"What happened?" Lena asked when Kara, looking terrible, entered NooNan's the next morning. "Did Maggie actually get some Kryptonite?"
"Why would Maggie have Kryptonite?" Kara asked confused.
"We'll come back to that. Why do you look like you haven't slept?"
"Because I haven't." Kara said.
"Why?"
"I read the phycology section of National City's main library." Kara said.
"All of it?" Lena asked.
"Yes."
"You read the whole section over night?"
"Well more like in under an hour." Kara confirmed, boasting slightly. "The rest was just trying to understand it."
"That raises an interesting question." Lena said. "If you can read and process that fast, why are your articles always so late?"
"It's probably due my preempting of loss by sabotaging my relationships through breaking promises and lying." Kara said.
"What?" Lena asked.
"I have a habit of lying. I mean I lied to you about who I was. Then after you found out the truth I started breaking my promises. That type of behaviour is suggesting I want to sabotage our relationship and the probable reason is I am scared of losing people I care about. At first I thought that meant I had a passive aggressive personality, but I actually think I have suffer from self-deceit."
"Self deceit?" Lena asked.
"You disagree? You don't think I am enthusiastic and you don't believe me when I say I can do something? Do you think I just can't say no because I have a fear of disappointing people to the extent that they cut me off?" Kara asked.
"I think you should stop self diagnosing." Lena said.
"Because I have hypochondriasis or are you thinking cyberchondria?"
"I'm thinking a night's reading does not make you a professional shrink."
"Yeah, but I have now read more books and papers than Landon."
"While true he has more experience working with patients than you do." Lena said. "So I suggest you forget what you read."
-00-
"Good afternoon." Landon greeted.
"Afternoon." Alex said as enthusiastically as ever.
"Hello." Kara added.
"So last time we-" Landon started.
"Actually I have something I want to discuss." Kara jumped in.
"You do?" Alex and Landon asked, both equally surprised.
"Yes." Kara confirmed.
"Okay then." Landon replied.
"Do you think I have an obsessive compulsive disorder or border line personality disorder?" Kara asked.
"Excuse me?" Landon asked regretting his earlier agreement to Kara's request.
"You keep implying I have an eating disorder, but they are linked to underlying mental health issues, nominally, OCD, borderline personality disorder, self-injury, substance abuse, depression and anxiety. I can't actually self injure without exposing myself to Kryptonite so that would be rolled up under substance abuse. But I don't use Red K and I don't like getting drunk. So we can cross those off. I am too peppy to be depressed, I don't suffer from anxiety as I know Alex will always help me out. So that leaves BPD and OCD. Which one do you think I have?"
"Umm." Landon started wondering what was going on. Not letting him say anymore Kara went on.
"Previously you said I felt compelled to help people so that suggests you think I have OCD, but BPD sufferers often have a deep sense chronic feelings of emptiness, unstable relationships, unstable self-image, intense anger and a deep fear of abandonment. All of which you have said I have. So are you saying I have BPD. If so isn't therapy pointless as BPD is ingrained at childhood and is almost impossible to cure?"
"I think we should go back a few steps." Landin said. "I have never said you have an eating disorder."
"You kind of have." Kara said. "And if you think you haven't that implies a complete lack of self awareness, and that isn't good for a shrink."
"Okay, let's jump to the end of your...your question. BPD is treatable." Landon tried.
"So you are saying I have BPD?"
"No, I am saying BPD is treatable. There is dialectial behaviour therapy and-" Landon started only for Kara to cut in.
"and schema-foucsed therapy and mentalization-based therapy and systems training for emotional predictability and problem-solving and psychodynamic psychotherapy and good psychiatric management. But none of them are a cure." Kara said before pausing and asking. "How did I not see this before?"
"See what?" Alex asked.
"That is what he is doing." Kara explained, without explaining anything.
"What?" Landon asked.
"You have tried all of those above. Well almost all, you are working your way through the list."
"I'm not." He said.
"Sure you are.
"Having Alex and I in the same session, inviting Eliza and Maggie, that is STEPPS through and through. You have tried to do psychodynamic psychotherapy, although you suck at it, you had me draw which is a DBT approach. Hence you are working down the list. So which on of us to you think has BPD?"
"Those techniques are part of the therapy toolset, they are used to treat a variety of conditions." Landon said.
"Including BPD." Kara said.
"My job is not to assign labels." Landon countered.
"So you try treating without diagnosing?" Alex asked. "Must be nice to not have to follow process."
-00-
"Has Lucy been coaching you on cross examination?" Alex asked Kara as they left.
"No. Why?"
"You were very Alan Shore in there."
"Well if I can't bring peace I will bring aggression."
"What?" Alex asked lost.
"It doesn't matter." Kara said. "But speaking of aggression, why is Maggie looking for Kryptonite? Has she forgotten that it can kill me?"
"No, safe to say she hasn't forgotten that." Alex said.
"Then why is she – Wait, is she trying to kill me. Have I done something to upset her?"
"You don't know?" Alex asked.
"No." Kara said. "So have I done something? She seemed pretty happy when I left yesterday and even said my plan was good."
"What plan?"
"To read books."
"What?" Alex asked lost.
"I told her if I couldn't get on the course I would teach myself by reading. She said it was a good idea and after today's session it did seem like a good plan."
"So you read some shrink books last night?"
"I read all the shrink books last night." Kara said. "It was very educational. But I may be over diagnosing now."
"Over diagnosing?"
"It is hard to look at anyone without assign labels. But that doesn't mean I am wrong. I mean thinking about it Maggie is showing classic signs of relational psychoanalysis stresses."
"What?" Alex asked.
"It stems from how the individual's personality is shaped by both real and imagined relationships with others. Maggie clearly has a strange relationship with Supergirl where she always sees Supergirl as the bad guy. If that is mixing with reality that might explain why she wants to kill Supergirl. You should probably get her to talk to someone. Preferably before she finds Kryptonite."
"Right. And who else have you diagnosed?"
"Everyone. Especially you."
"What is that meant to mean?"
"Nothing." Kara said.
"No it meant something." Alex countered.
"Did you hear that siren. Got to go." Kara replied before zooming off.
-00-
"How was therapy?" Maggie asked, almost mechanically as Alex got home.
"Weird. Kara went on the offensive. Which was kind of your fault."
"Why?"
"Because you encouraged her to read books."
"Why is that a bad thing?"
"She read the who psychology section of the library, which did put Landon on the back foot, but now she is shrinking everyone including me."
"Did she say what was wrong with you?" Maggie asked.
"No, she flew off. But before that she wanted to know if you were mad at her and had no idea why you would be."
"I assume then the phycology section of the library doesn't have a section on self awareness." Maggie pointed out.
"Don't know, but she did then say you showed signs of relational psychoanalysis stresses and should seek help."
"Kara thinks I should see a shrink?" Maggie asked.
"I think so."
