Drew handed Karen the whiteboard and marker as he usually did for their sessions. It had been almost a month into their sessions.
September was around the corner in another two weeks. That didn't stop the staff from already beginning to plan a halloween party at the end of October for the patients. They were trying to find a replacement for the usual amount of candy that was given out during the eventful day.
Karen had yet to talk about familial issues in these sessions and Drew felt he had given her enough time to not feel pushed by him. It was his job to push his patients to open up more and compared to his other patients, Karen was on a slower path to recovery.
He watched as she sat back, seemingly being in a good mood today and waited for him to speak before she began writing anything.
"Today, things will go back to my regular format of sessions," Drew told her, paying attention to her facial expression. "I've let you take the lead in these sessions for the past four weeks and you've let me know as much as you're willing to let me know, but it's time for me to take the reins again."
Karen stared down at her whiteboard. She didn't know what he was going to ask her and she didn't like that.
She had wanted to talk about school today, growing up around the kids in their neighborhood and things like that.
She kept her topics on the tip of the iceberg of every thing she wanted to avoid, but it seemed as though her doctor had finally noticed. Or maybe he always knew and allowed her to do so for herself.
She appreciated that.
"I want to talk about your family today," He said.
Karen took in a deep breath.
"Specifically, your sisters."
Karen exhaled.
"Were you close with all of your sisters growing up?"
She wrote - Yes.
"Did you depend on them a lot as you grew up?"
She wrote - They protected me. They made me who I am.
"When they stopped visiting, how did it impact you emotionally?"
She didn't write anything.
Drew sighed, "Karen, we're going to have to talk about these things."
She didn't respond.
"Okay," He sat up a little. "Let's talk about only one sister, you can choose."
She put the marker down beside her.
"Karen," Drew warned. "If you don't choose, I will."
Karen looked up at him.
Drew could see the way her eyebrows came together in what seemed to be irritation. He wouldn't let it deter him though.
He gestured to her once again to choose but the woman continued to stare at him, unmoving.
"Alright then," He picked up his pen, not breaking eye contact with his patient. "Let's talk about Dorinda."
