Lexie walked into the office and shut the door behind her as she approached the desk. The receptionist smiled at her as she walked over.
"Hey, my name is Lexie Grey. I have a meeting with Dr. Brunson at 3," Lexie said as she looked around nervously.
"Alright Dr. Brunson should be out soon. You can take a seat," the receptionist said as Lexie nodded her head and made her way over to a seat.
She had only been in the office once before, but her parents had been with her that time. It was two months after Meredith had joined their family. All four of them had met with Dr. Brunson to discuss all the changes they had gone through. Lexie had liked her, but she didn't feel the need to keep coming back and talking to her.
"Lexie," Dr. Brunson said as she walked out to the waiting room. "Hey, come on in," she continued as she waved the girl over.
Dr. Brunson shut her office door as she motioned for Lexie to sit down on the couch as she sat across from her in a chair. "How have you been doing? It's been a while since I have talked with you," Dr. Brunson said.
"I'm doing okay," Lexie said nervously looking around the office.
"Alright. Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about today?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"I know you probably weren't expecting me to make an appointment just the two of us," Lexie said as she looked up at the woman across from her.
"I'm glad you did. I know when we met last time, I told you if you ever wanted to talk one-on-one I was here," Dr. Brunson said with a smile.
"Well, I'm not actually here for me. I'm here to talk about Meredith," Lexie said.
"Alright. Well, we can talk about her in a little bit but right now I would like to talk about you first," Dr. Brunson suggested.
"I'm not really here to talk about me though," Lexie responded.
"I understand that, but you also went through a lot of changes this past year. I just want to check in and make sure everything is going okay," Dr. Brunson said as Lexie nodded her head. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Dr. Brunson continued.
"I don't mind. Go ahead," Lexie replied.
"Okay. Let's go back to when you found out about Meredith. How did you feel?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"Excited. I always wanted a sibling. Don't get me wrong I love my parents, but I always hoped I would have someone my age to hang out with," Lexie said. "I mean I'm not glad that Meredith had to lose her mom to end up with us, but I got a sister out of it," Lexie said.
"It sounds like you and Meredith have gotten pretty close," Dr. Brunson suggested as Lexie nodded her head.
"We have. It wasn't an immediate connection but the past couple months we have grown a lot closer," Lexie said as Dr. Brunson wrote a note down.
"That's great. Even though everything seems to be pretty good between the two of you, I wonder if it was hard to adjust with adding a new family member," Dr. Brunson questioned as Lexie thought about it for a moment.
"I mean sure there was a little bit of an adjustment in the beginning but really it feels like Meredith was always meant to be with us," Lexie responded.
"Do you feel like Meredith coming into your family changed your dynamic with your parents at all?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"I guess a little bit. When Meredith first came and even now, they had been pretty worried about her. They paid a lot of attention to her and maybe a little bit less on me than they used to," Lexie explained as Dr. Brunson nodded her head.
"How do you feel about that?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"Honestly is it bad if I say relieved," Lexie said as Dr. Brunson chuckled.
"Not at all," Dr Brunson said.
"I feel like I was always their number one priority. I still feel that way just now there is another person that also holds that place. I always felt like their sole focus was on me and it has been nice not having the focus as much," Lexie explained.
"That makes sense. There can certainly be a lot of pressure that comes with being an only child," Dr. Brunson said as she watched Lexie fidget with her hands. "You seem anxious," Dr. Brunson noted as Lexie stopped with her hands.
"I know you want to talk about me first, but can we talk about Meredith," Lexie said as Dr. Brunson nodded her head.
"Sure, what's bothering you?" Dr. Brunson asked even though she suspected she knew the answer.
"I just…I can't stop worrying about her. I haven't been sleeping that well lately. You know my mom suggested that I come talk to you. I think she noticed how tired I was. I have always felt a little bit worried about Meredith since she came to live with us but ever since she talked to us a few weeks ago about what she was feeling I haven't been able to stop worrying," Lexie explained.
"I'm sure that wasn't an easy conversation to have. What's your biggest fear?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"That she will do something she can't come back from," Lexie said as she started fidgeting with her hands again.
"The system we have in place with Meredith right now is first and foremost to make sure she is safe. I know it's scary and I know it's hard to not worry about her, but I believe that if Meredith were going to do something she would tell one of us. I actually think she is most likely to trust you. She has formed a connection with you that she hasn't with anyone else so that leads me to believe she has an easier time coming to you about the hard stuff," Dr. Brunson explained as Lexie nodded her head.
"Okay so let's say she comes to me. What are the next steps…what should I do?" Lexie asked.
"First thing is to make sure Meredith is safe. Once that is taken care of then get one of your parents. If you can't get them, you call me or any adult you trust. We will figure out the rest from there," Dr. Brunson said as Lexie nodded her head. "Let's shift back to you for a moment though," Dr. Brunson continued as she looked at Lexie.
"Okay," Lexie said shifting on the couch.
"You said you haven't been sleeping well?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"Yeah for a few weeks. I just keep waking up. I usually check over and make sure Meredith is okay and that she is sleeping," Lexie explained as Dr. Brunson nodded her head.
"Okay. Is there anything else? Have you had difficulty concentrating?" Dr. Brunson asked.
"Yeah, it's been a little hard to pay attention in school. It's like some days I can't shut my brain off," Lexie explained.
"I think you have been experiencing a heightened amount of anxiety ever since the conversation with Meredith. It's totally normal in stressful situations such as that to have those feelings. If you would like I can go through some techniques and things to try out to help lessen it," Dr. Brunson suggested as Lexie nodded her head. Dr. Brunson went over to her desk and pulled out a new journal. She came over and handed it to Lexie before sitting back down.
"Okay so what I want you to do it start writing in this journal. Whenever you start to feel anxious just write down what is going through your head. If you're not home when it happens then try and write it down when you get home. I especially want you to try and write in it before you go to bed. Sometimes it can help getting everything out onto a page before you try and go to sleep for the night," Dr. Brunson said.
"Alright sure I can do that," Lexie said as she looked at the notebook for a moment before setting it down next to her.
"That journal is just for you. I will never ask to see it so feel free to write down whatever is bothering you," Dr. Brunson explained as Lexie nodded her head. "If you start to get overwhelmed with your thoughts, I want you to take some deep breaths and try and find an activity you can do to distract yourself. Whether that be drawing, reading, watching tv, or just listening to music. I would also recommend talking to your parents and just let them know what is going on," Dr. Brunson said.
"Alright. I'll try that out…It's just hard to stop worrying," Lexie said.
"It is. That's one of the hardest things in life. I think you have to understand though that you can't control every situation. There are some situations that are out of your hand, and you need to recognize and tell yourself that. You can only control what you do and what choices you make," Dr. Brunson said.
"Yeah, I wish that weren't the case, but I know you are right," Lexie said.
0000000
"Hey, how did it go?" Susan asked as Lexie got into the car after her appointment.
"It went good, I guess. It was a little bit weird to be honest. I went in there thinking we would just talk about Meredith, but we ended up talking about me quite a bit," Lexie said as she put on her seatbelt.
"I think that's good. I know the past couple months and especially the past couple weeks have been really hard for all of us, but I think you needed someone to talk to about it. You know I am always here for you but to have a professional to talk to is good as well," Susan said as Lexie nodded her head.
"Yeah, it was nice to get some suggestions from Dr. Brunson on what to do when I start to get anxious," Lexie said as Susan drove out of the parking lot towards their home.
"That's good. Do you think you would ever go back?" Susan asked.
"I think so. Dr. Brunson talked about maybe having me come in once a month or more often if I wanted to. I think it would be good," Lexie said as she shrugged her shoulders.
"I do too. I don't think it can hurt," Susan suggested as Lexie nodded her head. "I know you have been really worried about Meredith…we all have but you also need to take care of yourself," Susan said.
"I know. I think ever since Meredith came and started living with us my number one priority has been making sure she feels comfortable and part of the family. I think that I have put myself a little on the backburner though," Lexie responded.
"I can't thank you enough for accepting and loving you have been to Meredith. I know you made the transition easier for her, but I think you are right. I know Dad and I have spent extra time keeping an eye on Meredith and haven't been keeping up with you as much. Just know that we both love you the same we always have and all we want is for you to be happy and healthy," Susan said.
"I know Mom. I love you too," Lexie said as she smiled at her mom before looking out the window for the rest of the drive.