#unconventional therapy

[asayyun14]

This is an almost word-for-word copy from a fic I'm writing, but I thought it'd be interesting as a whump prompt:

After they’d put Whumpee to bed that night, Caretaker decided to go on their laptop for a bit to scroll on Tumblr for a bit until they went to bed. They hadn’t done it for a while, mainly focusing on caring for Whumpee. At first they went on favourite writing blogs to get some more writing advice, and then went on some mom blog that one of the writing blogs had reposted.

Whilst scrolling, one of the posts caught their attention. It was a post about healing from trauma. They read further, thinking it was going to be some alternative therapy they hadn’t had the chance to read about yet, that hopefully would help Whumpee. It was, but it didn’t seem like it would help them.

The post didn’t give a name to the therapy, but it described how people needed to directly relive their traumas - not by speaking about them to a professional, but by literally reliving it. Watching videos depicting traumatic moments happening to them or other people. Shouting at them if they were emotionally abused. Slapping them if they were physically abused. Vice versa.

At first, Caretaker thought they’d never doubted something so much. They clenched their jaw as they scrolled further down the article, reading on as it straight-up suggested survivors to contact their abusers as it would ‘be the perfect opportunity to confront your trauma’.

It was late, but Caretaker couldn’t help themself. Their fist slammed on the table beside them, a short and almost masculine growl escaping their clenched teeth. As polite as they was, they couldn’t help but scroll down as they wanted to make a rude comment, debunking this mess.

That’s when they saw a link. A link from a research paper on trauma. With some interest still left, they clicked on it. Their annoyance turned to awe, when they saw that people diagnosed with PTSD who’d tried this ‘therapy,’ reported a near-complete clear up of their symptoms.

The tension left their body, for a moment. How could this happen? Their confusion grew as they thought back to how Whumpee was after they’d testified about Whumper. They was so terrified, and for about a day or 2 after, they was just… constantly afraid. It was like what Whumper had done to them was constantly in their mind.

Caretaker’s eyes glimpsed more about the report, locking in on how symptoms similar to Whumpee’s were normal for first-time patients, and gradually lessened in severity.

Now, Caretaker really didn’t know what to do.

[hubrisandichor]

/Remember once I told you about

How before I heard it from your mouth

My name would always hit my ears

As such an awful sound/

I’ve not died yet, but uni is sure trying it’s best.

[klina12]

Fanfiction/ Mini-Fic Idea

So, I was rewatching the first season of Big Little Lies and was particularly interested in the scenes between Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and her wry, plain-speaking therapist, Dr. Amanda Reisman (Robin Weigert).

****Spoiler alerts ahead for Big Little Lies***

Dr. Reisman first meets Celeste and her abusive husband, Perry, for couples counseling, then just meets with Celeste since Perry is too "busy with work". Dr. Reisman is firm that for Celeste's safety and that of her two young children, she needs to leave Perry.

The thought occured to me, what if Hannibal Lecter was Celeste's therapist? I could imagine Hannibal being immediately suspicious of Perry upon meeting him in the one time that Celeste and Perry go his office for couples' counseling. When Celeste returns to continue therapy alone with Hannibal, I could imagine him genuinely wanting to help Celeste and being concerned for her safety. He thinks that men who abuse women and children are the lowest kinds of pigs. I can see him asking Celeste some the exact same questions that Dr. Reisman asked her, firmly but with compassion:

"Are you physically afraid of him?"

"Do you think violence is normal in relationships? When this violence occurs, have you ever been afraid you might die?"

"When are you going to leave him, Celeste? When he hurts you badly enough? When he hurts the children?"

Hannibal maintains a calm demeanor, but is inwardly seething with rage at Perry's physical, emotional and sexual abuse of Celeste and even considers killing Perry himself, but thinks it would be more "beneficial" and "therapeutic" if Celeste did it instead.

He matter-of-factly discusses with Celeste a plan for her to rent her own apartment for herself and the children to escape to. Celeste is uneasy with the suggestion, telling him "I have to say, I'm getting a bit uncomfortable. I think this is unethical"

Hannibal responds smoothly "I throw off the ethical chains when I sense a patient is in danger".

As an expert psychiatrist, Hannibal also knows that the most dangerous time for a battered woman is after she ends the relationship. He thinks it would be more practical if Celeste killed Perry pre-emptively instead.

During their sessions, he very gradually hints and insinuates that things would be much easier for Celeste if Perry was dead. Then she wouldn't have to worry about Perry's violence anymore, an ugly divorce, custody battles, fighting over child support and alimony. She wouldn't even have to move out of her house. She would be free and her sons would never need to know the truth about their father.

When Celeste finally realizes what Hannibal is actually suggesting, she is shocked and alarmed:

She flees from his office, and Hannibal thinks maybe he pushed her too fast. Celeste is definitely disturbed by what Hannibal said but can't help thinking maybe he was right and is appalled at herself.

Soon afterwards, Hannibal hears about Perry's "accidental" death on the news and is pleasantly surprised when he watches the press conference on TV, hearing that "the victim suffered from right-rib fractures, a shattered pelvis, fractured base of the skull and lower vertebrae". Hannibal smiles slightly, thinking "Well, well. Maybe she did heed my good advice after all"

[fight-or-fight]

Hey y'all! If ya ever want to just talk about your problems, my messages are always open!

[eliosu]

 Not gonna let your awesome hypnosis techniques go waste, right Hannibal?