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(S05E07) Dr. Kroger, Monk's shrink, typically plays a small role on the series. That isn't to say he's not important to Monk. Actually, he's very important to Monk, and Monk considers Kroeger's office his home away from home, the place where, as he tells Natalie, "it all doesn't happen."

When a cleaning lady in Dr. Kroeger's office is stabbed to death, Kroeger fears it may have been one of his patients. This becomes too much for him to bear so he decides to retire. Of course, Monk doesn't take this very well at all, and goes through all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The difference is that Monk goes through them all in just a matter of seconds, and then repeats them over again as if stuck in a loop.

Kroeger suspects a patient named Joseph Wheeler, who once threatened him, may have been the killer. Wheeler works at Animal Crafters, a Build-A-Bear Workshop-type place, but his alibi checks out so they have to rule him out as the killer. Monk and Wheeler have a moment of solidarity when they realize they both lost someone very important when Kroeger quit his practice. They each stand clutching teddy bears and mourning the loss of their shrink.