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

I've actually done this question in Chapter 565.
The question wasn't asked very directly, but even an average person could understand the meaning behind the interviewer's words.

Nan Zhuren's repetition was very direct: "Do you want to confirm the appointment time for the next consultation?"

The visitor didn't feel embarrassed or try to avoid the issue. After Nan Zhuren accurately repeated his thoughts, he simply nodded and said, "Yes, I think the dream interpretation you did, teacher... is quite interesting. Anyway, the hospital is paying for it, so it's not bad to have a consultation every week."

She looked at Nan Zhuren, her eyes revealing something rather different.

Just an hour ago, the visitor confidently declared that he no longer needed counseling and planned to cancel future meetings.

An hour later, however, she had changed her mind, and even her way of addressing and her attitude towards Nan Zhuren had changed.

However, Nan Zhuren adopted a businesslike approach: "My assistant will contact you about the specific appointment details in a bit. I'm sorry, I need to prepare for my next consultation."

After saying that, he ignored the visitor's reaction and went straight out the door.

But before handing over to Mo Kai, Nan Zhuren lowered his head and said, "When the next visitor comes, take him through a questionnaire analysis first, and buy me about ten minutes of his time."

Mo Kai was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

When a counselor encounters unexpected factors during a break and is unable to conduct the consultation on time, the assistant has the responsibility to comfort the client and help prolong the time.

It's just that this kind of thing is relatively rare—or rather, it has never happened before—to Nan Zhuren.

Hearing Nan Zhuren make this request, Mo Kai was even a little excited.

Nan Zhuren then stopped paying attention to Mo Kai's interactions with the visitors after he went inside.

At the end of each consultation, his topic was always dream interpretation.

In fact, the client had revealed certain things during their seemingly "chatting" consultation with Nan Zhuren. And those things could actually be connected to the client's dreams.

However, in the early stages of counseling, those things are not suitable to be explained to the client in such a simple and straightforward way.

But Nan Zhuren could speak to someone else. That's why Nan Zhuren asked Mo Kai to buy him a little time.

With that thought in mind, Nan Zhuren walked straight into Bai Qinghua's office.

……

In the office, Bai Qinghua, unusually, was not playing games. He was currently holding his phone upside down in the distance, with a teacup beside him.

The computer screen in front of him flashed white light, and following the movement of the mouse, small black dots could be seen sliding, as if he was reviewing some document.

The lingering aroma of tea seemed to be the only thing that could calm the professor in his forties.

However, with a "click," Bai Qinghua quickly snapped out of his state of complete concentration.

"Zhu Ren, is the consultation finished?"

The teacher poured a cup of tea for his young apprentice and pushed it towards him, asking, "How is Li Lingling doing?"

The intervals between consultations were short, and even with Mo Kai's slight delay, Nan Zhuren didn't have much time to report to Bai Qinghua.

He first gave a brief summary: "There's good news and bad news."

"First, the good news: we don't need to worry about Li Lingling's transference anymore. She was already planning to break off her relationship with Liu Jiahang anyway. And based on my judgment, she wasn't lying."

Nan Zhuren pointed to his eyes, indicating his method of judgment.

"Secondly, the previous incident involving medical disputes did not leave her with any traumatic experience. From this perspective, she does not need further counseling."

Bai Qinghua blinked: "...Hmm?"

Nan Zhuren's conclusion is quite incredible.

Before this young man came in, Bai Qinghua had already mentally prepared for countless bad scenarios.

The counselor must take the control of the client's transference very seriously.

Although Bai Qinghua appeared confident and had great faith in Nan Zhuren during his confrontation with Liu Jiahang, when things really came to a head, he couldn't help but think about the worst-case scenario.

Just as Nan Zhuren was starting his consulting work, he himself was already thinking of more than one "backup plan" in his office to clean up the mess if Nan Zhuren's consulting failed.

So now, Nan Zhuren's conclusion is... so optimistic?
"Wait... if that's what you're saying, then either Li Lingling herself is an extraordinary person with textbook-worthy mental resilience, or..."

The experienced Bai Qinghua quickly realized what was happening. Before the joy on his face could fully show after hearing the good news from Nan Zhuren, it was replaced by a solemn expression of deep thought.

The "optimistic" result given by Li Lingling is clearly abnormal; and for psychologists, this abnormality is definitely "not optimistic".

Nan Zhuren nodded, confirming Bai Qinghua's guess.

"Even when the counselor actively controls the transference, the client is still able to proactively sever this relationship. Generally speaking, such clients have very weak social relationships."

"But ironically, from what I've just learned, Li Lingling and Liu Jiahang have developed a close relationship, and a very deep one at that, far from superficial. That makes the conclusion a little worrying..."

Bai Qinghua looked at Nan Zhuren and stated the conclusion for Nan Zhuren: "Going from one extreme to another belongs to the 'unstable interpersonal relationship pattern'?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "If this is just a one-time thing, that's fine, but if Li Lingling has been doing this much in her life before, then there's basically no doubt about it. It can even be categorized into the 'potential self-harm impulse domain' of 'unsafe behavior'."

Nan Zhuren looked at Bai Qinghua and said, "This is the first of the 'bad news' I have to tell you."

Clearly, Nan Zhuren had seen more than that.

This was the main reason why Bai Qinghua let Nan Zhuren take over Li Lingling's case instead of taking it on himself.

The teacher poured his apprentice another cup of tea, signaling him to continue.

“When I talked about that incident of violence against medical staff, Li Lingling did not show any emotion of fear.”

“But her emotional baseline is below average; she’s in a state of negative emotions,” Nan Zhuren said seriously. “While we were talking, she would unconsciously touch her wounds from time to time.”

“Based on my observation, this is quite similar to ‘regret’ or even ‘nostalgia’…” Upon hearing this analysis, Bai Qinghua’s expression also turned serious.

Do you feel regret and nostalgia for the incidents of violence against medical staff? What are you regretting, and what are you doubting?
"You mean, she took the initiative to stand up for herself in that medical dispute, and even deliberately sought out some kind of injury?"

Hearing Bai Qinghua's summary.

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Teacher, you weren't there at the time and didn't see Li Lingling's reaction, but I know that she actively lunged at the knife to take it away. Moreover, her actions were initially based on the idea of ​​using her body to 'wrap' the knife, without any of the avoidance that a normal person should have towards physical harm."

"To be honest, before that old man lost control, Li Lingling could have easily disappeared into the crowd and let a more experienced and qualified doctor take over the situation."

"But she didn't. Not only did she not back down, she even had a very intense argument with the old man, which could even be described as a quarrel—from this perspective, her emotions were also somewhat unstable regardless of the situation."

Bai Qinghua nodded, pondering the combination of "actively seeking the unexpected" and "emotional instability".

Li Lingling's situation did indeed begin to develop in an unexpected direction.

“Then, during the consultation, I also conducted a period of dream interpretation on her,” Nan Zhuren added.

"【Dream Interpretation】?" Bai Qinghua raised an eyebrow.

It was a bit unexpected, but not entirely. The skill ceiling and floor for dream interpretation are extremely limited. Even an undergraduate student could perform basic dream interpretation by looking at a chart of dream imagery—but Nan Zhuren's dream interpretation was definitely more advanced than that.

Strangely enough, although Nan Zhuren is now Bai Qinghua's nominal "personal disciple," Bai Qinghua has never taught Nan Zhuren anything; he has merely provided him with a platform to receive consultations.

On the contrary, Bai Qinghua constantly discovers new strengths in Nan Zhuren, and then Nan Zhuren helps him solve problems.

Nan Zhuren briefly recounted Li Lingling's dream to Bai Qinghua.

Then we began the more focused analysis: "In her dream, she felt like she was a nurse, but she had no awareness of her own clothing or appearance, and she couldn't clearly see her own image in the dream. When I asked her to confirm this, her reaction was unusually strong."

“I also have a suspicion that the ‘little girl’s’ ‘unable medical records’ that she repeatedly mentioned in her dream were actually herself. But even if this conjecture is not verified, the above reaction is very typical.”

Bai Qinghua's summary was timely: "Identity disorder?"

Nan Zhuren nodded, then emphasized, "It's just a guess."

Nan Zhuren continued, "Then, at the end of the dream, her physical state, which alternated between falling and floating, was also very typical."

Bai Qinghua further summarized: "Why do people feel uneasy when they have a strong desire for something, but are also worried about being abandoned in their imagination, or that what they are pursuing does not meet their expectations?"

Nan Zhuren nodded again: "And the overall atmosphere of the first half of her dream was very monotonous, even—"

Bai Qinghua sighed: "—Emptiness."

Nan Zhuren also sighed.

If the characteristics that initially emerged from Liu Jiahang had multiple directions...

After Nan Zhuren added so many details, the crux of Li Lingling's problem became clear.

Nan Zhuren looked into Bai Qinghua's eyes and slowly said, "[Borderline Personality Disorder]."

……

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) falls under the category of abnormal psychology. Its main characteristics are extreme instability in emotions, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior, as well as significant impulsivity.

Patients with this personality disorder have an intense, irrational fear of being abandoned, which drives them to engage in many extreme behaviors, causing immense pain and distress in their interpersonal relationships.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the diagnosis of avoidant personality disorder typically includes significant presentation of at least five of the following nine criteria:

1. A frantic effort to avoid being abandoned, whether in reality or in imagination. They are extremely sensitive to subtle changes in interpersonal relationships, and may feel completely abandoned simply because a friend is late in replying to a message, triggering intense emotional and behavioral reactions.

Second, an unstable and tense interpersonal relationship pattern, characterized by alternating periods of extreme admiration and extreme aversion. One might regard someone as a perfect idol today, and tomorrow, due to a minor setback, completely reject that person and regard them as the most despicable individual.

Third, identity confusion. They are unclear about who they are, what they want, and what their values ​​are. Their career goals, types of friends, and sexual orientation may change frequently.

Fourth, there is a potential for self-harm in at least two areas. For example, excessive spending, drug abuse, dangerous driving, binge eating, and unsafe sexual behavior.

5. Repeated suicidal behavior, suicidal postures, suicide threats, or self-harm. However, this behavior is not actually intended to harm oneself, but rather to alleviate unbearable emotional pain or to experience "real" pain to combat numbness.

6. Emotional instability due to significant emotional reactions.

7. A prolonged sense of emptiness. Feeling hollow inside, as if there is nothing there, and isolated from the world.

8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. This may manifest as irritability, persistent anger, or repeated physical altercations.

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideas or severe dissociative symptoms. Under stress, one may become suspicious, feel unreal, or lose touch with reality.

In layman's terms, the manifestations of borderline personality disorder can be summarized using three characteristics.

Emotionally—they have almost no buffer zone and are several times more sensitive to emotional pain than the average person.

In terms of relationships—the relationship between people and things is "black and white," with no "gray" buffer zone.

In terms of self-awareness—they lack a stable core, don't know who they are, and need to rely on external evaluations and relationships to define themselves.

……

Nan Zhuren rubbed his temples: "Although she felt a sense of emptiness in her dream," but how long that emptiness lasted was unknown, so it was too early to make a definitive judgment.

"Identity disorder—this only appeared briefly in her dreams, and it's unknown how much of her life it actually occupies."

"But the other ones... are somewhat similar."

Nan Zhuren sighed: "In general, there's a hint of that. I need more information to verify it. And in this regard, I might need your help, teacher, to gather information from the hospital where she works."

(End of this chapter)