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@drcasimir
Do you do couples therapy?
I absolutely do.
Just don’t fuck on my furniture. I will charge you extra.
If I had a nickel for every time couples started feeling amorous after a fight in therapy, I would be a much richer man.
Forget you ever received this question, and I can make you a richer man without the trouble.
Mmm, no.
You’re obviously avoiding. Perhaps control issues.
Are you currently taking clients?
Always.
Is this for you or someone else?
"It would be for me this time. Antoine, no current last name unless you need it for paper. You are?"
“Your name is fairly uncommon, so I don’t need a last name for my files. My name is Casimir. Pleasure to meet you, Antoine.”
“Did you have something specific you’d like to speak about?”
"Casimir, I like that. Pleasure to meet you as well." Blank face for a moment. In thought, "Apologies. I'm trying to decide where to begin. Its a grocery list. Do you work with derealization? Maybe there. Perhaps."
“No need to apologize. Knowing what is bothering you most at this present moment is one of the first steps in helping yourself.” He said with nod, pulling a small notebook out of his jacket pocket. He jotted something down. “Derealization? I’m familiar. You feel like your world and the people in it are unreal? What other distortions are you experiencing?”
He could jump right in and fire off with everything he ever felt was a problem with him and other. Immediately point the finger, cry a little. Unload on this poor therapist who just took the job. Instead he complies softly and relaxes into the couch with a small kick of his feet, "My world, others, me. I'm a musician, you see. Sometimes I feel- well, often I feel as if I am only a single note in the air already filled with noise. I'm not truly physical, just a thought in someone's mind." He shrugs, "You know how it is, living for a long, long time. Not a long, long, long, long time like others! But a while."
Casimir moved to sit in the chair next to the couch, crossing one leg over the other. As Antoine began speaking, he jotted down a few things in the notebook he taken out, but mostly he was listening. “Do you find that certain people, events, memories or actions trigger feeling like this? Or does it seem to happen out of the blue? If you’d like to explain a moment, or a few moments you have felt this way.”
“We live in secret,” he added with a nod. We move through the world…and don’t always live in it. That can sometimes put us in what feels like…on the outside of all of it.”
“Being asked to pay in blood invites certain…power dynamics I would like to avoid with my patients,“ he explained with a shake of his head. “There is nothing wrong with having extra cash immediately on hand. Besides, I have expensive hobbies.”
He smiled sadly at the question. “There is no perfect cure for issues of the mind, I am afraid. Not completely, anyway. You can always get better, but it is a constant battle. This is especially so for Immortals, because most of the time, our bodies return to the state they were in upon their turning. This affects the mind, too, in some ways. Also, how we metabolize medications varies from breed to breed, if they work at all, and surgical options are nigh impossible on any Immortal. Basically, my care is very personalized and constantly adjusted from patient to patient…and for whatever state they are in at the time.” His own ability served him well in cases where it was necessary.
“Re-traumatize? Sometimes. More so it is existential crises, or crippling loneliness in Ancients especially. There’s quite a list, actually, but I can’t get into specifics. You understand.” There was doctor-patient confidentiality to consider, after all.
"I didn't mean vampire blood! Even I wouldn't share an entire bottle of mine with someone, even if I am more free with sharing it than others."
Rose grins, "Oh, so you're not just a stuffy doc. Good to know. What are these hobbies?"
A shiver runs through her, "No drugs for me. Besides, I'm basically perfect, I don't need therapy." It's said tongue in cheek, well aware that her issues could be somewhat soothed with proper care, but she's not at a place where she wants to try. "I understand. My take is that vampires work in cycles. We tend to come back around to what hurts the most after at time. But I only took intro to psych in college, so what do I know."
“Young lady, if I’m not feeding from a warm body, I have other means of acquiring blood easily.” As a medical professional, it wasn’t too difficult for him to get access to blood banks, especially under the guise of needing blood for testing and research, which he did too, though not frequently. “I don’t need someone else to bring me blood, even if it is theirs. As I said, I have only accepted it the once, and I didn’t even partake. I studied it instead.” He shrugged as if dismissing the subject. “If someone can’t pay me with actual money, I’d prefer art instead. If I don’t keep it, I can easily sell it.”
“Stuffy? Hardly…” Casimir said with an amused scoff. He supposed he could list a few hobbies. “Cigarettes and cigars are my guilty pleasure. I like trying unique types, flavors, and brands. I also collect and play a handful of instruments, such as the Lira and the Cimbalom. And I love seeing films. My personal collection is fairly extensive.”
“Not all drugs are bad, you know. Some are quite useful. Did you have a bad experience?” He asked, brow raised in question over the declaration that she was perfect and didn’t need therapy. No one was perfect. Not even Immortals. No matter their beauty. “Oh yes, on that I can agree with you to some extent. Some Immortals have the tendency to chase certain…feelings, most commonly that is pain.”
Bonjour, good Dr. I believe some much needed family therapy is in order. How soon do you have availability?
Good evening.
Family Therapy? And who will be joining you?
I have an opening two evenings from now, if that works for you.
It will be me and my Son, if I can convince him to come. And perhaps a Son-in-law. Or two. Or...more? Now you see the need.
Thank you for fitting us in on such short notice. Let's hope it doesn't end up as bloody as prior conversations we have attempted.
I’m admittedly intrigued by this family dynamic. How many son-in-laws do you have? Are they all…current? Are some of them ex-son-in-laws?
Oh, I pride myself on very little violence occurring in my office. Though, if worse comes to worse, I have ways of preventing much harm.
Bonjour, good Dr. I believe some much needed family therapy is in order. How soon do you have availability?
Good evening.
Family Therapy? And who will be joining you?
I have an opening two evenings from now, if that works for you.
Therapy would fix you.
I triple-dog dare it.
@drcasimir
I will tell you…
I can’t help those who don’t wish to be helped.
I hear vampires have written whole books about how they never change, so you might be shit out of luck with that being your primary clientele.
I've changed quite a lot. They talk about how they only become more who they are. Sometimes I feel I've become less and less.
I just don’t think most of our kind know how to change anymore. They have never really tried. Or perhaps when they did try, it was too hard. Or no one believed that they could change. We all fall for the same pitfalls, at first. The trick is not giving up.
I believe that whole bit is misinterpreted. When we are turned, our positive, more enticing features become more alluring: our appearance, voice, skills, etc. When you apply that to everything it kind of becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you are indeed different from who you were, then that proves you are capable of change. That is a good thing, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
Have you gotten softer with age? How hard is your flesh?
I doubt I'm going to soften either. It all hardens and sharpens.
Anyway, I never doubt I'm incapable of change. I've just never believed much of anything or anyone ever changes for the better. I've yet to be proven wrong.
Mmm, I believe I am a different breed than you are, so my body does not follow the same progression as yours might. I would say, however, that I have grown more understanding with age. Perhaps my…patience has also grown.
Change is not just about softening. Change is sometimes just…adapting. Regardless, I’d have to know more about you to be able to give you any thoughts on whether you have changed for the better, and I don’t even know your name.
Perhaps a less pessimistic approach is in order?
"Hope you're not the kind who distribute diagnoses like candy and then claim schizophrenia or bipolar disorder just because someone is mute and grieving."
“Oh yes, and I still believe in female hysteria and the concept of a wandering uterus.” His response was deadpan. But then he just looked at her, and after a long moment his gaze softened. “…Is that what another therapist did to you? Not all of us are the best at our craft, I’m afraid.”
“Also, it is somewhat difficult to properly diagnose an Immortal…”
“Unfortunately, mental health is still relatively in its infancy when compared to other areas of study. In addition, I do not know that I would refer to them as colleagues, as my area of expertise does not include humans, unless they are a companion in some way to a Supernatural being,” he explained. He wasn’t the least bit insulted by her words. “I’d apologize for how you were treated, but I don’t believe that would be helpful or that you would accept it.”
“You have been through a great deal for someone so young, and then to have been turned…none of that could have been easy for you. Was it against your will? Do you like what you are now?” He paused considering his next words. Casimir would only engage this conversation for so long while not under the labels of doctor and patient—of which she was not. “Or perhaps the change had helped you? It helps some. The power and freedom granted by Immortality often allows people a certain measure of agency. Or perhaps just unloading your opinion of my profession onto me is help in and of itself.”
“I am an educated man,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But there are new treatments, disorders, therapies, and other conditions constantly being discussed, discovered and experimented…in my profession one can never say they know it all.”
"Isn't the science human made though ? You'll have to work on their findings at least a little bit," she questioned, although somehow quietened by the calm reaction in front of her.
Sybelle didn't think she wanted to do therapy, but she knew some of her closest kin might be interested. For that reason, she felt like she had to test the waters and make sure that guy wasn't dangerous. Or at least that was what she told herself. Already he was asking questions, and she tapped her fingers rhythmically on her thigh.
"Yes, my life was sad and lonely, like most of our kind and like most humans on this earth. I actually chose to be a vampire and it was the first decision I made for myself. And the best one."
Not completely true, given she'd wanted to be with Armand forever, but devotion could be chosen. Casimir hit the nail right on the head with his next statement, and it almost made her more annoyed that he would not fit her expectations. Where were competent people when she was little ? When she was growing up ?
"I'm right where I belong now. I'm not put to the side as some subhuman thing because I don't fit the norm. So forgive me if your sudden arrival makes me nervous."
“Must a scientist stop being a scientist once they become a Vampire? Are we to leave behind our passions as we leave the day behind?” Casimir asked with a curious little smile, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “There are scientists out there that are Immortals like you and I that publish research with our kind in mind. It is identifiable, if one knows what to look for. Also, I do work on the findings of mortals. Constantly. I’m not about to accept anything as gospel without my own research and sometimes even testing.”
Casimir was happy to listen. She obviously needed to get some things off her chest, and as he was new to the area, he was fine with considering this pro bono to build some trust among the Immortals in the area. Even if she didn’t end up wanting or needed his services, at least she would understand that he was not an enemy.
“I would not say I have ever considered my life to be sad. I help others; it is fulfilling which gives me great joy. Though, you are correct. Immortality, at its core, is a very lonely existence.” He said with a small smile. “Most Immortals had more traumatic experiences with their change. That yours was positive is a wonderful thing.”
Sometimes simply “venting” helped patients. This is what largely occurred in early sessions with new patients. They got to vent, air their grievances, and he got to know them as people and earn trust. It was beneficial for both parties.
“I assure you my arrival here has nothing to do with you specifically,” he explained. “I have been practicing Psychiatry since the mid-19th century, and I move every couple of decades. This was simply the next place I decided I would like to live.”
Therapy would fix you.
I triple-dog dare it.
@drcasimir
I will tell you…
I can’t help those who don’t wish to be helped.
I hear vampires have written whole books about how they never change, so you might be shit out of luck with that being your primary clientele.
I've changed quite a lot. They talk about how they only become more who they are. Sometimes I feel I've become less and less.
I just don’t think most of our kind know how to change anymore. They have never really tried. Or perhaps when they did try, it was too hard. Or no one believed that they could change. We all fall for the same pitfalls, at first. The trick is not giving up.
I believe that whole bit is misinterpreted. When we are turned, our positive, more enticing features become more alluring: our appearance, voice, skills, etc. When you apply that to everything it kind of becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you are indeed different from who you were, then that proves you are capable of change. That is a good thing, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
What do they believe is life's purpose?
“I don’t believe that there is a singular purpose that can apply to everyone’s life or eternity. Other than to simply live. Instead, I believe that each person has their own purpose, which they alone determine.”
Therapy would fix you.
I triple-dog dare it.
@drcasimir
I will tell you…
I can’t help those who don’t wish to be helped.
Do you get paid in cash or blood?
“I prefer cash, card, or bank transfers, but I’ve accepted blood before many, many years in the past. Already drawn and prepared, of course.”
“Though, I don’t make a habit of accepting such as payment. That was a special case.”
"Money is boring. I assume anyone over a certain age has more than enough to last lifetimes. Or else you haven't been investing properly."
A pause. "If you fix all the vampires, won't you be out of a job? Or is our capacity of re-traumatizing ourselves fairly high?"
“Being asked to pay in blood invites certain…power dynamics I would like to avoid with my patients,“ he explained with a shake of his head. “There is nothing wrong with having extra cash immediately on hand. Besides, I have expensive hobbies.”
He smiled sadly at the question. “There is no perfect cure for issues of the mind, I am afraid. Not completely, anyway. You can always get better, but it is a constant battle. This is especially so for Immortals, because most of the time, our bodies return to the state they were in upon their turning. This affects the mind, too, in some ways. Also, how we metabolize medications varies from breed to breed, if they work at all, and surgical options are nigh impossible on any Immortal. Basically, my care is very personalized and constantly adjusted from patient to patient…and for whatever state they are in at the time.” His own ability served him well in cases where it was necessary.
“Re-traumatize? Sometimes. More so it is existential crises, or crippling loneliness in Ancients especially. There’s quite a list, actually, but I can’t get into specifics. You understand.” There was doctor-patient confidentiality to consider, after all.
Do you get paid in cash or blood?
“I prefer cash, card, or bank transfers, but I’ve accepted blood before many, many years in the past. Already drawn and prepared, of course.”
“Though, I don’t make a habit of accepting such as payment. That was a special case.”
Cafe mocha: guilty pleasure
A cigarette or perhaps a cigar. It can’t do a thing to his lungs, so the only thing he has to worry about is the smell soaking into his clothes.
"Hope you're not the kind who distribute diagnoses like candy and then claim schizophrenia or bipolar disorder just because someone is mute and grieving."
“Oh yes, and I still believe in female hysteria and the concept of a wandering uterus.” His response was deadpan. But then he just looked at her, and after a long moment his gaze softened. “…Is that what another therapist did to you? Not all of us are the best at our craft, I’m afraid.”
“Also, it is somewhat difficult to properly diagnose an Immortal…”
She sighed, still somewhat defiant. "You joke but I'm fairly young in the Blood. It was the nineties. Your colleagues are just here to declare weirder people are not allowed humanity."
She'd never really talked about that part of her life, but seeing one she believed a representant of these institutions stung and made all kinds of feelings come out.
"Another ? Say several. Four years old, psychose infantile, might as well say broken. Then I became a piano prodigy so I was just a genius I guess, and then psychotic because I lost it after my parents died in a car accident."
She knew there might be a name that fit her, autistic, but at this point she didn't care anymore.
"Good. Didn't meet doctors who weren't total know it all yet."
“Unfortunately, mental health is still relatively in its infancy when compared to other areas of study. In addition, I do not know that I would refer to them as colleagues, as my area of expertise does not include humans, unless they are a companion in some way to a Supernatural being,” he explained. He wasn’t the least bit insulted by her words. “I’d apologize for how you were treated, but I don’t believe that would be helpful or that you would accept it.”
“You have been through a great deal for someone so young, and then to have been turned…none of that could have been easy for you. Was it against your will? Do you like what you are now?” He paused considering his next words. Casimir would only engage this conversation for so long while not under the labels of doctor and patient—of which she was not. “Or perhaps the change had helped you? It helps some. The power and freedom granted by Immortality often allows people a certain measure of agency. Or perhaps just unloading your opinion of my profession onto me is help in and of itself.”
“I am an educated man,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But there are new treatments, disorders, therapies, and other conditions constantly being discussed, discovered and experimented…in my profession one can never say they know it all.”
//Sybelle vc : I don't need therapy but I'm going to come to this therapist just to call him a bitch
@drcasimir
//he is absolutely unimpressed and unperturbed by being called a bitch
//Casimir: Ah, yes, someone else yelling at me about how awful psychiatry is.
Have they ever doubted their own sanity?
Which Immortal hasn’t? Especially when first turned.
What is Immortality without a little…existential crisis?
🥛 flat white – what’s something simple but important about them?
Casimir has a “morning routine” when he gets up around sunset. He does this routine every single evening like clockwork. This routine is listed below:
- Stretch and meditate
- Make a cup of coffee (Though he cannot drink it, he enjoys the smell.)
- Read the local paper and one national paper
- Feed if he is hungry
- Go to his office
- Catch up on more recently published medical journals on the subjects he finds relevant to his practice until his first patient/client arrives in person or via web session.
