
All agreed to Leakes' counseling suggestion, and episode 17, which airs on Sunday, shows the cast, except for Parks, in the counselor's office.
While Burruss went to the volatile session, she seemed confused that she should attend and Leakes told her she needed to fix the rift between her and Parks. Parks told Leakes that she was hurt that her close pal Burruss was not by her side during the near-purse beating, and that Burruss was the last one to follow her out the door to comfort her outside.
Burruss went to Parks' office and tells her it came as a surprise that Leakes suggested she and Parks could benefit from counseling as well. Parks expressed to Burruss that she felt she indeed could have been more supportive, as Parks has been going through a lot. Burruss appeared to be taken aback and said she's had difficulties too and Parks hasn't been there for her either.
That fractured friendship, the continued bickering and fighting between Bailey and Leakes, Porsha Williams' conflicts, including her latest fight with new cast member Claudia Jordan, and a host of other reasons motivated Leakes to suggest the group seek help together.
Previews of the counseling session show that Leakes gets into it with Bailey and then walks out of the session.
The topic that drove Leakes out of the session she arranged, and to the elevator and out of the building? None other than another continual source of controversy: Bailey's restaurateur husband, Peter Thomas. Thomas had told Bailey he thought Leakes' behavior at the party given in Leakes honor last season was disrespectful.
"We didn't really move on and I felt like once the rift started, Nene went above and beyond to destroy the friendship...," Bailey said in the session. "Then it's the sarcasm... looking at me with the fish eyes..."
Leakes disputes Bailey's claims, saying she's lying and she's not a victim, before storming out the door.
