Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 113 Changing Consultants—Since We're Already Here

After the teacher in charge of the center said that long speech, Nan Zhuren understood where the other party's hostility towards him came from.

Nan Zhuren's expression softened as she realized there seemed to be some misunderstanding.

Just as Nan Zhuren was about to say something, the center's teacher in charge of emotional management also came online again.

He took a deep breath and raised his hand to stop Nan Zhuren, who was about to speak but hesitated.

"I'm so sorry, Professor Nan, I lost my composure."

"But since you're also a counselor, you should understand that the client should always come first, right? I need to go to my consultation now, we can talk about you later."

"summer--"

The teacher in charge of the center had no intention of discussing it with Nan Zhuren. After speaking, she turned to look at Xia Tian.

The little girl was just about to say something when she was interrupted by the teacher in charge of the center.

Only then did he slowly continue, "But—teacher, the visitor has a request."

The center's supervising teacher patted her face, trying to calm herself down: "What's the request? Do you want to change to another consultation room?"

Xia Tian slowly shook her head and looked at Nan Zhuren: "No, she said—she wants to change counselors."

With a "smack," the teacher in charge of the center, who was relaxing her facial muscles, pressed her palm against her cheek, and was instantly embarrassed.

……

A client changes therapists only because of one thing: they had a bad experience with the previous session.

They either feel they don't click with the therapist and that the therapist doesn't understand them; or they feel their problem hasn't been resolved after one consultation and want to speed things up.

Or, they might simply feel that the consultant is too incompetent and want to find a better one.

But whatever the reason, it's a rather awkward situation for the counselor.

Especially under these circumstances.

For the teacher in charge of the center, there is now another awkward point—

Xia Tian flipped through the schedule in her hand: "Teacher, there are no other teachers on duty at the center right now."

Yes, because the counselors at the psychological counseling center are all part-time, they usually only arrive about ten minutes before the consultation.

Normally, counseling centers do not have on-duty counselors to handle such emergencies.

This is the "normal situation" right now.

The teacher in charge of the center lowered her hand, pursed her lips, and instructed, "Please calm the visitor down first. I'll try to contact the nearest teacher to see if we can..."

Xia Tian simply shook her head: "The part-time graduate counselors all have classes, and the other teachers are either in meetings or on business trips, so they don't have time."

The teacher in charge at the center froze halfway through placing the item.

In this situation, the only option is to send the visitor home.

To be fair, canceling a consultation or changing a consultant requires advance notice. Making a last-minute request when the consultation time is up is entirely the client's responsibility.

but--

"Visitors should always be given priority," Nan Zhuren said casually as she stood up. "I'm already here anyway."

The teacher in charge of the center was about to say something.

Nan Zhuren spoke first: "Moreover... the client only requested to 'change counselors' after arriving, which actually means that he was determined to 'do counseling even if he can't change counselors'."

"In other words, he needs and urgently needs advice right now."

Nan Zhuren looked into the eyes of the teacher in charge of the center: "What if this is the crucial one?"

Once those words were spoken, there was no reason to refute them.

The teacher in charge of the center pursed her lips, walked briskly back to her seat, turned her chair so that her back was to Nan Zhuren, out of sight, out of mind.

Xia Tian smiled sweetly at Nan Zhuren, pointing the way as her assistant, and whispered, "Teacher Nan, shall I take you to the consultation room?"

The counseling room at the school is slightly smaller in size and space compared to the outside, and the sofa is also narrower.

However, the overall color scheme of the room should be slightly brighter and richer.

In a sense, a smaller space can also provide a greater sense of security.

Nan Zhuren sat on a single sofa, using the little time he had to quickly flip through the visitors' files.

With a "click" sound—

"Hello."

Nan Zhuren looked up.

"Hello, teacher." The student visitor paused for a moment after seeing Nan Zhuren's face, and quickly shrank his neck into the collar of his down jacket.

"Please have a seat." Nan Zhuren smiled and gestured to the two-seater sofa in the middle, while simultaneously observing the other person.

The visitor was a girl, very tall, about 1.7 meters, but very thin, and seemed to have a habitual slight hunchback; her hair was dyed yellowish-brown, but it was not styled with any special care, like the kind of hair dyeing that was done to "satisfy curiosity" rather than a purposeful styling design.

Then there's the feeling of demeanor and overall temperament—

[A very noticeable feeling of fatigue, and it's... a familiar kind of fatigue, one I've seen somewhere before.]

This judgment made Nan Zhuren frown slightly.

After sitting down, the female student turned around to face Nan Zhuren directly, but her gaze remained lowered, avoiding eye contact with him.

Seeing that the other party did not intend to speak, Nan Zhuren took the initiative to start a conversation.

"This is our first consultation. What's your name?"

"Zhang Lu".

What year are you in?

"Sophomore."

What's your major?

"Environmental Science".

"Wow...that's a very rare major. What does it involve studying?"

"It's probably more related to geology, or it might involve things like wastewater purification."

"Wow!" Nan Zhuren nodded somewhat exaggeratedly. "I've learned something new."

This is the second time the visitor has come for consultation. All of this information has been recorded, and Nan Zhuren just saw it.

However, Nan Zhuren still chose to use these most basic and risk-free questions to start the conversation and build the initial consulting relationship.

Sure enough, after several rounds of questioning and answering, the visitor finally looked up at Nan Zhuren, and they made eye contact for the first time.

Nan Zhuren smoothly steered the conversation back on track: "Although this is your second time coming for counseling, since I wasn't your counselor last time, I still need you to repeat your basic information."

"Of course, if possible, I would also like to hear about the advice your counselor gave you in the last consultation, how you felt during the consultation, and what you have done between that consultation and today's consultation."

Nan Zhuren posed a series of questions, a choice quite different from the usual way of talking.

In a typical conversation, only one question is asked at a time.

Although the consultation had just begun, Nan Zhuren was already able to tell that this client was not the type to actively narrate events.

Therefore, he, as the consultant, needs to proactively provide topics for discussion.

These questions can form a framework.

At the same time, after presenting so many topics for discussion, how the visitor chooses them can also provide Nan Zhuren with the information he needs.

(End of this chapter)