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

Chapter 576 explains step by step, digging deeper layer by layer.

In the development of psychological counseling techniques, the psychoanalytic school has continuously evolved with the times, eventually forming the psychodynamic school in modern times.

The "dynamic interpretation" is one of the techniques of the "psychodynamic school".

However, the "dynamic interpretation" is not a technique like "grounding" or "breathing relaxation" that is used in a specific stage of the consultation.

Rather, it is a framework of dialogue techniques that runs throughout the consultation process.

The core of the "dynamic interpretation" is the process of elevating the client's unconscious conflicts, motivations, desires, defense mechanisms, and internal object relations patterns to the conscious level and presenting them to the client.

It provides a more systematic organization of the core concept of "unconscious presentation" in psychoanalysis.

This interpretation is mainly divided into three levels.

1. **Surface Interpretation:** Connecting the visitor's emotions with specific events.

Second, [Deeper Interpretation] connects the visitor's current emotions with their past.

Third, [Transference Interpretation], which is the pinnacle of interpretation, directly connects the client's state with the counseling relationship.

Of course, this process of presenting the client's subconscious content can easily veer towards confrontation, which can easily trigger a strong defensive response from the client.

This is a problem that all schools of thought, both old and new, may encounter when dealing with the subconscious. For example, when Nan Zhuren conducted his first consultation with Nan Zhihao, he used the method of "confrontation" throughout the entire process to reveal the other party's subconscious.

In other words, Nan Zhuren had anticipated that Nan Zhihao's situation was special; if it were any other visitor, they would probably have been driven away by anger long ago.

—Take Li Lingling, for example.

Therefore, the usual "confrontation" style of subconscious presentation is clearly not applicable to Li Lingling.

[Borderline Personality Disorder] In social and intimate relationships, they are indeed unusually enthusiastic and invested in the early stages. This is partly because they temporarily amplify the traits in their partner that match their own, and even generalize them to a certain extent.

For example, "He dresses very elegantly, so he must be a calm, reserved, and cultured person." "He likes small animals, so he must be very gentle and treat people very well." "He has similar experiences to me, so he must be a perfect match for me in terms of personality and values, and we are definitely compatible."

It might sound a bit like being love-struck, but it's not quite the same – this relationship pattern in borderline personality disorder amplifies the other person's strengths, but it also magnifies their weaknesses infinitely.

It even gives shortcomings a "veto power".

If it happens, end the relationship immediately.

To put it dramatically, "This person is handsome, rich, highly educated, respectful of women, and loves small animals, but he doesn't like cilantro, so we can't continue our relationship."

Therefore, when Nan Zhuren presents Li Lingling's subconscious today, he cannot be as forceful as he was with Nan Zhihao back then.

Otherwise, the hard-won, superficial consulting relationship could very well collapse.

Using the "dynamic interpretation" approach—which is more time-consuming, less efficient, but more gradual in its presentation of the subconscious—is more suitable.

However, Nan Zhuren hasn't even started the first level of [Surface Interpretation] yet. What he's currently using is the foundation of [Dynamic Interpretation]—[Divine Entry].

It's a name that sounds pretty intimidating, but it's actually quite simple to explain.

—It's actually a sophisticated method of empathy.
However, this method of empathy requires a more solid operational foundation. Compared to general empathy, "immersion" requires the counselor to temporarily and in a controlled manner enter the client's inner world, feel their feelings, think about their thoughts, and understand their experience from that internal perspective.

The most direct expression of "divine possession" is the emotional verification that Nan Zhuren is currently using.

The visitor's statement that "work is still the same" leads to the more accurate interpretation of "numbness to work."

Very effective

The visitor found Nan Zhuren's accurate description of the situation very helpful.

I was also quite satisfied with Nan Zhuren's slightly furrowed brows and empathetic expression.

The consultation relationship was further deepened. Based on this, Nan Zhurencai formally began the "Dynamic Interpretation" project.

……

I could tell that the visitor was deeply moved by the description of "numbness".

Nan Zhuren further elaborated on this point, saying, "Generally speaking, emotional numbness is formed only after being repeatedly impacted by some... bad things."

“When we realize we are ‘numb,’ it certainly means we have been impacted to some extent again,” Nan Zhuren emphasized. “It could even be said to be a relatively strong impact.”

He looked into the visitor's eyes and said, "So, has something happened recently that has upset you again?"

This is an example of "surface interpretation"—trying to connect the emotions expressed by the visitor with a specific event in her life.

Nan Zhuren felt a little nervous at this moment, worried that the visitor would once again give a "nothing to say" response.

However, considering the nature of the other party's question, after Nan Zhuren revealed her keen observation of her inner thoughts, her reaction should be—

"……Ugh."

The visitor let out a sigh of relief, and after a two-second silence, she looked away and said, "I think... there are two."

Not one, but two.

Nan Zhuren looked at the visitor: "What are they respectively?"

"The first one was when we were doing a consultation last week," the visitor said.

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow. This was a topic he was also quite interested in, but he hadn't expected the visitor to bring it up on his own initiative.

“I need to consult with Dr. Hu, who knows that I should be on leave at this time,” the visitor said. “However, a sudden and urgent shift change last week took away my leave. If I need to come for a consultation again, I will have to find another nurse who is on leave to cover for me.”

"But... Director Hu asked around, and no one came forward to help. So I missed the consultation."

The visitor forced an apologetic smile at Nan Zhuren: "I'm afraid I've caused you some trouble..."

Nan Zhuren waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing to worry about, and then brought the focus back to the content of the sentence that had just been presented: "I am more concerned about your feelings and choices in this matter. However, if I heard correctly, in what you just said, it seemed that you were giving you another option for the trouble you encountered at the time."

Nan Zhuren made a gesture of turning the clock upside down, recalling, "You said, 'Find another nurse who is on break to come back and help me out'—did you try that?"

Nan Zhuren emphasized: "It's you, not Director Hu."

The visitor shook his head: "No." Nan Zhuren pressed further: "Why not?"

“I can’t find it,” the visitor replied.

When she said this, her expression was one of certainty.

Nan Zhuren pressed further: "You seem to have said that you didn't even try it, but you just drew this conclusion directly?"

The visitor shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "If you know it's impossible, why waste your time and emotions?"

Nan Zhuren shook her head inwardly, then nodded. She shook her head because the visitor's reaction was clearly unhealthy, while she nodded because the visitor's words indirectly reflected that her relationship with her colleague was indeed quite tense.

From her own perspective, this confirms the information about unstable social relationships.

“And…” Before Nan Zhuren could say anything more, the visitor suddenly spoke up again.

She adopted a mature adult demeanor: "As for work, everyone should just do their job well and get things done. It's best not to bother others if possible."

……

Nan Zhuren's expression remained unchanged, but his heart tightened slightly.

This is a very important statement.

However, Nan Zhuren thought for a moment and decided that it wasn't the right time to use that phrase yet, so he put it down and let the visitor continue.

"That's the first thing." The visitor exhaled and adjusted his posture before continuing, "The second thing is... yesterday morning, when I went to make rounds, I found that the patient in bed number three had a problem, and I made a note of it."

The visitor took another breath: "Then, during the morning shift handover, I reported on the patient in bed number three's condition overnight, saying that his blood pressure was fluctuating and needed close monitoring. The head nurse just grunted in response and immediately moved on to discussing the next patient. It was as if... what I said was completely pointless!"

The final note was a bit heavy, clearly carrying some anger.

Nan Zhuren promptly followed up with [spiritual immersion], responding to the visitor's content and verifying their emotions: "In other words, you observed important symptoms yesterday morning and offered professional advice, but it was completely ignored."

“Yes!” The visitors nodded in agreement.

Since the beginning of the counseling, her overall emotional response and level of engagement in the counseling have undergone tremendous changes.

Her voice rose considerably: "That's my patient, I know him best. And my judgment was correct; his blood pressure did indeed become problematic during the day!"

Her speech became faster and faster: "But that's how our head nurse is. She never gives you any feedback. It's like whatever you do is your duty. If you do something wrong, you get scolded, and if you do something right, nobody sees it."

"At first, I admired her quite a bit. She was very capable, at least more capable than us. But she's not just a nurse, she's a head nurse, and as a leader, she doesn't have many management skills, she doesn't give feedback to her subordinates; now even her professional abilities are starting to falter, and—"

The visitor took a deep breath: "—It's just so speechless."

Yes, from this passage, we can see the change in the visitor's feelings towards the head nurse; we can also see how many standards she has set for the head nurse.

All of this is helping Nan Zhuren to validate his judgment once again.

However, that concludes today's consultation; the "verification" part is sufficient.

Nan Zhuren needs to explore new things.

He first emotionally labeled and amplified the visitor's statement: "So, the feeling at that moment was not just 'anger,' but more like... that one's professional value and efforts were completely ignored or even denied. This makes one feel very 'frustrated.'"

"At the same time, you are also 'disappointed' with your head nurse because you had high expectations of her, but now she hardly responds to you at all."

Each time Nan Zhuren highlighted a word related to emotion, the visitor would nod slightly.

But after Nan Zhuren finished speaking, she seemed to calm down, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up as she said, "It's... not that serious. I'm just a little annoyed. Maybe I'm being too sensitive. I didn't say anything after that."

I took a slight defensive stance again.

However, as the consultation progressed, Nan Zhuren was able to be a little more unrestrained in breaking down the client's defenses.

Nan Zhuren said, “I heard your body language and speaking speed change when you were describing this. Then you quickly told yourself ‘it’s not that serious’ and ‘you’re being too sensitive.’”

Nan Zhuren stretched out both hands and placed them side by side in front of her: "It's as if a voice felt wronged and angry at first, but then another voice jumped out and told me that I shouldn't have such feelings and that I should suppress them."

This is not only about interpreting the content of the visitor's words, but also about interpreting the visitor's process.

Although it resembles a confrontation, Nan Zhuren is also expressing her concern for the client from another perspective during this process. For clients with borderline personality disorder, this can actually deepen the therapeutic relationship.

……

The visitor paused for a moment after hearing Nan Zhuren's words, as if something had been said about him.

Her eyes darted around for a moment: "What else can we do? Are we supposed to start a fight in the office? I'm here to work, not to cause trouble. Everyone should just do their job and get things done."

She did not deny it, but instead began to offer some kind of explanation.

Moreover, the content of their defense seemed somewhat familiar.

This was an opportunity, and Nan Zhuren seized it precisely: "'Everyone should just do their job well and get things done'—this is the second time you've mentioned this phrase."

The visitor was taken aback: "Really?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "That's what you said before when you refused to contact your colleagues to cover your shift."

Nan Zhuren went on to say, “This sentence sounds like some kind of principle, some kind of… rule? And you do seem to be using it as a rule, because you used this sentence to regulate your behavior in both of the previous and current situations.”

Nan Zhuren consciously guided the conversation, saying, "This seems to be your comfort zone, or rather... your safe zone?"

Now we begin the in-depth analysis.

This is a preliminary "deep interpretation," in which Nan Zhuren attempts to connect the client's experiences with these two events and the emotions associated with them.

If this interpretation is successful, then we can try to extend the timeline further.

It goes so far as to connect with the visitor's past experiences, even their childhood experiences.

Nan Zhuren looked into the visitor's eyes.

(End of this chapter)