Tuesday, December 07, 2010

In Treatment: Jesse, Week 7



Jesse went to prison for hopping a train to Providence without paying. Another episode for ClinkShrink!

He's back in Paul's office with his dad, and dad doesn't have much use for shrinks. He tells Paul he should have been a plumber. And now that he and Jesse are cool, Jesse doesn't need to come.

Paul talks to Jesse alone. He implores Jesse to stay in treatment, and he puts it in terms of how he cares for Jesse and how Jesse will lose the gains he made. To watch Paul, leaving therapy is a catastrophic event, one that warrants blowing a few cerebral blood vessels. It's a do or die deal.

For once, could Paul just say, "I'm glad this has been helpful to you. I think there are still issues to address and it could continue to be helpful to you. If you need me, please do call."

9 comments:

Sarebear said...

My therapist is always aware of issues that impact my sense of efficacy (since it's rather low), and Paul acting this way seems to be strongly implying that Jesse can't get by without therapy with Paul, or that he can't have gained ANYTHING from their time together if things don't go in the future the way that PAUL wants them to go; it has nothing to do with anything Jesse does, at all, completely taking anything and everything away from him, that he participates in the therapy.

This makes me think Paul is too self-involved in the therapy, ie, too much of his ego is involved, it's too much about him. At least, from what you describe, lol.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Sarebear.

Breaking up is hard to do. Let the patients do it and trust that they might know something the therapist does not.

tracy said...

Well, at least there's a Psychiatrist on TV who does therapy...talk about "not in the real world".

No offense, but will you be doing your regular great posts again soon? i miss them.

Sarebear i would still love to have the name of the book you mentioned. i think we have more in common than you may imagine...at least, in my past.....

Sarebear said...

ok, tracy! For some reason, not knowing WHY, or a glimmer, of WHY, I was paralyzed with FEAR, for some reason, about it. But I'm afraid of almost everything lol!

I also like to help people, and now I'm not afraid to. Email me at the email me listed at the blog you can get to by clicking on my name and we'll hook you up that way!

Sarebear said...

er, there's several blogs listed. Piebolar, my profile.

Jenn said...

Considering the circumstances, leaving therapy seems like it would be a very bad idea for Jesse. However, as Tigermom points out, sometimes the therapist does not know best. Each individual is different with an entirely different set of morals and issues, so they should not be treated in the exact same manner.

Feminist Voice with Disabilities said...

Therapists have no business telling their clients what to do or putting a guilt trip on someone who wants to leave therapy. Of course, if the therapist has concern for the client's well-being, then they have reason to suggest that maybe leaving therapy is a bad idea, but their ego shouldn't be involved, as it seems Paul's is, like Tigermom mentioned.

Anonymous said...

Here is what my doc said once: if you want to leave because you feel that it is not useful or you are ready to move on, I am comfortable with that, but if you want to leave because you are upset about something that has happened between us, I think it is a better idea to try to discuss that so that you end up making the choice that works for you because it has to work for YOU.

S said...

I wish Netflix would put these online! (We like to use our one DVD at a time for movies that both my husband and i can watch together.) I saw part of Sophie, back when i routinely stayed at motels with HBO, and really enjoyed that.

But this one... Even just the description is unsettling to me. I experienced this, though not so explicitly, this sense that everything needs to be confronted, right now, head-on -- as though my future and very survival depend on it. (I'm sure this perception was heightened by my own sense of desperation and lack of perspective as a young person). It ended up being very overwhelming and not beneficial to me.

So yes, i agree with all the comments above about ego. While also recognizing how hard it can be to let go of a person you care about when you think they actually be in danger -- i truly feel for both the therapist and the client in this situation.