An uncooperative cooperative patient

Posted on Tue Jun 5th, 2018 @ 4:37pm by Lieutenant Galatea Polaris

Mission: Misson 1 - Rebirth
Location: Corridor outside Councilor's office
Timeline: 8th of February 2395 - End of day

ON:

Gabe walked down the corridor to the counselor/CMO's office and grinned, he had the PADD in his hand with his two weeks worth of 'journal entries'. He grinned to himself as he neared the door and reached out to press the button alerting whoever was inside that he was outside. Once the door opened he entered and walked coolly into the room to sit down on the couch. He placed the PADD on the table, unlocked and open to his entries.

Galatea had just been about to send her message when the door chimed. She looked at her appointment calendar and noted that the Chief was her next client. She sighed and then prepared herself for what she knew would be an interesting session. The last couple of days were crazy and it looked like things were about to get more frustrating.

She watched him enter and sit and unlock his PADD. "Chief, glad you put some thought into resignation. I hope that this will be productive." She took out her notebook and a pen. "Alright. So to start how have your last two weeks been?"

He mirrored her movements, producing his own journal and pen and eyed her, tilting his head like a curious canine and waiting. Measuring his breathing with care as he waited for the Lieutenant's next move and grinned to himself.

Galatea's eyes narrowed a bit. "Again how was your two weeks?" She wanted to ease him into the journal. She then got a brilliant idea for her next question.

He though a moment before answering. "Fine." and watched her reaction then looked down at his journal and wrote a bit. Before looking back up at her.

She smiled, "Alright then we move into the heart of it. Pick an entry from week one and tell me about what happened that day and how you dealt with it or what it made you think of."

He snorted "All was adequate." he replied.

Galatea let the silence stretch. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but.... She tried again, "Great. So what happened that day that was adequate and why wasn't it great?"

"Nothing, adequate as I said." he replied and let the silence return. He was comfortable in silence but knew many people found it to be most uncomfortable. He wondered if Galatea was one of those that didn't mind it or couldn't stand it.

She sighed and let the silence stretch. "I see," she finally said. "Let's try it this way. Define adequate for me. What does adequate mean to you?"

"Good enough." he said raising an eyebrow and sighing in turn, this was going to be a long, long posting. He absently wondered to himself why this shrink decided he needed to see her once every two weeks when all he ever had to do before was the annual evals.

Galatea's Betazoid senses were keen even though her El Aurian side diluted them a bit. "You think this is pointless. You feel this is a waste of time. Am I right?"

"You could say that." he said simply "I've never had to do this with any other councilor before. I have my demons, as do everyone, but they aren't yours to poke, they are mine to work through."

Galatea studied him a while. "No, you might not have to do this with any other counselor but that brings a question to me. How much did they care about you as patient, as a person, How much did they care about your wellbeing?" She let that sink in. "We all have our demons, we carry them with us and alone we are more likely to fall or let them overtake us. You are right they are yours to work through but not alone. I'm not poking, I want to help because you are my patient, because I care what happens to you and because as with this ship united we stand against all odds, divided we will fall."

He nodded "That may be true but do you think assigning me homework like I was back in grade school is the way to get me to open up? Treating me like a child instead of a man who is nearing the end of his service? You may want to reconsider how you go about 'helping' people with whom you've just met." he paused and let that sink in before he continued "While I'm not a psychologist I do know a few things. You cant help, someone, unless they want to be helped, otherwise, you may do more harm than good. Now is my condition, in your professional opinion, likely to hinder my ability to discharge my duties to this ship given my previous psych evals and previous duty reviews?"

"I know you don't agree with my methods but assigning this type of homework is quite normal and well within treatment parameters. I have many patients who embrace the journaling experience. I think that you have a bit of a fear about opening up to people and that I can understand." She studied him and then continued, "You are right. There is an old Earth saying, you can take a camel to water but can't make it drink. Now as to your question, based on previous evaluations you should be find in administering your duties but you yourself have admitted that others have not taken the time to probe. In order to make sure I want to work with you."

She stood and walked to the replicator ordering herself a glass of water. "Would you like anything?"

"No thank you." he replied as stoically as a piece of marble.

(WILL ADDD BASED ON RESPONSE ABOVE ) She continued as she sat down, "I genuinely want to get to know you. Chief I think that you are the kind of person that would bend over backward to help crewmates. You strike me as a driven man a man who tries to keep demons of the past locked up so they don't affect his work but that could change in a moment. I want to help you. I wish you could believe that. If you'd like I can assign one of my other counselors to you if you are not comfortable with my techniques but I need to make sure, not just for the crew but for your sake that you will be okay."

He nodded "I understand that and do not object to the assignments as such but rather the way you assigned them. You did not ask if I already journal." he placed a hand on the stacks of leather-bound books beside him "I do, on a regular basis every night. It helps me to organize my thoughts and work through what's happened during the day. As well as to identify and either embrace or neutralize emotional occurrences. Though I have issues I do keep them under tight control and over the years I have learned the best ways to manage them. Now it may just be possible that you are the counselor I've been looking for to open up to, but I do not take kindly to you ordering me around in my free time as if you were the teacher and I the student. If we were in civilian life I would, with respect, tell you to jettison yourself out the nearest airlock for your impertinence. Impertinence a poor counselor make, and an untrustworthy ear to listen. So, in essence, I suppose what I'm getting at Ma'am, is I don't trust you. As such I will not open up to you, that is something that takes more than a few pips and an order or however many sessions you deem to have me sit through. With the utmost respect to your rank, you haven't earned it."

"I didn't ask if you journal, that I should have. You are right about journaling. It helps organize the thoughts that is for sure. Managing emotions can go on for only so long. I'd be interested in hearing some of the coping mechanisms that you use." She needed to see if they valid.

"It's not a teaching student thing. I just want you to spend a little time with this. Any counseling is a two way street. It takes work on both the patient and the counselor's end. As far as not trusting me all trust takes time to build with trust sometimes it will be well placed and at others it will not be well placed but you have to try. The fact that you approach people with distrust first is an issue in itself but understandable given your career and given life itself."

She drained the last of her drink and headed to the replicator to put it back there. "Alright so we are at a crossroads now. You have a choice....well lots of them." She turned to face him. "Choice one, you trust that I am trying to help you and we try to work together to figure things out. Choice two, you seek another of my counseling staff and start over, choice three you keep coming to these sessions and just sitting there and not opening up and I keep renewing your temporary fit for duty approval until I can certify one hundred present that you are okay. Choice number four you refuse counseling treatment, which is your right, and I write up your choices and my observations and then we deal with things as they come up, or choice number five, ...well no that wouldn't work here. Anyway you have options. Think about things and get back to me on where you would like to go from here Chief." She didn't put up the fight she usually would have or did. In all the time that she'd been talking with the Chief she seemed a bit preoccupied as if she carried the world on her shoulders. She stood up and headed to her desk, turned on her computer and noted a few things. "Alright Chief I'd say the appointment for today is done unless there is something else you wish to speak about."

He grinned wickedly and nodded "Indeed, Lieutenant." before standing and exiting the office to head back to his quarters for a very important communication he knew was coming.

OFF

Lt. Galatea Polaris
Chief Medical Officer and Counselor
USS Wolff

&

Gabriel Estaban Aubrey D'Anconia
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Armory Specialist
USS Wolff