ADayattheDoctor'sOffice

-I don't know right now.

-You don't know how you feel?

-That's correct. I've mixed emotions and feelings all the time. And that's killing me, quite literally. I feel I'm exploding and I've to do something to keep myself from exploding. 

-When did you first experience these conflicting emotions and feelings?

-All my life, since puberty. But they seem to get out of control the last few weeks. 

-Are you able to sleep without the aid of pills or booze?

-Mercifully, yes, but I don't sleep long hours. Four or five hours the most. 

-But they are sound, deep sleep, yes?

-Yes.

-Full of dreams, but you could hardly recall any of theme when you wake up.

-Yes. 

-Good. I can work with you. Rather, you can work with me. You see, it will be you who will do all the work. I just point out to you what you need to think and feel and then act.

-What kind of psychotherapy school do you belong to?

-Mr. Wissai, I belong to no school. There are over 450 different approaches or schools of thought in psychotherapy, each claims to be the most effective in treating mental disorders. I don't buy that bullshit. I have a degree in psychiatry. I am a medical doctor. I also have a doctorate in clinical psychology. They overlap somewhat, but they are of use to each other, at least to me. I take into full account not only of the body, especially of the brain, but the sum of life experiences a patient has had and how he addresses and integrates those experiences. Besides, I am a Buddhist, a converted one, of course, but aren't we all? Eventually, anyway. And that helps me a lot in not setting me apart and superior to my clients. I learn as much as, if not more, from my clients as they do from me. There's no me nor you. There's only one us, trying to go through this life with at least pain as possible. But if pressed to describe my orientation to psychotherapy, I would say I favor cognitive, behavioral, humanistic, existential approaches to mental disorders. Most mental disorders are organic in nature. That is to say, some areas in the brain are damaged or dysfunctional and need to be corrected. Medication and sometimes surgery are what needed. Other mental disorders stem from maladaptations to the stresses of life and/or from lack of understanding what life, in fact living, is all about. That's when the patient needs help from the therapist in seeing his thinking about life's issues such as survival, sex, marriage, money, power, fame, honor and respect, self-respect, and so on, needs to be on a firm track. 

-So what do you think of my case? Why do I have conflicting emotions and feelings?

-Because you're so damn smart and sensitive and egocentric. We just need to work on the egocentric part and you'll be fine. Mr. Wissai, after I talked to you five days ago, I went to work on you right away. I called Omar Sabat and we both at length talked about you. You are lucky to have a friend like Omar. He really likes you. He is really your friend. He cares about you. In fact he was begging me to treat you. He told me everything about you, including your work as a cultural anthropologist (huh?, so Omar lied on my behalf) with his unit and how you two became friends. Essentially, he told me you are incredibly well read so what I am going to say is not going to be over your head.