Mandatory Therapy
By Tex Zavaleta
Therapist: Mr. Standish, you're making it really hard for me to get to know you. You always dodge my questions.
Ezra: Fine. Ask me something and I will give you a straightforward answer.
Therapist: How would you describe yourself?
Ezra: Verbally.
-7-7-
Therapist: Mr. Wilmington, while I find your compliments flattering, I also suspect a Freudian slip in the fact that they are all food based. Are you hungry?
Buck: Uh….
Therapist: In any case, if you will answer the questions I'm asking instead of attempting to deflect with flattery and flirting, you can go to lunch in a much shorter time.
Buck: Yes, ma'am. You remind me of my mama.
-7-7-
Therapist: Mr. Jackson, this therapy session is to explore your feelings about the incident—not an opportunity for you to rant about how uncooperative your team members are when you are trying to look out for them.
Nathan: (spluttering) How I feel?
Therapist: Would you say this incident is atypical for your team?
Nathan: Not exactly.
Therapist: Then why are you experiencing this level of frustration and anger?
Nathan: My team members all seem to have a death wish. Every single one of 'em will poke a sleeping bear with a stick, kick a tiger in the teeth, or smart off to a criminal when he's holding a gun on 'em. Usually it's only one at a time—this time there were three of 'em dancing around on the edge of a cliff.
Therapist: If you seriously believe they are trying to get themselves killed, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to ask for a transfer.
Nathan: Like hell. Not happening. What's wrong with you?
-7-7-
Therapist: Mr. Tanner, if the chair is uncomfortable, you could sit on the sofa.
(Silence)
Therapist: You keep adjusting the sling.
(Silence)
Therapist: Mr. Tanner, this is not the first time you've been required to attend a therapy session. I'm not sure what your previous experiences have been, but I am not going to be intimidated by your silence and just sign off on your status to get you to leave.
Vin: I ain't tryin' to intimidate ya. If I was, you'd know it for sure.
Therapist: All right, would you like to tell me how you're feeling?
Vin: Arm's a bit aggravated. Bruises are sore. Nothin' I cain't deal with.
Therapist: That's not what Mr. Jackson said.
Vin: Aw, he's a mother hen. He worries too much.
Therapist: So you would dispute his assertion that you and several of your other team members have a death wish?
Vin: Ma'am, you're startin' to sound like Ezra. I wouldn't dispute with Nathan about nothin'. He just has a different point of view. He worries a mite 'cause he's the one who patches us up when we get hurt on the job. He does a fine job of it.
Therapist: And the rest of the team? Are they doing a fine job as well? In spite of the events on this case?
Vin: Ow. Got to remember not to shrug. I reckon all of us have our good days and our bad days. This time me, Ezra, and JD had a bad day at the same time.
Therapist: Do you still have confidence in your team and its leadership?
Vin: With respect, ma'am…. Of course I do. Anyone who says different needs their head examined. Oh, hey, is that what you're doin'?
Therapist: Not exactly-
Vin: Well, I'm sure you do a fine job. I feel better already. Can I get out of here now?
Therapist: (sighs)
-7-7-
JD's Therapy Session:
Therapist: Mr. Dunne, I usually prefer to have eye contact with my clients. I'm not sure how well you can see out the less swollen eye, but if you keep pacing, I'm afraid you're going to bump into something and add to your injuries.
JD: Sorry, ma'am. I just have a lot of energy—not nervous energy. I don't mean you make me nervous. Why would I be nervous? This is just routine…
Therapist: Take a deep breath. Now another. Just calm down. I take it you don't have a lot of experience with mandatory counseling after violent incidents on the job.
JD: Not a lot, no. Mostly I'm in the van, managing surveillance so I don't always get into the –I mean the violence isn't…. uh, what was your question?
Therapist: The idea is to help you process your feelings and emotions about the incident. How are you feeling about what happened?
JD: Uh. All right, I guess. I mean, it was kind of scary for a bit there, but we got the bad guys. Vin and Ezra aren't hurt too bad— Buck was giving them crap at the hospital about getting stitches –he likes to keep count of how many everybody gets. He still thinks he's ahead, 'cause of that time he got tossed out a window… he had so many cuts. He swears the doc told him it was 47 stitches, but I think he's full of sh—hooey. Sorry, what was the question again?
Therapist: How are YOU feeling?
JD: I'm okay…. The swelling on the left eye is already going down. Where'd I put that ice pack? Nathan's going to yell at me again if I don't keep the ice on it.
Therapist: So physically, you're in some pain, but you don't think healing is going to take long?
JD: Naw, I'm young. I heal fast. Buck says I do everything fast.
Therapist: All right. I'll take your word for it. Now, how are you emotionally?
JD: Emotionally? Uh…. Fine. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?
Therapist: I'd think you might be a bit upset since you and two other members of your team were injured today and risked losing your lives.
JD: Well, that's kind of…. I mean… it's sort of goes with the job. I mean if you want me to cry on your shoulder about me being scared or whatever—no way. Anybody who works in law enforcement knows it's not a safe job and there are risks involved. Sometimes you get hurt.
Therapist: How do you deal with your feelings about the risks and the danger?
JD: That's what the team is for. If we need someone to tell us a plan on what to do…. Chris is in charge and Buck backs him up. Vin protects us from up high usually. Josiah profiles the bad guys so we know what to expect. Ezra talks his way in and out of trouble and gets the evidence we need. And if things don't go to plan, Nathan takes care of us or gets us to the hospital.
Therapist: And you trust them to take care of you?
JD: Lady, I'm the Tech and Surveillance Expert—and a grown man. I don't need taking care of, but if I did, that's what the team does. Every one of us takes care of all the rest. If you don't get that, then I don't understand why we have to come see you at all.
-7-7-
Josiah's Therapy Session:
Josiah: You look like you're nursing a headache, Sister.
Therapist: (sigh) You have no idea.
Josiah: Oh, I have some idea. This is your first go round with an ATF team. Starting with Team Seven is a rough initiation.
Therapist: I know your background, Agent Sanchez. You probably could run the sessions yourself and might get more cooperation from your team mates… but I doubt it. And it's not ethical. So tell me how you feel about the events in question.
Josiah: The execution of the bust did not go as planned, but then it's been said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
Therapist: Whose fault was it that the plan didn't work?
Josiah: I couldn't say. When engaging with hardened criminals, patterns of behavior can't always be predicted. The weather, the physical conditions of the location….
Therapist: All right. Never mind blame. The fact is that three of your team members were briefly captured by the gang and assaulted. It almost turned into a hostage situation, but Team Seven managed to get things under control. Only one fatality and that one man was the one holding a pistol to Mr. Standish's head. He had a very close call.
Josiah: Yep. I'd say so.
Therapist: He was not cooperative. He hardly said anything at all about the issue.
Josiah: About what I'd expect. Ezra keeps his cards close to his vest.
Therapist: Does he have a way of releasing the stress?
Josiah: That he does. (silence)
Therapist: Are you going to tell me what it is?
Josiah: Not my place. Aren't you supposed to be asking me how I'm feeling?
Therapist: (sigh) How are you feeling?
Josiah: Better now that things have settled down. All the boys are out of the hospital. Paperwork is done. All that's left is these sessions and then we can get back to the job.
Therapist: And during the event?
Josiah: Just what you'd expect… anxious, tense, focused on getting the job done. Then when it was over, relief and sorrow.
Therapist: Sorrow?
Josiah: There was a lost life. It may have been a wasted life, but he was somebody's son or maybe brother.
Therapist: How is the team doing, really? Since they won't talk to me, have they talked to you?
Josiah: Not yet. It's coming. These boys have to do things in their own time. Mandatory meetings or not, they'll take their time and if they have feelings that need processing, it'll probably be this weekend. End of case ritual. Weekend at Larabee's ranch, steaks on the grill, sports on the television, and horseback rides in the fresh air.
Therapist: If that's not enough, try to get them to talk to me. I promise, I'm good at my job.
Josiah: Trust is hard won. I'll let you know how it goes.
-7-7-
Chris Larabee's Therapy Session:
Larabee: This is a waste of time.
Therapist: Agent Larabee, why were three of your agents injured?
Larabee: Are you saying it was my fault?
Therapists: I didn't say that.
Larabee: It was. My team, my responsibility.
Therapist: Did you tell Agent Dunne to get out of the van? Did you order Agent Standish to throw himself in front of a bullet to protect Agent Dunne? Did you tell Agent Tanner to throw himself at a man twice his size in order to protect Agent Standish?
Larabee: No. That wasn't how it was supposed to work. Things got out of hand.
Therapist: Are you feeling unreasonably guilty?
Larabee: I don't think it's unreasonable.
Therapist: How do you plan to deal with these feelings?
Larabee: Work 'em out.
Therapist: How?
(silence)
Therapist: Agent Larabee, glaring at me is not going to make me give in. I'm supposed to sign off on papers that say you are mentally stable and ready to go back to work. If you are carrying feelings of guilt, anger, and regret because of the events of this case, you need to release them somehow. It is not unreasonable for me to ask you if you have a plan and what it might be.
Larabee: When I'm stressed, I usually do some hard work around the ranch. Mending fence posts, cutting firewood, that kind of thing.
Therapist: That sounds good. Agent Sanchez tells me the team will be getting together for a social weekend and blowing off some steam together.
Larabee: Yeah, social. Sure.
Therapist: Agent Larabee, don't take this the wrong way, but I really hope I don't see Team Seven again for a very, very long time. I need some aspirin.
Larabee: We tend to have that effect on people. Judge Travis gets his pain killers and antacids at Sam's