She closed her eyes as Dr. Strohman probed gently. This was always the hard part; the reason she had bounced from counselor to counselor. She let them in just so far and then slammed the door.
Dr. Strohman was different. Her questions never felt invasive; almost as if she really cared what was said – as if the patient were as valuable as all the certificates hanging on the walls.
“Take your time,†Dr. Strohman repeated. “Tell me about your parents.â€
“Daddy named me. He always said I was his little whimsy. Mother always called me her biggest mistake.â€
———————————————————
This is in answer to the 100 Word Challenge by Velvet Verbosity. Be sure to check out the other entries. There are some gifted Word Nerds over there.
I feel like I just walked into a session that I shouldn’t have; like some kind of voyeur. Great post!
Ouch, that cuts deep.
Painful revelation, and powerful use of the prompt.
That was really perfect!
As Carrie said, “ouch.”
“as if the patient were as valuable as all the certificates hanging on the walls.”
Hope some pros read this.
Great use of the prompt and, as for the rest of the piece, something all doctors (no matter their specialty) should keep in mind.
Excellent!
Like Daniel said, I feel like I walked in on something I shouldn’t have. This was well written and the contrast in the last sentence smacked me in the face.
And I like this quite a lot: “as if the patient were as valuable as all the certificates hanging on the walls.”
Ohh, this is very intriguing. Makes me want to know more.
Very powerful and heartbreaking. Very well written. Like L.M. said, the last sentence was a doozy!
Dang it. That’s just so sad. What an awful thing to know that one of your parents didn’t want you. That lingers, forever.