Can The Broken Be Repaired?

Chapter Five

The room was painfully silent as Elizabeth tried to find a way to approach the idea of filling it. Diane had surprisingly agreed to a session after the wheel landed on such a thing, however apparently their ideas of a therapy session were very different.

Ten minutes had passed now. Ten minutes of complete silence other than the occasional clicking of Ellie's pen. A nervous habit. And while code of conduct said that a therapist could never push a patient to talk, it also said that they themselves could fill the silence by trying to start a conversation as long as it didn't pertain to more... sensitive topics, if the patient was acting distant and reserved. But the problem with that, was that Elizabeth had no idea what sort of things would be considered lighter topics with Diane! 

The woman was definitely on guard whenever approached by the councilor, and her mere presence alone seemed to cause enough rage in the brunette that if a stranger saw the reaction alone, they would think the girl had just spit at the other! So, what would be a light subject? What would be a friendly way to break the ice?

Maybe instead of focusing on my relationship with her, I should focus on that of the group as a whole. She seems to get along well with the others, and asking about that might allow her to forget the current tension she feels towards me. 

"So, Diane- I hope you don't mind me calling you that- what do you feel about your fellow... roommates. You all have known each other a long time now, yes?"

"That's none of your business!"

Okay, it seemed that she was still on the defensive, perhaps explaining further would help. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to upset you. I was merely trying to make small talk. I understand you don't seem particularly interested in a session, but you still graciously accepted one after your spin landed on such. So why not talk about lighthearted things instead of sitting in silence? Whatever you would prefer to do is absolutely fine but remember this is your time. If there is anything at all you would like to chat about, I am here to engage and listen."

She noticed how Diane's shoulders seemed to relax some, like she just realized Elizabeth wasn't trying to push and that she had options here. Although she seemed to be thinking about something else as well, as if she were trying to decide if this talk would be worth something she wanted down the road. 

"Fine, well I guess if I have anything to say about the others, it's that King is driving me crazy!"

Elizabeth felt a jolt of excitement at the progress, her patient was actually talking!

"Oh? I'm so sorry you feel that way. Would you like to talk more about it?"

"Yeah, obviously! Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought it up!"

Worried she caused a reversion of the progress just made; the therapist opted for silence as the brunette continued. 

"He just gets really annoying when his medicine stops working. He starts fussing over me twenty-four-seven, which totally sucks because I'm already in a relationship and he knows that!"

There were two points of alarm that came with that. The first being, how could Harlequin have medication submitted when there wasn't anything close to a diagnosis on his notes!? Psychiatrists weren't supposed to be allowed to push any pills until therapists such as herself had full, concise, diagnoses to allow proper treatment plans to follow. Which meant one of three things. One, these patients were getting medicine without proper protocol- potentially by knowing someone on the inside. Two, there were more notes that Elizabeth had not been made privy to even as their assigned helper. Which led into three, they had a previous councilor who actually made a breakthrough with them, who was no longer here while the patients still were. But why? Even she knew that five years was a very long time for someone to be inpatient, and this was the first group she had been assigned! And that was only the first thing that caught Elizabeth's attention. 

The second mental note the girl was making, was about the comment the brunette made about her apparent partner. All potential relationships were supposed to be marked down in their files for emergency contact when dealing with attempted suicide and things of such nature. Yet none of them had anything. No contacts. It wasn't unheard of for mentally ill patients, so she merely thought that they didn't have anybody. But a romantic partner was a big deal, and for it to be something that wasn't written down? There had to be some sort of mix-up. Some sort of data she wasn't receiving about this group. 

"I-I see. Would you like to talk more about this significant other of yours? It seems like you care for them a lot. Very admirable considering how long it's been since you've last had contact. Do you miss them?"

Diane turned bashful for a split second as she hid her blush with her hair. Although a moment later she seemed to snap out of the daze as her hardened exterior returned. 

"T-That's none of your business! Just know that me and him are very happy together, and there isn't any room for you to try to steal him. 

Elizabeth was stunned by the accusation. She thought she had gone with the safer option in dealing with her concerns, but instead she immediately made the girl's guard triple in size. 

I don't have enough information to be absolutely sure, but I believe Diane might have Paranoid Personality Disorder. She seems to consistently misconstrue what I attempt to say to her, and she takes on a very defensive stance when dealing with other ladies in particular. It could be because of the jealousy and paranoia she feels about another woman trying to take away what she cares for. It's rare, and even rarer in women than men, but everything I've seen from her thus far adds up, so I'll react accordingly to what my training in college taught me. 

"Oh of course! I'd never dream of trying to do something like that to you! I assure you, there is no reason for you to be concerned about me getting in the way of your relationship. That would be a great disrespect to you, and our professional relationship. And I'm very sorry if I did anything to make you feel like you feel like I was doing anything to threaten your partnership with the one you care for."

She visibly relaxed some as Elizabeth became even more sure of her diagnosis by the reaction. She had validated the emotions instead of making the brunette feel foolish for them- which would heighten the paranoia in response- and then, she made her feel more secure and safe by assurance.  It seemed her years of studying would actually come in handy! 

"Good! As long as you know your place."

"Absolutely. So, would you like to talk more about what is upsetting you with King? I'm sure you're very frustrated by his lack of understanding about your commitment. Maybe I can even help you come up with a gentle way to help him understand so you don't have to worry about it anymore?"

She was elated to find that Diane immediately took her up on the offer as the remaining thirty minutes of the session provided Elizabeth with a book full of notes, and a closer relationship to one of her patients, that she hoped would lead to positive responses from the others as well. 

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Elizabeth was exhausted as she walked to the room once again the next morning. She had stayed up far too late that night from all of the notes she was reading through. Doing research, organizing her thoughts about her research, and general work that came from the other two. But regardless, she was feeling more energized about her job than she had in quite a while, so she walked with a pep in her step and a large grin on her face as she entered the room after the routine knock.

As usual, no one responded, but she entered the room a moment later with the wheel in hand as she eagerly awaited the progress, she hoped would be made from it. 

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had great rest last night and are ready for the day to come, who would like to spin the wheel next?"

Once again, the group was pleasant and polite as they decided among themselves for King to go next. Making her heart soar at the progress she seemed to be making with the group. But little did she know, a lot of this progress wasn't being made for their own mental health's sakes. The group didn't have true interest in this little game, not much, at least. No, for most of them it was merely a means to an end to allow for the rewards some desperately coveted. And they would be on their best behaviors as long as those rewards were promised. And when they weren't as the dials clacked and stopped on "share circle" well... it incited reactions far less pleasant than before.

Sorry the end kind of sucks. ^^"