sixwordstories | (no subject)

Therapy usually is, [Danny replies cheerfully.]

Have to do a first session to figure that out.

Ah. Are you worried about it?

You're not stuck with the first therapist who works with you.

Yeah.

Sounds like you've got experience. Care to share with the rest of the class?

Recent experience, but experience all the same, [Danny replies with a nod.] If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to answer what I can.

I don’t want to be up in your business, so tell me to back off if this question goes there.

[He pauses for a moment to lit up a cigarette and take a drag.]

Does it make a difference?

I appreciate it.

[Danny considers the question, then nods.] I think it does help. When I was younger, my job never really bothered with providing therapists. It was all -- "you submit a report of the facts, and that's that. Any problems that come up, you deal with that on your own time."

Now, they give us someone to talk to, about whatever we need to talk about. If a coworker is making my life harder, I can bitch about it to the therapist, get it all off my chest, and she'll ask me if I want to discuss possible solutions or if venting about it was enough.

You decide what gets addressed. It's a lot of talking, but... it's the good kind. The kind where the other person is actually listening.

Guess going to someone who’d truly listen would be more healthier than drowning in a shit load of liquor.

[Danny shrugs.] I never really saw the appeal of alcohol myself. Nasty-tasting shit, never seems to do much but give me a headache.

Oh... if the therapist you're assigned to doesn't seem to listen, or gives you bad vibes or whatever, you absolutely should find a new one. You don't have to put up with someone who doesn't help.

To each their own.

Yeah, I’ll remember the advice. Thanks for the feedback.

Glad to help, [Danny says pleasantly.]

[And he really is -- he's seen too many cases of people not getting the help they need, and cracking under the pressure that life exerts. It gets bad.]

I hope it goes well for you.

With my track record, it’ll likely end up a shitshow, but I’ll take hope because why not.

[He takes a drag on his cigarette and exhales a plume of smoke. He’s clearly weighing up whether or not to ask the next question, and just rolls with an attempt at small talk.]

What kind of work do you do that requires therapy?

[Danny smiles slightly and responds with the most generalized answer he can,] Law enforcement.

[Sure, spies will break laws just as often as they enforce them, but... semantics.]

And how’s that working out for you?

Pretty well, [Danny says.] Haven't had to watch parents bury their children in about three years, which is a good record.

Which should also clue you in to why therapy is a good idea for me.

Yeah? I hear that it is. Wouldn’t know a thing about it first hand, though.

From experience, Murphy’s Law is going to kick in.
But why is it just about kids?

Same. I may bail yet and get shitfaced drunk instead of doing the first session.

It's not just about kids, but... failure hits harder when there's kids involved.

I never had a childhood, really. So I know how much it sucks when that's taken away.

I avoid kids for that reason.

Guess everyone needs something to motivate them.

Sounds like a blast but also like it might defeat the purpose of like…the therapy.

Yeah. And also, that thing called adulting.