Therapy Session

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CHAPTER 2 THERAPY SESSION

I've never seen someone as bad as him. He's the worst. The worst of them all.

 

It 'd been a fairly regular day up until that, just about as regular as it gets for a psychotherapist these days. I was already dreaming of home, to be quite frank with you. Getting away from these terribly problematic people, that's what home signified to me, really, just getting away from the seventh level of hell and into a more idyllic place. Home wasn't without its problems, in fact I was usually the troublemaker. Therapists aren't known for their mental stability and I'm no exception. As for me, I wasn't ready for a guy who should be in mental hospital.

 

How could I have known that he was so bad? A local doctor had written me an e-mail, describing my patient-to-be in vague terms like 'slightly erratic' and 'off-putting', practically ordering me to check him up 'just in case'. Now I just wonder how on Earth could this guy not have seen what a lunatic he is. Incredible. So incredible that I think I'll just describe the session to you now.

 

Three quick, forceful knocks signified my patient's arrival. When I opened the door a man lurched through, dressed rather better than what I expected, but smelling worse than sin. He had an unshaven beard and unkempt hair, probably ridden with fleas. He smelled like booze, s**t, candles and blood. I don't think he had bathed in days. He mumbled a greeting and proceeded to crash headlong onto my sofa.[1] At this point I could already start to guess the tenacious nature of Benjamin's illness. I wanted to do something to lighten up the mood; engage in some routines. Just having a nice chat with an old mate- type of thing, right?

 

"I'm Oliver, Oliver Stone. I understand that you are Benjamin." The man froze. "Yes, yes I am," he finally said, looking oddly at me. Jesus! Get him to sit down!

"Anything for drink? I've some coffee in the pan and water's always abundant." I tried to make myself sound light-hearted and uplifting. It almost worked. As for the patient, even pulling himself up to a sitting position seemed to make him struggle. I could almost feel the effort he went through to accomplish it. It left him breathing hard for a couple of seconds.

 

"Coffee," he croaked. I hid a look of disgust as something wet began to drip down onto the sofa.

 

The kitchen was right behind him, all in plain sight. It didn't take me more than a few seconds to fetch him a cup. Sitting opposite of him, I understandably felt at a loss for words. That was rare, as you can imagine - I've prided myself on my nerves - but here I was, face-to-face in the same room with one of the most likely candidates to become the next mass murderer of this city. Luckily he seemed to calm down a little after gulping down his coffee. Relieved, I raised my voice. I tried to make it softer and more easy-going than I felt. This time, it worked all right.

 

"We should probably go over some basic stuff now that we're here, talking a bit about you, how you ended up in here, just you and your thoughts."  I tried to sound as calming as possible. Usually it came naturally, but this time I really had to strain my voice and strive for that tone. Benjamin directed his answer to the floor.

 

"You know my name already, that greedy b*****d told it to you. I don't know why I'm here. I'm just living my life. I just want to go home." He seemingly stopped to ponder. "It's my question, damn it! Why am I here?"

 

"Hold on, who's this greedy b*****d?"

 

"The doctor, you know him? He sent you my name."

 

"Why are you calling him a greedy b*****d? Did he do something?"

 

"Smiles like one. He's enjoying putting other people on medication. The f*****g idiot probably takes his own pills anyway. Free pills and lots of money. What a load of crap."

 

I just managed to keep myself from chuckling. "Alright. Well, what can you tell me about your life? What do you usually do during the day?"

 

"I sleep, I eat, I sleep, I go to a f*****g useless therapy session and get back to eating and sleeping." Not much to boast about, then. No wonder the guy was pissed. More importantly, though, this was the headway I had been waiting for. I pressed on in my questioning. Maybe a little too fervently. You got to understand, I really wanted to get the heck out of there.

 

"Do you have any family, then? Any relatives?" I failed to apply the light-heartedness this time. My anxiety shone like a wildfire through a wall.

"What do you f*****g think? You think they woulda taken me out of this shithole if I had any."

 

Looking at him, I was unsure. Would a distant cousin or an uncle have the guts to give this guy shelter?[2]

 

The discussion went on from there, really. It got better. Benjamin began to open up. It's a sad story. He's got nobody. He never really did anything bad. Just couldn't find people on the same wavelength, which drove him nuts. I can kind of relate to that. Overall, Benjamin is still in the 'I can deal with this' category. Just barely, though. He's unpredictable. That's a factor I've never liked in my patients, believe me. Believe me.

---

[1] Poor thing. And I'm not talking about the man.

[2] Alright, maybe I'm playing around with the narrative. Obviously I can't remember my thoughts from back then. I've been told it would be better if I added some narrative amidst the dialogue, however. To "add some spice" to the story. You'd think it was "spicy" enough already... but whatever the publisher says.

Author's Note

How does it work in your opinion? It's meant to be a sort of a memo from the psychotherapist. You'll find out more about him in the future, him and Benjamin. I'll try my best to weave these elements together.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good set-up chapter. I like the discussion and the attitude of the patience. I like the narration. Gave strength to the story. Thank you for sharing the excellent chapter.
Coyote

[Mikael Malmberg]

thanks coyote! i'll make sure to check out some of your writings when I feel better. I'm currently so tired it wouldn't be wise to do it now.

[Nienor Niniel]

This had me hooked from the first paragraph, with the conversationally informal introduction by the psychotherapist. I liked the different form this chapter takes from the previous one. It feels disjointed, but it fits together well anyway.

[Mikael Malmberg]

Thanks! In what ways does it feel disjointed? I will do my best to note it down and fix it for future releases. Thank you for reviewing and hopefully will see your answer to this soon. :)

[Nienor Niniel]

I didn't mean that as a bad thing. It feel disjointed, because the first chapter was from the perspective of Benjamin (in the form of mental ramblings and diary entries) and the second chapter was from the perspective of the psychotherapist (in the form of a medical memo). So, the chapters are different, even though they belong to the same book, but the difference in this case is good. Forgive me for not being clearer. (:

[Mikael Malmberg]

Ah alright, nice to hear! I'll begin on Chapter 3 shortly, maybe tomorrow.

[Mikael Malmberg]

And, haha, here I go again: breaking my own promises. So sorry! I currently have a dozen essays to be finished for tomorrow -- or so it feels. I'll get back to work as soon as I can make it happen, I promise.

[Nienor Niniel]

No reason to feel bad. Responsibilities come first. :)

[Mikael Malmberg]

Swedish essay finished for now; it's so unimaginative and it has such a forced story that I began laughing from just reading it. "And we laughed and laughed..." "The detective found the ostriches, but they were not the ones that had been stolen from the zoo!"... you get my drift. Tomorrow beginning to work on my two health ed essays, then next week beginning work on a 5-page hand-written essay, and starting to garner ideas for a small bulletin that we have been assigned to complete. After that(a week or two) I should be free, and perhaps I can even put something in between there. I don't have lots of readers, but I rather do it for the enjoyment. And you know, the hope of one day getting good enough to be published.

[Nienor Niniel]

That is a lot of work! Good luck getting through it all.

[Mikael Malmberg]

Ha! Thanks. I put that out there for intimidation value; keep outta my cave, said the hibernating bear. Or, alternatively, saying "student loan" anywhere near a student from the States - it gives them the creeps.