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

Chapter 624 Li Lingling's Next Stage
Sleeping six hours at night, and then finding a little over two hours of sleep during work breaks during the day... that does sound much more scientific.

The workload is a bit high, so I might not be able to maintain it for too long.

Weng Pingting suddenly said, "Maybe he just doesn't have enough work? If we keep adding to his workload, he might actually shorten his six hours of sleep each night, or even eliminate it altogether, relying solely on breaks between work to recover his energy, and completely develop polyphasic sleep..."

Bai Qinghua watched as his eldest apprentice's expression gradually turned horrified.

However, Weng Pingting's idea is not actually a street lamp ornament; she only proposed it from a scientific research perspective.

Even if one wants to explore the physiological limits of Nan Zhuren, it must be done in a strict laboratory environment to control all irrelevant variables; in this way, if any accident occurs, the experimental process can be stopped in time and intervention can be carried out.

Even so, Weng Pingting's eyes had already become very interested.

Bai Qinghua and Chonghui didn't dare to speak for a moment. They quickly organized the data they had collected that day and hurriedly went back to their rooms to sleep.

The next day, Chonghui's information gathering went smoothly, and he finished interviewing the last rescue team member in just one morning.

Just as he met with Weng Pingting and the others at noon, Nan Zhuren also appeared.

It's worth noting that in the past few days, Nan Zhuren only appeared once in the morning and once in the evening; the rest of the time he was either doing psychological intervention or on his way to do psychological intervention.

The reason why Nan Zhuren appeared at this moment was quite simple—

……

"You mean, Nan Zhuren from Bai Qinghua's group has completed all the file visits?"

Professor Ji looked at her student with disbelief in her eyes.

The student who had come to him to work on the archives seemed dazed, as if his worldview had been severely shaken.

"Do you know what you're saying? Based on the numbers you reported to me a few days ago, if Nan Zhuren completes his file and visits now, it's equivalent to doing an average of ten interventions per day!"

Professor Ji looked at the outer disciple whose name he couldn't remember and began to wonder if he had recruited some trash who had produced such an outrageous report.

Even if Professor Ji is unfamiliar with psychological counseling, she should know what the number "ten psychological interventions" means. How could someone report something so unpsychologically and unscientifically unfounded without even verifying its authenticity?
However, the student's answer made him increasingly unable to hold back: "He did it... He did ten interventions in two consecutive days, and yesterday he did twelve..."

"He not only finished his own work, but also took several of ours... This morning I planned to do three, but after finishing the first one, the supervisor in charge of this area told me there were no more visitors..."

Huchi——Huchi——

Heaving sounds came from behind him. Professor Ji turned around and saw his apprentice with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

That guy seems to have had a traumatic memory triggered; his whole demeanor has become strange.

However, Professor Ji did not have the time to pay attention to it. He soon had another guess: "Did Nan Zhuren only have simple psychological tests done, without any intervention or psychological counseling?"

The student who was assigned to handle the archives didn't say anything, but silently handed the teacher the meeting minutes he had prepared.

Every evening, the counselors who work with clients in the archives are gathered by their supervisor for a brief debriefing meeting. The meeting focuses on summarizing their work for the day, including their assessment of the clients, specific intervention methods, and follow-up recommendations.

Professor Ji had specifically instructed this student to pay attention to Nan Zhuren, so he transcribed almost all of Nan Zhuren's report verbatim and then worked through the night to compile it into an electronic version and print it out.

Professor Ji hadn't paid much attention to this matter in the past few days, so I hadn't seen it.

The student explained, “After the meeting last night, he did two more interventions, and I think he did five more this morning, but those weren’t included in the report. But the others… I wrote them all down. Every intervention he did… seemed to be of very high quality.”

Even without the student's reminder, Professor Ji took the compiled electronic manuscript and frowned deeply as he looked at it.

Teacher Yijinjiao and Teacher Heiquan couldn't help but peek over, glancing at the report and then at their own teachers' expressions.

After a long pause, Professor Ji finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "...Who are the people Bai Qinghua recruited into the group? This—"

He suddenly remembered something: "—Xiao Jiao!"

"Here!" Upon hearing his mentor's call, Teacher Yijinjiao instinctively sprang to attention.

"Didn't Nan Zhuren just take the postgraduate entrance exam this year? Could you offer him a transfer opportunity to join our group?"

The teacher, Yi Jinjiao, was taken aback: "This...that...I did send it, but..."

"Forget it, let's talk about it after this project is finished; that's more important." Professor Ji seemed quite confident. "Our school's platform is much better than theirs!"

If it were yesterday, Teacher Yijinjiao would have been indifferent to Nan Zhuren. No matter how much Teacher Heiquan emphasized how terrible the other party was, he would have just laughed it off—it's not like Weng Pingting, what's there to be afraid of?
But now that such impressive results are before him, even Teacher Yijinjiao can't help but feel surprised and uncertain.

This project seems to be really going to go wrong...

Professor Ji tossed the stack of reports aside, frowned, and thought for a moment: "Pack your things and get ready to work. Xiao Jiao, you stay here today to train the staff. I'll go with the others to find those elderly people with [mass hysteria]."

Teacher Yi Jin blinked and nodded in agreement.

This wasn't something beyond his capabilities. After a few days, the framework for psychological intervention had been basically established, and all that remained were some implementation-level issues.

Beside him, the black-circled teacher took a deep breath and gently nudged the junior student who had come to work on the files with his elbow: "Nan Zhuren... do you know what you did after the file visit last night?"

……

Temporary children's activity area in the disaster area.

This is the best-lit room among the small rooms.

Nan Zhuren quietly looked inside.

The weather was unusually nice today, with no rain. Sunlight streamed through the sparse clouds and dappled windows, illuminating the newly cleared ground.

Li Lingling was squatting on the ground, patiently helping a little girl with tears still on her face to re-tie her messy braids.

Nan Zhuren stood quietly not far away and observed for a moment, watching Li Lingling's gentle and steady movements, as well as the faint smile on her lips.

Although children in disaster areas are relatively more stable than adults, that is only in comparison—the area is still filled with crying and shouting.

No matter how much someone loves children, they will generally become irritable after working in this kind of environment for a period of time.

Li Lingling was different. She felt an unusual sense of tranquility in this environment.

Only after Li Lingling had calmed the little girl down and watched her run to her other friends did he slowly walk over.

"Lingling." Nan Zhuren's voice was as steady as ever.

Li Lingling turned her head at the sound of the voice, saw Nan Zhuren, her eyes lit up slightly, and she naturally stood up: "Teacher Nan."

"Are you done with your work? Would you mind chatting for a bit?" Nan Zhuren asked gently, in a consultative tone.

Although it's a question, the answer is definitely yes. Nan Zhuren had been keeping track of Li Lingling's work activities in the past few days, in addition to handling the archives visits, and was aware of her work routine.

"Just finished." Li Lingling nodded and wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

The two walked to the corner of the activity area, creating a distance between themselves and the children that would prevent them from hearing their conversation while still allowing them to keep an eye on them.

Nan Zhuren did not rush to speak, but gave Li Lingling a few seconds of silence first.

Let her gradually transition out of the highly engaged state she was in interacting with the child.

Then, Nan Zhuren began the conversation with an open-ended, seemingly casual question: "How have you been feeling helping out in the children's area these past few days?"

Li Lingling thought for a moment, then tried to describe her feelings: "At first... I was a little worried, afraid that I wouldn't do well, and also afraid... afraid that seeing the children's scared faces would make me feel bad too—"

"—After all, you know my situation, Teacher Nan." Li Lingling smiled.

Her candor about her initial fears is itself a positive sign.

"But then I realized—when I was busy telling them stories, playing games with them, and dealing with their crying because they were homesick or scared… I didn’t seem to have much time to think about my own things. And…"

Li Lingling paused, then softened her voice: "When I see them gradually relax, smile at me, and hold my hand... I feel a little warm inside."

Nan Zhuren smiled and nodded, revealing an expression that said, "I'm really happy for you."

[Emotional experience and expression abilities have recovered well.]

Li Lingling was able to specifically describe the change in her emotions "from worry to feeling warmth" and connect her emotions with specific events of "accompanying her child". This indicates that she is beginning to emerge from a state of traumatic emotional numbness and dissociation, and that the scope and depth of her emotional experience are expanding, while her ability to connect with reality is increasing.

With that in mind, Nan Zhuren nodded at the right moment, encouraging Li Lingling to continue.

“Then, we have a child here named ‘Xiao Juan’.” Li Lingling’s eyes softened as she mentioned the name. “She’s terrified of water and keeps saying she sees things like ‘dragon ribbons’…”

Nan Zhuren's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly suppressed his inner turmoil and returned to his assessment of Li Lingling.

Li Lingling continued, "Although she is still a little scared, she is now willing to let me hold her hand and walk a little further away from the water."

“I told her, ‘The water has receded, we are safe now, and your sister will stay with you,’ and she seemed to… actually listen to me a little.”

This passage is more important than the previous one because it signifies that Li Lingling has established positive connections with others.

She not only fulfilled her childcare duties but also established therapeutic, two-way emotional connections with specific children. This experience of being needed and effectively helping others is an important way to repair her damaged sense of self-worth caused by feelings of frustration and abandonment.

Nan Zhuren concluded, "It sounds like you've found a way to both help others and make yourself feel at ease."

The casual assessment has now concluded, and so far, Li Lingling's performance has been very optimistic.

Nan Zhuren changed the subject, her tone becoming more formal: "Do you remember the feeling you described during our last conversation—it felt like there was a 'cold, heavy stone' pressing on your stomach, making you 'unable to move'?"

Nan Zhuren guided her back to her previous core painful experiences.

The warm expression on Li Lingling's face gradually faded, and she became as serious as Nan Zhuren.

Nan Zhuren asked, "Now, if you were to experience that feeling again, would it still be there?"

Li Lingling pursed her lips and then closed her eyes.

After carefully sensing for about three breaths, she looked up and said, "Still here."

"But... it doesn't seem as cold anymore, and it's lighter too."

Nan Zhuren nodded: "If it's still there, how has the intensity changed? From 1 to 7 points, what was it before, and what is it now?"

“Before… I felt it was 6 or 7 points, now… it’s probably 3 or 4 points,” Li Lingling said, giving a range.

“Very good awareness.” Nan Zhuren first gave it a positive feedback, then continued, “I remember when that ‘stone’ feeling came before, you passively endured it…”

Nan Zhuren looked at Li Lingling. His next question was to ask Li Lingling if she would do anything to deal with this feeling if it occurred to her again, such as saying something to herself or shifting her attention elsewhere.

This is an assessment of whether the visitor has progressed from being completely controlled by symptoms to being able to initially identify and utilize some internal or external resources to cope with the pain.

But before Nan Zhuren could finish his sentence, Li Lingling seized the opportunity. Thinking Nan Zhuren had finished asking his question, she quickly said:

“I still feel very uncomfortable sometimes... but I don’t get completely overwhelmed like before. When that happens, I think of being here with the children, or... I think of what you taught me before, to feel my breath, to feel my feet on the ground.”

“Sometimes, I would tell myself, ‘The water has receded, I am safe now, and I can help these children…’”

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow.

An unexpected surprise.

Visitors not only developed coping mechanisms for symptoms, but also developed their own coping statements that were personally meaningful.

She is able to distinguish between past traumatic memories and present reality, and uses this sense of reality to soothe herself. This indicates that her reality testing ability is recovering, and her inner sense of security is gradually being rebuilt.

She healed very well during this phase.

Now, we can guide her into the next stage.

(End of this chapter)