Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 1671

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike)
Part 1671
by Angharad

Copyright © 2012 Angharad
All Rights Reserved.
  
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I’d just got back from getting a few necessaries from the supermarket, the girls were still eating breakfast and Danny had gone off to play football, when Dr Elizabeth Todmorton arrived to see Jacquie.

I showed the psychologist into my study, turned the sign on the door to, Do Not Disturb and went to get Jacquie. “You will come in with me, won’t you?”

“I’ll speak with Dr Todmorton, while you wait outside.” She reluctantly agreed but waited whilst I went into my study and noted the surprised look upon the psychologist’s face.

“Is there a problem?” she asked looking up from her notes?”

“Jacquie asked me to sit in on her session.”

“Out of the question I’m afraid.”

“Okay, I half expected that. However, I feel it useful to inform you that she doesn’t feel you’re dealing with her issues.”

“What am I dealing with then?”

“She seems to think you are working to an agenda which doesn’t give her any say in it.”

“I’m working to a format, yes. All therapists do, even if that format is chaos, mine is a planned programme based upon CBT–I presume you’ve heard of it?”

“I have, I’m also aware that it can be used mechanically rather than patient centred.”

“Is this personal experience, Lady Cameron?”

“I’m not the client here, except with regard to paying your fees.”

“I see so you want to call the tune?”

“Not at all, I want Jacquie to get the optimum benefit from your therapy, she has loads of issues...”

“I know–which is what I’m trying to prioritise, hence the agenda.”

“To her priorities, I presume?”

“Naturally.”

“Fine, I’ll let you get on with it, then.”

“Lady Cameron, if Jacquie is unhappy with my work then I suggest you find another therapist.”

“That isn’t for me to decide, is it? I’ll leave that for you both to resolve that and to let me know the outcome.” I left before she could formulate a response. I knew she disliked me for speaking to her, but I felt I’d done what Jacquie had asked me.

“I’ve spoken with Dr Todmorton, she’s aware you feel it’s too mechanical. I think you both need to discuss this and come to a conclusion.”

“Like what, Mummy?”

“That’s for you to decide, not me.”

“What should I do, Mummy?”

“What you feel is right for you.”

“How will I know that?”

“I think you will, now go and speak with her.” Reluctantly she went into my study and heard the door close as I walked back to the kitchen to feed the little one and do some ironing.

It was one of the longest hours I think I’ve ever experienced. I was halfway through one of Simon’s shirts when Jacquie came to get me. I followed her back to my study.

“Jacquie and I have finished setting out her priorities and my boundaries. We’ve agreed a contract of how we’ll work. I’ve warned her that it won’t be easy because there’s some very dark stuff in there we need to reframe.”

“Of course, to change the perspective of something?”

“Yes, what else did you think it meant?”

“I hadn’t thought what it meant.”

“Perhaps if you had, you wouldn’t have needed to speak with me earlier.” I considered myself told off, as in well and truly.

I accepted her criticism and showed her out. When I talked to Jacquie she showed me a series of exercises she had to do, such as keeping diaries and recording how she felt with a value to each feeling. No surprise there then. I handed her a few exercise books and told her to use them for her diaries. Her reaction was more one of surprise than gratitude. This therapist woman didn’t come cheap, so I decided Jacquie should try to cooperate or we find someone else.

I sent her off to commence her diaries while I finished the ironing and got some lunch. The latter was some fresh soup to go with the bread I was about to turn out of the machine.

After a successful lunch, Jacquie went off for her driving lesson and I suggested we went for a walk with the dog and fed some seagulls–I had some stale bread I didn’t fancy doing anything useful with, so I chopped it into squares and shoved it in a bag.

Kiki tried to grab each piece of bread we threw to the seagulls–I know, no such thing as seagulls, these were mainly herring gull, common gull and some lesser black-backs.

The wind drove the bread back to us half the time, so Kiki, the ever hungry spaniel, did manage to grab one or two pieces, however, the gulls got most of it. I suppose we walked about a mile or two before we turned and walked back to home. It started to rain–typical holiday weather.

Tomorrow is Good Friday, and I’ll have to try and wangle some way to watch some of the cycle racing, it’s on the computer at about ten. Will Pendleton and Hoy add some more world champion titles to their palmares? I sincerely hoped so, and hoped the Aussies weren’t on such imperious form as they were at the last world cup competition. Meares was destroying all before her, and as Pendleton’s arch rival, those races would be brilliant.

I’d got some hot cross buns, they weren’t exactly hot until I shoved them in the hot oven of the Aga–then they were very warm. I was prepared to butter them or allow them to be eaten as they were–several were unsure of what to do. Finally, I got a decision. Danny wanted his cold as it was. Meems wanted hers toasted with lots of butter. Trish and Livvie wanted theirs just warmed, Tom wanted his soaked in whisky–I told him to go and tak’ a high jump.

Jacquie had another driving lesson so I was left babysitting–hardly a first choice for my growing irritability. It rained so I assumed Danny’s football match would be cancelled, it wasn’t and he got absolutely soaked.

Si was working from home doing some emails to Europe. Trish suggested Monopoly and I stopped that one–she is insufferable when she bankrupts everyone. In the end, I sat and read them some of the Gaby book, they had just finished–they all applauded me and said I was very good. Just what I needed to be told.

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Comments

Bit surprised

to see that Cathy actually had some stale bread ... I seem to remember Simon and the rest of the tribe have a real love for it .... Of course if it was one of those supermarket loaves that would explain it ... In which case i feel sorry for the se.. sorry herring ,common, and black-backs ... Fancy having to swim and fly after eating that...

Kirri

This feels like ...

This feels like one of those 'A day in the life of' chapters that lines us up for another momentous event. It also gives an insight into Cathy's feelings about several things like psychiatry and sport etc.

I wonder were we're going with this, sure it'll be somewhere interesting.

Still lovin' it.

Bev.

OXOXOX

bev_1.jpg

Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 1671

Is she reading just the Gaby books by Maddy Bell as well as the fanfics?

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

Ho boy...

Sadly, some therapists are just not easy to work with... Some get formulaic. Some don't explain things well to clients. Some clients don't know what to expect from a therapist or how to work WITH one (rather than at cross purposes)... The list goes on...

IMO - Cathy had the right and responsibility - at that point in HER relationship with Jacquie to talk to the therapist and explain the facts of life. Jacquie's apparently LEGALLY an Adult, but emotionally, she's very much NOT one (at least not yet). Okay - the Therapist probably felt threatened by Cathy... And, likely knows Cathy's history (having researched her AND her family by now...

That Jacquie and the therapist came to a "contract" is a good sign. Probably something that should have been done earlier... Whether they work out together or not... If they shift to a new therapist, I hope it's for the right reasons.

Thanks,
Annette

Remember Therapists have just as many problems as us.

Ah, no the problems they have could be worse than ours. I just get really ireful when a therapist gets domineering. Mine, who I have had for at least 6 years has been extremely good for me with the exception of when I came back from Thailand and wanted to start titrating off the drugs. After all, I'd lived almost 50 years with out them, and I did not see myself as a life long "Section 8 loser" as some are wont to say, not me.

So about a month after I returned from Thailand, after having read the parts of the DSM that pertained to me, and how it stated that the cure for GID was surgery, I told her that I was getting off the drugs. She told me that I could look forward to a life on them, and then I told her that she could help me to titrate off them, or I would just go cold turkey.

"My, we certainly are assertive today." She said.

But I held my ground because I wanted my own life back.

I would be concerned that in spite of Jaqui's name having been cleared, the therapist might still entertain some prejudice.

Gwen has hit on something

Jackie thought WE know is innocent and a victim has yet to be exonerated by the courts. Does the therapist believe her as a victim of legal and physical abuse? Is she at least open minded and realizes a five year old could not have properly aided her defense and could easily have been railroaded to say the wrong things in court? Or does she see Jackie as a victim of abuse who once was an amoral or anti social murderess at the age of five?

So we have a huge cloud looming, her being legally cleared without social services, the courts and the police trying to wiggle out of their responsibility. Will the powers that be try to *reach a consent decree* and bury their odious actions? And what of the gutter press and Jackie?

And what of her biological family and any siblings/relatives? Can will they make it up to her? They sure believed that perverted police man way too easily. And I still remember him saying he watched as Jackie let the child drown. But wasn't he as an officer of the court required to rush to a victim's aid? Thus he is guilty of possible murder along with framing a young child who didn't know how to react and tried to get help once she snapped out of her shock? And what ever happened to the mother of the late child the bent cop fathered ?

And I still wonder, why if she was totally gutted by that butcher so the sickos *treating* her could hide the fact they raped her then why is she not in poor health?

She was what 12 or 13 when she was given an unneeded hysterectomy. With no significant female hormones right at the peak of puberty and after the stresses of a partial pregnancy I should think she would be at high risk for curvature of the spine and other signs of osteoporosis. Plus wouldn't it have messed up her maturation as a female? Wouldn't she seem either immature or post menopausal to a trained observer?

Are the doctors certain she lost both her ovaries along with most everything else of her reproductive tract? And how will Simon, Cathy and the rest make the bastards pay?

Sorry, but the tale of this fictional abuse of power piss** me off.

VERY well done, Ang.

John in Wauwatosa

John in Wauwatosa