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

Chapter 64 Treating both the symptoms and the root cause

There is another very important cause of Chen Ting's illness that has not been eliminated.

Let's use a medical analogy here.

Treating an illness requires addressing both the root cause and the symptoms.

The "root" refers to the origin, the deeper cause; the "symptom" refers to the current symptoms, the direct cause of the abnormal situation.

Chen Ting's family background is her "root cause." It was her family that made her accustomed to submitting to her mother and suppressing herself for a long time, which shaped her current personality and made her vulnerable to Wang An's exploitation.

Wang An was the "target." His appearance and his actions directly caused trauma to Chen Ting.

Although Nan Zhuren's consultation today gave Chen Ting the power to be independent of family influence.

However, Wang An's problems still cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, if Wang An's problem is not resolved, Chen Ting's PTSD will remain as intractable as a malignant tumor.

Thinking this, Nan Zhuren collapsed at her workstation and silently covered herself with her blanket.

I lay down to shut out the surrounding noises of games, variety shows, typing, and the sound of my legs.

Fall down and go to sleep.

My consciousness sank down, and I arrived at the psychological counseling room in my dream.

【月度目标：1个月内完成“心理咨询”10小时（3/10），完成后进行1次“心理能力培训”】

I gave two consultations to Chen Ting and her mother today, accumulating two extra hours of consultation time. Nothing much to say.

Nan Zhuren was concerned about something else.

[Career Development: File 1 "Case File" (0/1), and complete 1 "Psychological Techniques Advanced Training" session.]

As expected, Chen Ting's progress had not yet reached the stage of "case archiving".

The key point lies with Wang An.

However, it was at this moment that Nan Zhuren encountered a dilemma.

He can use Chen Ting as a connection to get family counseling done with Chen Ting and her mother.

What about Wang An? Does he also do consulting?
No, this person doesn't need to face Nan Zhuren, but Uncle Hat.

But that's the problem.

Nan Zhuren did not directly address Wang An's identity and stance.

This is the most perplexing situation a psychotherapist encounters.

What can he do? Go directly to Jiangda University and confront Wang An?
Nan Zhuren sighed and shook his head.

At present, we can only observe Chen Ting's recovery and then provide guidance.

Ideally, Chen Ting would gain sufficient energy to proactively obtain relevant evidence and bring Wang An to justice. This is what Nan Zhuren previously referred to as "cutting off the stressor."

In a moderate scenario, Chen Ting would be able to refuse and intimidate Wang An, and the two would cease all contact. Although the evil would not be punished, Chen Ting would be able to continue living the life she was supposed to have.

The worst-case scenario is to "stay away from the stressor"—Chen Ting takes a leave of absence from school, waits for Wang An to leave, or even leaves on her own, in order to gain the opportunity to heal her mind and body.

Although it is hard to accept, the third method is the one most visitors use when they encounter this situation.

As for Chen Ting's current situation, she only became capable of using the third method—even the worst one—after today's treatment.

As Nan Zhuren thought this, she couldn't help but sigh again.

……

"Teacher Nan, Teacher Nan?"

Suddenly, Nan Zhuren felt his body sway. He looked up and saw Shen Bing. "What's wrong?" Nan Zhuren asked.

He looked up at Shen Bing and saw that the consulting assistant had a strange, amusing expression that was neither a smile nor a cry.

"...Your supervisor is looking for you."

Weng Pingting.

Nan Zhuren immediately understood Shen Bing's current expression.

Shen Bing lowered his voice: "Teacher Nan, is the supervisor going to ask you about contacting clients privately? Although the boss approved it, the supervisor didn't. No matter what, it's a violation of counselor ethics, and the supervisor is very sensitive about this kind of thing..."

The boss agreed, but the supervisor didn't, so it doesn't count, right?
Aren't you afraid the boss will have a problem with saying that? Oh, the boss probably won't have a problem with that.

To be honest, Nan Zhuren is actually a little apprehensive right now.

But he doesn't regret it.

Is the supervisor in the office now?

"Yes, she seemed to have wanted to come directly to you. But seeing that you were sleeping, she asked me to come and wake you first."

This is even worse.

Although it is an unspoken rule in counseling centers that counselors can relax in their own way when they are not in a counseling session.

However, this can only be done if the leader is in a good mood and the company has recently performed well—both are indispensable.

Nan Zhuren looked around and, sure enough, saw that his former colleagues who had been playing games, writing, or looking at thighs were now all sitting up straight and discussing their clients with great enthusiasm.

Nan Zhuren sighed.

He strode to the door of the supervisor's office.

dong dong dong-

"Enter."

Nan Zhuren nervously opened the door and looked at the refined yet intellectual face sitting behind the desk. Her ability to analyze micro-expressions involuntarily activated—

Hmm? Doesn't seem very angry?

Nan Zhuren felt a little strange. Could it be that Weng Pingting had controlled him with her strong emotional and facial expression management?
No, no, no, micro-expressions are purely physiological phenomena that cannot be controlled; no matter how well you study psychology, you can't suppress them.

Nan Zhuren felt somewhat relieved.

Were you just reading my micro-expressions?

Weng Pingting suddenly spoke up, startling Nan Zhuren.

Looking up, I saw Weng Pingting playfully curling up the corners of her mouth: "I didn't model your behavior before, but after you saw my face, I could clearly see the muscles around your neck relaxing, your nostrils flaring, and your lips loosening. These physiological activities show that you are in a state of 're-relaxing from tension'."

Nan Zhuren blinked.

“You’re very good at managing your emotions and expressions, but micro-expressions are purely physiological reactions that you can’t control.” Weng Pingting shrugged. “See, I can do that too.”

What you're saying sounds like the words I was just thinking about?

Nan Zhuren opened his mouth, then closed it again, pondered for a moment, and said, "So, Sister Pingting, you're trying to use your abilities to suppress me, to let me know that there are always people more capable than you? Does this mean you'll want me to do some self-criticism later, to teach me a lesson, or perhaps—"

"—Or perhaps." Weng Pingting interrupted Nan Zhuren.

"Or perhaps, I have a task for you, and I hope you will be careful so that you don't get into trouble because of your recent smooth sailing."

Weng Pingting said leisurely, "Although your experiences in the past two years have not been smooth sailing, you still seem a bit reckless in what you do."

(End of this chapter)