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

Chapter 561 Deeper Issues, and Dreams

What the visitor said did indeed surprise Nan Zhuren.

He and Bai Qinghua had been worried for a long time about the visitor's "transference" towards Liu Jiahang.

In fact, the main purpose of this consultation was to deal with this transference and sever the unhealthy intimate relationship that had developed between her and Liu Jiahang.

So now, when asked, it turns out the visitor herself had already decided to end her intimate relationship with Liu Jiahang?

Fortunately, Liu Jiahang wasn't there, but it's also a bit of a pity that he wasn't there.

Nan Zhuren was even somewhat looking forward to seeing how Liu Jiahang, who had just been chased and killed by Bai Qinghua not long ago, would react after hearing the visitor's account.

You should know that this intimate relationship was Liu Jiahang's trump card when negotiating with Bai Qinghua.

If Liu Jiahang were to hear what the visitor was saying right now, he'd probably break down on the spot...

Nan Zhuren's emotions fluctuated for a moment, but he quickly suppressed them.

Although the client said this, a seasoned counselor already knows that one cannot simply listen to whatever the client says.

On the one hand, the visitor may be concealing something; on the other hand, even if the visitor is not concealing anything, there may be a lack of insight—that is, the visitor himself may not realize that what he is saying is not true.

Nan Zhuren thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, the main reason we changed consultants was that Teacher Liu violated the rules. Here, I would also like to apologize to you on behalf of our company."

Without concealment or beating around the bush, Nan Zhuren spoke very directly. After all, unexpected events during consultation must be explained to the client; this is the principle of sincerity.

At the same time, as Bai Qinghua's apprentice, Nan Zhuren was also qualified to "represent the company".

After thinking for a moment, Nan Zhuren probed again: "I heard a version of what happened between you and Teacher Liu from him; but if it's alright, could I hear your opinion on this matter?"

Nan Zhuren observed the visitor's expression.

Then the other person forcefully pursed the corners of their mouth upwards and inwards, let out a long breath, and said, "Okay, let me think about it..."

She pretended to think: "Old Liu is your supervisor, right? During the first consultation, he was really insightful. He analyzed me very deeply, and what he said really touched me. I thought he was amazing and understood me very well. I felt like I had never met any other man like him before."

At this point, the visitor raised his eyebrows sharply.

Nan Zhuren nodded slightly in his heart. What the client said was what a counselor should demonstrate in counseling; but it was precisely these demonstrations of "he understands me" and "he's so amazing" that were most likely to cause transference.

"Later, I was no longer satisfied with just seeing him once a week, and I thought about asking him out to increase the chances of meeting. Our relationship developed very quickly, but because it developed too quickly, I soon discovered that his work life and his personal life were completely different."

The visitor waved his hand: "The things he actually shows are the same as other men... and in some ways he's even worse than other men. I've been putting up with him for a while now, and I don't usually go out with him anymore, we only meet for counseling, so I thought I'd talk to him about it today."

A single corner of the mouth turned up—disdain.

[My body is relaxed, yet there's a rhythmic tension. It's like some uncomfortable images flashing through my mind during a recollection.]

[They maintained good eye contact with me.]

Nan Zhuren breathed a sigh of relief.

Besides the micro-expressions at the moment, the visitor made many small facial expressions and gestures while recounting this part of the experience, all of which were attempts to alleviate their discomfort and embarrassment.

At the same time, the other party's narration was mostly about venting emotions and expressing opinions, without any description of specific event details, making it seem very general.
Her narration was merely an expansion of the initial statement, containing nothing new and appearing quite barren.

From these perspectives, it is clear that the visitor's transference towards Liu Jiahang has indeed disappeared.

Nan Zhuren nodded slightly. The main task for the day was thus completed inexplicably.

After finishing speaking, the visitor chuckled and said, "You're so young, you weren't dragged here by your boss to take the blame for Lao Liu, were you? I heard he's a manager at your company? If I leave this time, will you still be in trouble?"

On the surface, the visitor's guess seems perfectly logical.

Nan Zhuren's youthful face clearly misled the visitors.

Nan Zhuren thought for a moment, then changed the subject and began to explore the second task of the day: "You decided to end the consultation, was it mainly because of Teacher Liu? When you first came, it was because of that medical dispute, which made the hospital worried that you might have subsequent traumatic effects—how do you still feel about that medical dispute now?"

Upon hearing the question, the visitor smiled briefly. However, the smile quickly vanished, as if it were merely a social gesture.

"Actually, the hospital only asked me to come for consultation after this happened as a formality, so that they would show that they value me. But I have seen similar medical disputes many times, so I am used to it and there is no trauma or impact at all."

The client spoke slowly: "I've talked to Lao Liu about this before, there's really no need to discuss it. If I hadn't later... fallen for him, I would have ended the consultation long ago."

Looking at the visitor's expression, Nan Zhuren emphasized, "But you personally rushed up to take the knife away, and you were injured and fell unconscious."

The visitor gently shook his head: "You haven't seen other doctors who have made a worse scene because of medical disputes. Compared to them, I'm actually doing alright."

As the visitor said this, he subconsciously touched the lower right side of his chest.

If Nan Zhuren remembers correctly, that's where she was injured.

A downturned mouth and raised, tightly knit eyebrows—an expression of regret and sadness.

[His hand unconsciously touched the wound, the movement very light, tinged with certain emotions... Wait a minute!]

Nan Zhuren's thoughts suddenly paused as he realized something was wrong.

The visitor's expression was correct; she was not hiding anything, nor was she lying.

—But the emotions the visitor is expressing right now are not right.

It's worth noting that this visitor was the one who stepped forward at a crucial moment and disarmed the person causing the medical disturbance.

From the public's perspective, he even deserves the title of "hero".

Based on her description, Nan Zhuren came up with several possibilities.

First, the visitor was indeed not traumatized; the incident had a completely positive impact on her.

This is the best-case scenario, and it's also accompanied by a lot of positive emotions.

Based on the visitor's current reaction, this can be ruled out.

Second, the client is still affected by traumatic memories and carries fear. In this case, although she may have negative emotions when recounting the event, she should still inevitably show pride such as "slightly raising her chin" or shyness such as "avoiding eye contact and smiling with her head down".

This is the most normal situation. But Nan Zhuren still didn't see the positive emotions he wanted to see.

Third, as the visitor concluded, she genuinely felt that "her injury was insignificant." However, in this situation, she should also bring something more positive to the equation, such as displaying strong body language and facial expressions to express self-acceptance.

This situation is a bit more complicated than the first, with more negative emotions and less positive ones—but there should still be some expression of positive emotions. However, the visitor still showed no such expression.

Fourth, the fact that a doctor who had a good relationship with a client was murdered may prevent the client from having positive feelings about their "heroic behavior".

However, in this situation, although the visitor may not have positive emotions when recalling the "heroic" behavior, they should still show some tenderness related to remembrance when recalling the "doctor with whom they may have had a good relationship".

However, this situation has not yet occurred.

None of the above situations occurred.

Even the fourth possibility, which might have been more serious and worse, did not materialize.

Nan Zhuren narrowed his eyes slightly.

The visitor's mood remained calm, maintaining a low level of negative emotions.

Moreover, after recalling the incident, she was now touching her injured area and began to stare blankly for a moment.

[His eyes lost focus...is he detached?]

Nan Zhuren frowned inwardly, just about to speak to get the visitor's attention back.

The visitor took a deep breath and raised his head.

[A slight twitch at one corner of the mouth.]

[Press your lips together, swallow.]

What is being suppressed...?

"In short," the visitor said while taking a breath, "I don't need to go for psychological counseling regarding this medical dispute, and you shouldn't waste your time, little teacher."

"I think our leader sent me to talk to you, and besides going through the motions, he probably has other motives."

Nan Zhuren observed the visitor's expression and followed up on her topic, asking, "Other thoughts?"

The visitor chuckled and said, "It's just about 'curing' what they call 'illnesses' in my body."

“I don’t get along well with my colleagues and I prefer to be alone; I don’t hold back at work and I say what I want to say without ever compromising myself; I also prefer older boyfriends and I’ve been run into by colleagues on several dates—different boyfriends, the same colleagues.”

The visitor asked Nan Zhuren in return, "Young teacher, do you think these are 'illnesses'?"

Nan Zhuren answered cautiously: "Psychological counseling has a strict set of standards for diagnosing 'symptom' level conditions. Whether something qualifies as a 'symptom' depends on the severity of its impact on the surrounding environment and the degree of suffering it causes to the individual."

Upon hearing Nan Zhuren's words, the visitor suddenly chuckled again: "What you said is exactly the same as what Lao Liu said."

Ok?
The visitor pointed to Nan Zhuren and said, "He told me all this at the time, saying that the judgment of 'illness' is very strict. Then I told him some specific things about my daily life, and he started to comfort me, saying that these were not problems; if others think I have a problem, then it is their problem."

Yes, very standard "support". Although simple, it can be surprisingly effective in advancing the consulting relationship at certain key junctures.

Unfortunately, the same kind of "support" that might have worked wonders in the previous consultation might actually be a hindrance for Nan Zhuren now.

Sure enough, the visitor shook his head and said, "If I hadn't heard Lao Liu analyze those things before, I might actually be a little moved by what you're saying now, and then I'd tell you about my life."

"But now... I don't want to repeat what I told Lao Liu; I don't want to talk about my thoughts after that medical dispute."

The visitor leaned back and said, "It's really not interesting."

……

Nan Zhuren sighed inwardly.

After all, it's a case study that someone else has already done for over a month, and the routine process is so familiar that going through it again would be tedious.

At present, "transference" and "medical disputes" are indeed not the client's problems, and she does not need to seek further counseling on these two issues.

But... Nan Zhuren kept remembering the discordant things she had just gleaned from the visitor.

He had a rather unfavorable suspicion.

If this conjecture is true, then the visitor clearly has a more serious and deeper problem that she is unaware of.

For someone with such a problem, having an opportunity to receive counseling funded by the hospital is a rare opportunity, both for her and the counselor.

It would be best to seize the opportunity.

After thinking it over, Nan Zhuren decided to try again to confirm his guess.

Ideally, the consultation should be used to retain the client and redirect the focus of the consultation to that specific issue.

If the consultation fails and the client leaves the counseling service, their wishes should be respected.

Having made up his mind, Nan Zhuren thought for a moment and said, "Well, based on your description just now, it seems that there's no need to continue with the two topics we're discussing today. You're very clear-headed about your emotions, and you're also very strong-willed when faced with such a frightening situation that day."

I gave it a "support" as a casual comment.

This kind of support was something Liu Jiahang hadn't given before, and the visitor's expression visibly eased.

“However, our consultation today has only lasted ten minutes—” Nan Zhuren glanced at the wall clock, “.

“Regardless of what we say during the consultation, even if it's just for ten minutes, we will still charge for this consultation,” Nan Zhuren said with a smile. “Although the hospital will pay, we can still make good use of this consultation opportunity.”

"Is there any topic you've wanted to discuss with your therapist before? Even academic discussions, or any psychology-related knowledge that interests you?"

As he spoke, Nan Zhuren closed the folder in his hand, making it seem as if he was truly no longer going to consult: "If there is anything, we can use the remaining time to talk about it."

This is actually a communication technique for asking open-ended questions, and can even be seen as a simplified application of the free association method.

The visitor smiled, revealing a somewhat "interesting" expression.

She then frowned slightly, thought for about two breaths, and suddenly said, "If we really have to talk..."

Nan Zhuren leaned forward slightly, looking attentively listening and encouraging.

The visitor said, "I really enjoy dreaming. Recently, I had a very interesting dream."

Nan Zhuren smiled and nodded: "Would you mind telling me? I happen to know how to interpret dreams too."

(End of this chapter)