The Therapy Cliff
Niles paced in the waiting room in front of the empty seats. The receptionist offered him a seat several times, but he was too nervous to sit and wanted to start the session as soon as possible. He started to nibble the nail of the pinky of his right hand as he walked to and fro.
The lady at the desk answered her phone just as fast as it started to buzz. She laid the phone back in its cradle. "The doctor will see you now," she said with a polite nod of her head.
"Thank you." Niles quickly opened the door to the office and stepped into an empty office. He looked from one side of the room to the other. There was no one here. "Yes, but will I be seeing him?" Niles asked aloud.
There was a flushing sound, running water, and then a door from across the room opened and the doctor entered the office as he dried his hands with a paper towel. "Doctor Crane, how are you?" He finished drying his hands and tossed the paper towel in his waste basket before offering his hand.
Niles closed the door and reached out to shake hands. "Dr. Schachter, it's so good to see you again."
The doctor took a seat in the chair where his note pad was. He gestured, "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you." He sat in the soft leather lounge chair.
"Something to drink?"
"No nothing, thank you. Just a little nervous. I want to start this session. I need to start this session." Niles grabbed the arms of the lounger and then again as if he had a nervous condition.
"Dr. Crane, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Please, for all purposes while I'm here as your patient, please call me Niles."
"Alright Niles, you know the procedure. You talk and I'll write." He smiled.
He took a deep breath and let it all out. He told Dr. Schachter about how he and his ex-wife contacted the agency to send over health care workers to his brother's apartment for interviews. Daphne had come into their lives like a breath of fresh air. He spoke of how he met her and how he noticed her right away. He revealed how they became good friends and how she was always there for him even when his marriage was on the rocks. He talked about how his marriage ended and there never seemed to be the right time for him and Daphne to get together. Then she became engaged and he married someone else before discovering Daphne's feelings for him.
She spent the night at the Montana last night and he could still feel her body comfortably lying on top of him. He reached up with both hands and cupped her jaw as she slowly lowered her lips to his. Brushed her lips with his, she was almost teasing him. His heart thundered against her chest and the warmth of her skin caressed his chest. There was something in that kiss. When she lowered to passionately kiss him, she made his head swim. He didn't know he said it, but she definitely heard him whisper, "Don't stop." Feeling her warm breath on his cheek, he melted several times over. "I love you Miss Moon."
"Niles?" Dr. Schachter's voice sounded again. "Niles?"
He looked over at the doctor.
"I lost you there for a minute."
Niles put his head in his hand for a moment. "I'm sorry Dr. Schachter. That's just why I'm here. I can't stop thinking about my girlfriend. I see her every day and every night and I CAN NOT get her out of my mind. I am so in love with her."
"And you find this troubling you?"
He couldn't hide his grin. "I love it. I love her so, but I see her everywhere. I see her eyes in every stranger. I see her in every pretty girl's glance. I see her beautiful smile in every passing car. I smell her perfume when I know I couldn't possibly. Sometimes I feel her hand in mine when I'm in session with a patient. I hear her lovely voice in the wind. I am constantly thinking of her and I can't seem to stop. I'm afraid it's affecting my practice. It's starting to scare me."
The doctor put down his pencil and pad. "Niles, why are you here?"
His grin multiplied. "Are you saying that I don't have a problem? That I have nothing to worry about?"
"You are a very respected psychologist. Why did you come here for answers that you already know?"
His smile faded. "I don't know. I wanted your professional point of view."
"Mentally… Mentally take me back to your office. Picture yourself at your desk and I am the patient. I am coming to you with this problem. What can you suggest for me?"
"Well… You're a very lucky man. You are truly in love, she is reciprocating your feelings and your dreams are coming true."
"You're not in your office Doctor Crane. You're being my buddy on the next bar stool. Why is that? What are you afraid of?"
"Well… Okay… It appears that you may… in a far stretch… trapped in an Obsessive Love."
"Are there steps or phases of Obsessive Love?"
"Why yes. There are."
"And what is phase one of Obsessive Love?"
"There is the Attraction Phase," Niles admitted.
"Very good doctor. An instant attraction to romantic interest. I've met the girl. I've found her very attractive and perhaps, just perhaps, she became more attractive being the forbidden fruit while I was still married."
"I don't think…" Niles back stepped.
"I don't want you to think as a friend," Schachter cut him off. "I want you to diagnose as a doctor. What is phase two?"
"The Anxious Phase."
"Correct. Unfounded thoughts of infidelity, an overwhelming fear of abandonment, the need to be in constant contact… yes, doctor. I have felt all of these. What is phase three?"
"I don't like where this is going."
"Doctor Crane, don't stop now. I need your help. What is phase three?"
"Phase three is the Obsessive Phase."
"The onset of tunnel vision, meaning that the relationally dependent person cannot stop thinking about the love interest and requires his or her constant attention. Neurotic, compulsive behaviors, including rapid telephone calls. What is the final phase?"
"Phase four is the Destructive Phase."
"Ah, overwhelming feelings of depression, sudden loss of self-esteem, extreme feelings of self-blame, and the relationship collapses. I have not reached that yet doctor… but will you? Niles, are you headed down that road?"
Niles swallowed hard, but his throat was dry and his hands were now clammy. "Please… Doctor Schachter, please help me."
The good doctor scratched his temple. "Niles let's take a deep breath. Let's not be so quick to diagnose your case. You have been pining over this lady for years and years. Perhaps your feelings have been bottled up too long."
"Yes…yes, that's it."
"Niles, I want you to take some time off."
"Yes… a vacation would be good."
"Not a vacation. I would like to meet with you two to three times a week. I need you to clear your schedule for the week and Niles… I want you to distance yourself from Daphne for a few weeks."
Niles heart sank below his stomach and he couldn't breathe, let alone talk. Finally, he took a deep breath, "Don't…"
"Niles, for us to dive deeper into this diagnosis, we need to clear the playing field: No patience for a week and for a month, I don't want you to see Daphne, I don't want you to talk to her in person or over the phone… I don't even want you sending her notes… no contact at all."
"Doctor, you're asking…"
"I'm asking you to do what's right to get you back on track. You are derailed right now."
"Perhaps I should get a second opinion."
"And ask your brother? Niles, ask yourself. You know this is the right thing. I know you are afraid. I'll be here for you. We'll do this together."
Niles eyes started to shift back and forth as if he was looking for an idea to get him out of this or for someone to come crashing through the door and save the day. Maybe an Earthquake or tornado. His head dropped. "Alright."
Dr. Schachter patted him on the shoulder. "You're doing the right thing."
Niles lifted his head. "I'll pay you $25,000 if you will agree to 2 weeks instead of 4."
The doctor shook his head. "I'll write you a prescription to help you sleep. Four weeks will go by in no time. As your doctor, I am ordering you to rest up, but go out and keep yourself busy this first week especially." He scribbled on his prescription pad and handing Niles the top sheet. "Take Daphne out tonight and talk it over with her. She sounds like a wonderful and reasonable lady."
"What if something happens during these thirty days?"
He put a hand on Nile's shoulder. "If it is meant to be, it will be."
"I hate to tempt fate. Do you know how many monkey wrenches are in a single city block?"
Schachter forced a grin. "Lisa, my secretary will schedule your sessions through the month."
"To tell you the truth doctor, I don't think I can go through with this."
"Let's take it a few days at a time. We'll talk about it at our next session."
"This is ludicrous," he said with a wave of the prescription.
"Let's resolve this rather than drive it into the ground."
Never in Niles' life had he ever hated a man, until now. Now he hated someone with a passion. "What if something happens? What if she's not there at the end of this 'one month' tunnel?"
"We'll overcome that when we reach that cliff."