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

Chapter 569 The Real Big Project
An even more outrageous girlfriend?

Nan Zhuren took a deep breath, recalling what the visitor had said earlier about wanting to learn to "control his emotions."

He could probably guess what would happen next.

"It's like, teacher, can you understand? It's like, uh... it's something he told me about, saying that the more pain it causes, the more he can feel the real emotion."

"He told me that the more his girlfriend... well, the harder she tried, the more he felt that she loved him... Teacher, can you understand this?"

The visitor is once again seeking validation.

A bit difficult to stretch.

But... as a psychological counselor, Nan Zhuren's situation is understandable.

Nan Zhuren nodded slightly.

However, the visitor did not seem to be very determined to get an answer when he asked the question, and quickly went on to explain the direct reason for his request.

"But as these kinds of things became more frequent, my friend said his threshold was getting higher and higher. Things that used to make him feel loved were gradually no longer able to arouse his emotions."

The visitor rubbed his palm against his thick beard; the soft, dense texture had a soothing effect, providing him with the strength to continue speaking.

"Then, a while ago, my friend and I went too far. Maybe it was because he kept wanting to experience emotional emotions, but in the end, he ended up in the hospital."

The visitor shuddered: "I also visited him in the hospital. It's not that it's serious, but he just looks terrible."

"So, I want to ask the teacher—for his situation, what are some good ways to control his emotions... No, it's not so much 'controlling emotions,' but rather 'controlling the need for affection'?"

The visitor stared intently at Nan Zhuren, his eyes shining.

Nan Zhuren blinked. With the movement of her eyelids, she felt her pupils flickering in the light from the other side.

……

With a click, Nan Zhuren walked out of the consultation room, chatted briefly with Mo Kai, and then rubbed his temples as he sat back down at his workstation.

Before he could even finish his coffee, Mo Kai excitedly returned from the consultation room.

"Senior, this visitor has renewed their subscription and bought the top-of-the-line package!"

Wow, that was fast!

Nan Zhuren's mind had calmed down slightly by now, and he nodded to indicate that he was alright: "His problem... is indeed the type that requires long-term intervention. Moreover, he himself is quite eager to solve the problem, and he also has a fairly good economic foundation..."

This analysis also teaches Mo Kai professional skills, helping him to understand which visitors are more likely to renew their subscriptions and which need to.

Given more time, Mo Kai will no longer need Nan Zhuren to give him any instructions; Mo Kai will be able to determine the appropriate level of salesmanship to offer to clients. Furthermore, these skills will be useful if Mo Kai has the opportunity to conduct independent counseling in the future.

"The second visitor this afternoon also renewed their subscription. It was a slightly lower tier, but they still booked four consultations a month in advance..."

The visitor was the one who specifically asked Nan Zhuren to go online to look up the difference between "stepmother" and "stepmother".

Nan Zhuren also gave Mo Kai a brief analysis of the client's situation. Leaving aside solving the problem, the client's repressed desire to confide in others clearly indicated a strong need for psychological counseling. Furthermore, the client came from a well-off family and could afford long-term counseling.

The second-tier and top-tier packages both offer four consultations per month, but they lack the option of "online consultation with a consultant anytime."

The "consultant" in this online communication is Mo Kai. This simplified version of online consultation ability is something that all the company's consulting assistants possess.

Many small companies even provide newly hired sales or assistants with specific scripts to handle such situations, considering it a "value-added service".

Of course, what Bai Qinghua's company provides is far more professional; the quality of this "communication" is even equivalent to that of a typical online text consultation.

“The first visitor did not renew her subscription, but this was something you specifically instructed me to do, so I didn’t have any in-depth discussions with her about this.”

Nan Zhuren nodded. This was the client who had developed inappropriate feelings for her best friend. The client was just an ordinary college student, and it was already quite commendable that she was willing to pay for professional psychological counseling. The problem itself wasn't that serious.

Although Li Lingling was supposed to be the first visitor Nan Zhuren received this afternoon according to the schedule, she was an unplanned visitor.

Therefore, it's not wrong for Mo Kai to describe Gui Feixiang's visitor as "the first visitor".

"Oh right, senior brother." After completing the report, which required a high degree of timeliness, Mo Kai seemed to suddenly remember something. "Professor Bai and Senior Brother Chong are looking for you. They want you to come to their office after you finish your consultation."

“…Oh?” Nan Zhuren blinked, then stood up.

I went into Bai Qinghua's studio for the second time in the afternoon. Compared to the last time, Chonghui was there in the office.

"Senior brother." Nan Zhuren nodded to the tall man first. Although they had met in the afternoon, he still greeted him as usual.

Seeing that his apprentice had arrived, Bai Qinghua realized that he now had two of his closest consultants in the company.

Shi Qianqian was subconsciously overlooked; her consulting skills were not yet sufficient, and her main talent lay in scientific research—a different area for her to develop in.

“Zhu Ren, now that Liu Jiahang is gone, the company is missing a manager who can provide backup. I’m thinking of having you and Da Hui take on more responsibility…” Bai Qinghua started with the first thing.

Nan Zhuren had no objection to this, and even welcomed its success.

Although Chonghui had complained a bit when he heard Bai Qinghua's arrangement, he still tried to save face for their teacher because his junior brother was there.

Moreover, Chonghui also knew that although teachers who liked to slack off would mostly take the blame themselves, they would also step up when it really mattered.

I do feel a little bit safe.

"As for the second matter..." Bai Qinghua said, turning the computer screen to show Nan Zhuren the document titled "Guide to Psychological Crisis Intervention in Common Disasters (Part Two)".

"Didn't you want to gather more information about Li Lingling? Coincidentally, this project is also something we're doing together with the hospital. We need to go to the hospital from time to time to communicate with the person in charge there. You can take this opportunity to learn more about the information you need..."

Nan Zhuren's eyes lit up.

Although Li Lingling was a case commissioned by the hospital, and the hospital was indeed able to provide relevant information about Li Lingling.

However, the information provided here is mostly in the category of "archives," and relatively macro-level evaluations such as "the leadership's impression of the employees" obtained from the dean. This information is certainly useful and helpful in Nan Zhuren's current situation.

However, it would be even better if Nam Joo-in could personally go to the hospital to collect information.

In the course of "Management Psychology," companies have developed a method called "360-degree evaluation" for evaluating the promotion of management personnel. This method involves the evaluator collecting evaluations from the candidate's superiors, colleagues, subordinates, and family members to form a comprehensive impression.

If counselors also had such a "360-degree assessment" of their clients, it's unimaginable how much help they could provide.

However, due to the ethical constraints imposed on therapists, in most cases—or almost all cases—therapists do not receive this information and are unable to actively seek it out.

Even now, facing Li Lingling's situation, if Nan Zhuren were to ask Bai Qinghua to "go to the hospital to collect information about Li Lingling," Bai Qinghua would kindly dissuade him from doing so.

Putting aside other issues, if it were Li Lingling herself, it would be difficult to explain. It might even necessitate finding her a different counselor.

That's why they resort to this self-deceiving approach of "arranging a special project for Nan Zhuren to collaborate with the hospital."

Sometimes rules are rules, just like Batman's no-kill policy. Once you cross a certain line, you might not be able to stop yourself.

Even if your initial intention in crossing the line was good.

This is also the enduring debate between "procedural justice" and "substantive justice".

……

“Besides the purpose of this case, the project itself is also very important,” Bai Qinghua continued to explain.

With that, Bai Qinghua closed the file, revealing the document that was currently open on his computer desktop. The file he had just seen was just one of many files in the document.

Under Nan Zhuren's gaze, Bai Qinghua opened the file in the document that had been specially marked with the number "[1.]" before its filename so that it could always be kept at the top.

It was a planning document.

Bai Qinghua explained in the text above: "This 'Guide to Psychological Crisis Intervention in Common Disasters' is a project that I have been working on with Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, several hospitals, and even the military. It has been almost two years."

"It's also because the times are developing faster and faster now. People at the top have begun to notice that in the process of disaster relief, many rescue workers not only face physical dangers, but also need psychological support."

"Moreover, although many people in the disaster area have been rescued, problems may arise during the resettlement process; some disaster victims may also encounter various difficulties in the future."

Bai Qinghua sighed: "Besides these, how to help comfort the affected people on-site and reduce the pressure of disaster relief during the rescue operation is also a research direction of this project."

"We want to bring together this knowledge, create a system that can be effectively implemented, and develop something that serves as a guide."

"Overall, it's a very valuable project. Your senior sister Pingting, Dahui, and Qianqian are all in this project," Bai Qinghua summarized. "Now that you're part of our research group, I plan to involve you as well."

While listening to Bai Qinghua's explanation, I looked at the strings of text displayed in the document, one after another, the cooperating units, and one title after another.

Even Nan Zhuren's eyes trembled slightly at this moment.

What does a guidebook even mean?
In ancient times, this would be considered writing a book and establishing a doctrine.

Moreover, this wasn't just some professor from a research group who impulsively decided to boost their resume with this book. According to Bai Qinghua, the other institutions involved in the joint projects are all quite extraordinary.

If it were to actually be published as a book, it might become a textbook-level resource in the fields of fire protection and medicine. Even if we take a step back, it would at least be an important reference book.

Nan Zhuren looked up at Bai Qinghua. Coming to Beidu to join Bai Qinghua's research group was definitely the right decision!
Even if you become a top professional in the conventional psychological counseling field, you might not get access to this kind of project outside of your local area.

"Of course, in projects of this level, we are not the leaders; we are just following orders. We can only play a small role, responsible for a small section."

Nan Zhuren nodded repeatedly.

“But even so, it can still lead to a lot of good things.” Bai Qinghua pointed to Chonghui. “This kind of thing doesn’t have very strict technical confidentiality. Dahui published an article in a foreign journal based on a batch of data and solutions that were eliminated from this project.”

"I don't know if the book will be published before he graduates. If it is, I won't have to worry about his job anymore." Bai Qinghua sighed as he spoke.

Chonghui also sighed, his eyes filled with longing.

"In short," Bai Qinghua concluded, "when Da Hui goes to the hospital tomorrow to discuss this project with the person in charge there, you should go with him to familiarize yourself with the process."

Nan Zhuren nodded without hesitation.

He quickly consulted Chonghui about the precautions, since this was indeed a blind spot for him.

However, the first answer he received was somewhat unexpected.

Chonghui looked Nan Zhuren up and down, then suddenly said, "Junior brother, you haven't been doing anything else lately besides consulting, have you?"

Nan Zhuren blinked: "Theoretically, that's how it is. Although there's an interview for the postgraduate entrance exam, there's no rush to start studying. We can wait until the results are out..."

"At least you don't have any other plans for tonight?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Yes."

Upon hearing this reply, Chonghui slapped his hand on the table and said, "That's good. Come to the gym with me tonight!"

"...Ah, ah?"

Nan Zhuren blinked, completely unaware of any causal connection between this topic and the previous one.

"Haven't you always said you wanted to improve your physical condition? And with your personality, you really need to exercise. Look how many times you've almost gotten into trouble since I've known you."

Chonghui recounted the stories with great familiarity: "Back in Jiangdu's high school, you directly pulled up a student who had fallen; in the courthouse, you dared to rush in even when someone was holding a knife; and this time, there was the medical dispute..."

"Tonight, just tonight, let's go to the gym and have a good workout. Then tomorrow, on our way to the hospital, we can just make an appointment and get some muscle relaxation treatment!"

Chonghui's eyes were filled with excitement: "Every time I go to the hospital to discuss a project or something, I always stop by! Let me tell you, I know an old doctor whose technique is much more exciting than any massage therapist outside..."

Nan Zhuren blinked. So… is this a cause-and-effect relationship? How can these things even be connected?
(End of this chapter)