Hey!
Rob paused perceptibly at the question. “No. I come from a healthy, if a bit boring, family, and I wanted to help.”
Michael nodded. “How was Christy…?” he let his words trail off. He knew Rob couldn’t answer the question.
“The literature speaks for itself.”
“My dad told me some of your residents are his patients.”
“Your father is an excellent physician, and we’ve known each other since I began my residency.”
Michael tried another question. “Is Christy okay? I mean….”
“Is he violent? Insane? Do the voices only speak to him? Absolutely not. Christy is brilliant, artistic, and has three very important things going for him. He doesn’t want to wallow in the victim mentality, he’s extremely resilient, and of course, he wants to be loved for who he is.”
“Is there anything that I can do to help him?”
Rob’s smile returned. “The fact that you ask tells me that you genuinely care for him.”
As odd as it seemed after only knowing Christy for a whopping forty-eight hours, he did care about him. “Yeah, I do.”
“He needs consistency, security, boundaries, patience, and, of course, to be cared for. If he’s mistreated….”
“I get it. Can you….” Michael’s question tangled in his mind. “Christy seems really afraid, as if someone hit him a lot.”
Rob remained silent.
“He doesn’t like to be touched, but he… he isn’t afraid to touch me. What’s up with that?”
“Many abused people don’t like to be touched but crave love and affection, and they seek to have control as they struggle to reorganize and process what’s happened to them.”
“Should I just, I don’t know, follow his rules?”
Rob smiled again. “Follow them to the extent that you’re comfortable. Read the literature. My card is in the envelope if you have questions.”
“Okay. I made the mistake of trying to look at one of the covered paintings in the loft.”
“How did he react?”
“He got angry and stopped me with a pretty strong grip on my wrist.”
“He physically restrained you?”
“Restrained is kind of harsh but, yeah, he stopped me.”
“Interesting. Was he angry when you left?”
Michael shook his head. “He did some sort of breathing exercise to calm down.”
“Excellent.”
“Can I ask what’s in those paintings?”
“We use something called Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It requires that you write or draw about your experiences and feelings, and Christy is an exceptional artist. The depictions of what he endured are quite graphic. If he shares them with you, please try not to overreact.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“You’re welcome. Call if you have questions.”
“Can I talk to my dad about this?”
“Certainly. I would encourage you to.”
CHAPTER NINE
M ICHAEL left the ranch, drove half a mile down the road, and pulled over. He turned the car off, the overhead light on, and reached for the envelope. Flipping through the literature, he read:
N ATIONAL S AMPLE OF A DOLESCENTS . T WEENS AND T EENS IN SAME - SEX RELATIONSHIPS : 1 IN 4 REPORT ABUSE IN DATING …. A GES 11 TO 14 REPORT ABUSE IN DATING . Eleven-year-olds dated? Holy crap.
He flipped to the next pamphlet. W HEN Y OUR P ARTNER W AS A BUSED— F IVE M USTS : S UPPORTIVE E NVIRONMENT , N URTURING , S TABILITY , B OUNDARIES , AND M ONITORING H EALTHCARE . Definitely on point. He set that on the passenger seat in a “read” pile.
T RAUMA , V IOLENCE & A BUSE , A G UIDE . Sounds like a guide on how to do it. He set that one in a “read later” pile.
O BSESSIVE -C OMPULSIVE R ELATED D ISORDERS . Michael rolled his eyes to himself. I shower at least three times a day when I practice. Does that make me OCD? He set that one in the “read later” pile.
L ONG -T ERM C ONSEQUENCES OF C HILD A BUSE . Interesting . The “read” pile.
D ECISION M AKING , I MPULSE C ONTROL , AND L OSS OF W ILLPOWER . Sounds like it might be good. He set it in the
Rob paused perceptibly at the question. “No. I come from a healthy, if a bit boring, family, and I wanted to help.”
Michael nodded. “How was Christy…?” he let his words trail off. He knew Rob couldn’t answer the question.
“The literature speaks for itself.”
“My dad told me some of your residents are his patients.”
“Your father is an excellent physician, and we’ve known each other since I began my residency.”
Michael tried another question. “Is Christy okay? I mean….”
“Is he violent? Insane? Do the voices only speak to him? Absolutely not. Christy is brilliant, artistic, and has three very important things going for him. He doesn’t want to wallow in the victim mentality, he’s extremely resilient, and of course, he wants to be loved for who he is.”
“Is there anything that I can do to help him?”
Rob’s smile returned. “The fact that you ask tells me that you genuinely care for him.”
As odd as it seemed after only knowing Christy for a whopping forty-eight hours, he did care about him. “Yeah, I do.”
“He needs consistency, security, boundaries, patience, and, of course, to be cared for. If he’s mistreated….”
“I get it. Can you….” Michael’s question tangled in his mind. “Christy seems really afraid, as if someone hit him a lot.”
Rob remained silent.
“He doesn’t like to be touched, but he… he isn’t afraid to touch me. What’s up with that?”
“Many abused people don’t like to be touched but crave love and affection, and they seek to have control as they struggle to reorganize and process what’s happened to them.”
“Should I just, I don’t know, follow his rules?”
Rob smiled again. “Follow them to the extent that you’re comfortable. Read the literature. My card is in the envelope if you have questions.”
“Okay. I made the mistake of trying to look at one of the covered paintings in the loft.”
“How did he react?”
“He got angry and stopped me with a pretty strong grip on my wrist.”
“He physically restrained you?”
“Restrained is kind of harsh but, yeah, he stopped me.”
“Interesting. Was he angry when you left?”
Michael shook his head. “He did some sort of breathing exercise to calm down.”
“Excellent.”
“Can I ask what’s in those paintings?”
“We use something called Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It requires that you write or draw about your experiences and feelings, and Christy is an exceptional artist. The depictions of what he endured are quite graphic. If he shares them with you, please try not to overreact.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“You’re welcome. Call if you have questions.”
“Can I talk to my dad about this?”
“Certainly. I would encourage you to.”
CHAPTER NINE
M ICHAEL left the ranch, drove half a mile down the road, and pulled over. He turned the car off, the overhead light on, and reached for the envelope. Flipping through the literature, he read:
N ATIONAL S AMPLE OF A DOLESCENTS . T WEENS AND T EENS IN SAME - SEX RELATIONSHIPS : 1 IN 4 REPORT ABUSE IN DATING …. A GES 11 TO 14 REPORT ABUSE IN DATING . Eleven-year-olds dated? Holy crap.
He flipped to the next pamphlet. W HEN Y OUR P ARTNER W AS A BUSED— F IVE M USTS : S UPPORTIVE E NVIRONMENT , N URTURING , S TABILITY , B OUNDARIES , AND M ONITORING H EALTHCARE . Definitely on point. He set that on the passenger seat in a “read” pile.
T RAUMA , V IOLENCE & A BUSE , A G UIDE . Sounds like a guide on how to do it. He set that one in a “read later” pile.
O BSESSIVE -C OMPULSIVE R ELATED D ISORDERS . Michael rolled his eyes to himself. I shower at least three times a day when I practice. Does that make me OCD? He set that one in the “read later” pile.
L ONG -T ERM C ONSEQUENCES OF C HILD A BUSE . Interesting . The “read” pile.
D ECISION M AKING , I MPULSE C ONTROL , AND L OSS OF W ILLPOWER . Sounds like it might be good. He set it in the
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