Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter 29:- Student Therapist Comes To Calan Park


Doctor Andrew Lopes was seated behind his desk, looking down at his notes. A knock at the door tore his attention away from the clipboard for a second.

“Come in,” Andrew said, looking up toward the door.

Into the room came a young woman in her early to mid twenties. She looked exceptionally professional, with her hair tied back in a tight bun. She was carrying a briefcase and wore a tailor-made suit. She smiled at Andrew as she entered the room.

Andrew stood up immediately and extended his hand in her direction.

“You must be my newest colleague, Doctor Harefield.”

Grasping Andrew’s hand, she shook it whilst saying, “Please call me Carol, Doctor Lopes.”

“Very well, Carol, please take a seat,” Andrew said smiling warmly. “You may call me Andrew while we are in a private environment; however, I ask that you call me Doctor Lopes in front of the patients and staff members.

Carol nodded her head and sat down. She was well aware of Doctor Andrew Lopes’ laid-back approach to the field of psychiatry. He had one of the finest centres in the whole of England, and the best track record with his patients.

She had studied hard to get this position and was over-joyed when she was accepted to Calan Park. She was a little nervous this morning; however, she relaxed almost immediately once inside Doctor Lopes’ office.

When she was seated in a comfortable chair in front of Andrew’s desk, he took his own seat. Looking directly at Carol, he began to speak.

“So this is your first work experience?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Carol replied.

“I was looking at your marks - very impressive,” Andrew said, raising his eyebrows.

“Thank you,” Carol responded.

“As you are probably well aware, theory is only part of what makes up a great psychiatrist,” he went on. “You will learn here, in Calan Park, about the practical side of psychiatry.

“Today, after I give you a tour of our facilities here, you will be sitting in on a group therapy session,” he stated. “It is a group of six with a new patient starting today, which makes it seven patients in total.”

Carol just nodded her head.

“I shall give you a little bit of the background on each patient,” Andrew said, whilst picking up his clipboard off the desk in front of him. He flipped through a couple of pages before stopping.

Carol went immediately to her briefcase and pulled out a notebook and pen.

“Firstly we have Jennifer,” Andrew read. “She has Histrionic Personality Disorder. As you will remember from school, that means that she is suffering from excessive emotional and attention-seeking behaviour. She is also overly concerned with her physical attractiveness and sexual seductiveness. She may come over a little bit strong, but I’m sure you know how to deal with that. She came here after trying to seduce a police officer while she was drunk. She is thirty-two.”

Andrew paused as he flipped over the page.

“Our next patient, Jessica, has Paranoid Personality Disorder. Aged twenty, she views others as hostile, devious and untrustworthy. She bears grudges against anyone that she perceives as a threat, and I think we may have a problem with her and our newest member Hermione. She came here to Calan Park after killing her ex-boyfriend,” Andrew said, looking up at Carol.

Flipping the page over once more, he continued.

“Hermione was diagnosed with Schizoid Personality Disorder. She is in her early twenties, though she can’t remember her exact age. She is suffering from severe amnesia as the result of head trauma.” Doctor Lopes paused and took in a deep breath before continuing. “When she first came to us here, she was very confused and lashed out at everyone. She even fractured the jaw of one of my orderlies. She was first diagnosed with having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which may have been true. However, I discovered that her symptoms were more deep-seated than that and soon diagnosed her with S.P.D.,” Andrew said, looking up. “She attempted to take her own life once, but has had no inklings to do so since. She has a restricted range of emotional experiences and expressions, but I am very pleased with her progress. That is why I am seeing how she will react to the others in this group.”

“Next we have Candice,” Andrew said, looking once more at his clipboard. “However, she prefers to be called Candy.” He looked up at Carol, who had her pen poised over the notebook that she had retrieved from her briefcase. “She has Multiple Personality Disorder, which you would know is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder. She has two very distinct personalities. She is aged forty-eight and has been in our care for eleven years. She was abused by her father and mother when she was a child, which brought about her other personality. Candy is very withdrawn, while her other half, Stacey, is very outspoken and can sometimes be quite violent, so keep an eye out for her.”

Carol was busy taking notes on the various patients that Andrew was describing. This would be the first real group session where she would have input. She wanted to make a good first impression, as it was rare that Doctor Lopes took on a student fresh from university. He preferred his psychiatrists to be seasoned, and she was the first in the history of Calan Park to have the privilege of working with Doctor Lopes straight from school. To say he was brilliant would have been an underestimation of his abilities.

Andrew continued to read from the patient list on his clipboard.

“Then we have Heidi, who has Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. Not to be confused with straight forward Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which you will remember, is an anxiety disorder. She is thirty-one and came to us when she could no longer function on her own. Her O.C.P.D. is quite severe, and she needs to be in control of her environment. Heidi is very indecisive due to fear of making a mistake. She is also very preoccupied with rules and restrictions within our hospital. You may find that she confronts you and points out that you are doing something different to a previous session which makes her feel very insecure and unsafe.”

Andrew drew in a deep breath and continued on.

“Then we have our two gentlemen,” Andrew said while flipping over to the next piece of paper. “Our first is John, who is aged fifty-five and diagnosed with a Dependant Personality Disorder. John is the quiet one of the group and doesn’t speak much. He has fears of abandonment and helplessness when alone. He also has difficulty making decisions without substantial advice, low self-esteem, and hypersensitivity to criticism or disapproval. He has been a lot better with the anti-depressants we have him on, which successfully address his anxiety. However, I still feel he has quite a way to go before he is released.”

“Our last patient in this little group is Joe. He has Antisocial Personality Disorder and is a real extreme case. Aged thirty-six, he is impulsive and egocentric, and cannot tolerate boredom. Joe is rather aggressive and seeks out John to bait. I try to avoid sitting him next to or directly opposite to John during the group. He came to us about one and a half years ago, after he punched out his boss for firing him. It is essential that he receives his meds, as he loves to stir up trouble, more to escape his sense of boredom than anything else. His main amusement is to make the other patients lose control and break down as he has a very sadistic streak. He seems to need these attacks on the patients to lift his self-esteem.”

Andrew looked up to see Carol still scribbling notes down. Placing his clipboard down once more, he clasped his hands together.

“Now, I just want you to be aware that most of the patients in this group have recently had their medication halved, and therefore are quite unpredictable.”

Carol looked up with a hint of concern in her eyes.

Laughing, Andrew quickly responded, “Oh, don’t worry about it. They have all been deemed safe - well, as safe as you can be in a place like this.” He laughed and continued, “However, you know we are dealing with seven very different people here. There are always orderlies placed just outside the door, and they are only a buzz away,” Andrew said whilst patting his hip.

“Oh I heard about those,” Carol said, suddenly excited. “Is it true that you are going to patent the design?” she asked.

“It sure is,” Andrew responded with a smile.

“Do you mind if I have a look at it?” Carol asked.

“Not at all,” Andrew replied, whilst standing and unclipping the beeper from his belt and handing it to Carol.

“Fascinating,” she said, looking at the ingenious device. “It’s quite simple, isn’t it, and I can’t believe no one ever thought of it before now.” She handed the beeper back to Andrew.

“So do you want the tour now?” Andrew asked.

“That would be great,” Carol replied, smiling.

***

Cornelius unwarded his office door. ‘What a day,’ he thought to himself while stepping inside his office. He had just gotten back from a meeting with the board of directors at Hogwarts, and although they had been watching Albus Dumbledore closely, they had yet to come up with any substantial evidence to point to any wrong doing by the elderly wizard.

‘Not to worry; at least he’s off my back for now,’ Cornelius reflected.

Shutting his door, he turned around and warded it once more. Making his way to the desk, he took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He was just about to take the seat behind his desk when a hoot came from the far corner of the room.

Startled a little, Cornelius focused his eyes above the bookcase to see Fydles hopping out of the shadows.

“How did you get in here?” he said, more to himself than to the owl. Walking over to the windows, he checked whether he had left them open. Locked.

‘Those were the best galleons I’ve ever spent,’ he mused, thinking about the money he had paid for Fydles.

Fydles flew down to the desk and extended his left leg to the Minister. Untying the ribbon that held the scroll in place, Cornelius took the letter and scanned its contents.


Minister,

Hermione has lost all of her recollections of the magical world. The doctor here surprised me today by placing her name on the list of patients in group therapy. It should be very interesting to see how she fares against some of the true crazies in here.

I shall let you know how she does.

Your faithful servant,
Robert Finn.


Laying the parchment down on the desk, Cornelius flicked his wand at it and watched it burst into flames. Waiting until it was nothing more than ashes; he banished it to the fireplace and lay his wand down on the desk.

‘Excellent,’ he reflected. ‘This day just keeps on getting better and better.’

***

A/N:- Well there it is… I hope all of you that are in my story like your own distinct quirks.

The next chapter should be quite long as I want to give everyone, of my new found patients, the rights to exercise their own peculiar habits. You will understand more when you read it.

Thanks goes out to Muggleman and Amethyst for picking up my mistake in the last chapter. I blame the late nights and too much alcohol while away on holiday. LOL!!! But hey, I did get another chapter up to you on time didn’t I?

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. It is great to hear all of your input as I do take each review seriously.

A huge thanks goes out to my beta, LydiaCarol, without whom you would not be enjoying my story as much because I hate the comma, and she tends to like it. Don’t ask me why. (Though she didn’t pick up on my mistake in the last chapter, I guess I can forgive her this once-LOL!!!)

Disclaimer: - The usual, not my characters, J.K’s. Although I’m having a hell of a lot of fun with them. He he he!!!