…Continued from Chapter Eight.
“Good day ma’am, it’s nice to meet you, my name is doctor Obi and I’ll be in charge of your sessions”
First off, I was shocked at how young and good looking this psychotherapist was. His voice was so soothing; it could put anyone to sleep. “I guess all this charm is part of the credentials one needs to be a psychotherapist,” I thought to myself.
“Hi, I am Ebun,” I said, still recovering from the daze and a little short of words.
“I like to establish trust before I start a session with patients,” he said looking straight at me. “Have you filled out the paperwork they gave you at the front desk?”
“Not yet” I replied.
“Okay, go through it carefully; tick all the appropriate boxes so we can proceed. Please sit,” he points to the sofa and I noticed he had no wedding ring on.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Have you been to any psychotherapy treatment in the past?” he asked.
“This is my first,” I replied while I perused the confidentiality agreement.
“Can I get you water or juice?” he inquired.
“Water will be just fine, thank you,” I said with a smile on my face.
Doctor Obi was warm, calm and composed. He spoke words one after the other as though he was consciously analyzing each one before letting them roll out of his mouth. When I was done reading through the agreement, I signed it and we proceeded to carry out the session.
He asked me to lie on the sofa with my face to the ceiling and be relaxed, then he dimmed the lights in the office and we were ready to go.
“This is how it works,” he began, “I’ll ask you questions and you’ll give honest and truthful answers.”
“I nodded in agreement.” But, why was I so nervous?
“You can trust me with your secret and be rest assured that no other person will ever find out based on the confidentiality agreement we just signed.”
“I’d like to know more about your family history, has anyone else suffered depression in your family?” he began.
“Not any that I know of, I think I’m the first… but… I’m not sure” I replied.
After several familial questions, he deviated to more personal ones.
“Are you married?” he continued.
“No, I’m not yet married,” I replied.
“I noticed you said ‘not yet’ are you about to get married?” he pried further.
I wasn’t sure how relevant the question was, but a part of me was happy to clear any misconception he may have, just in case…
“I’m single” I resounded.
Weirdly, I thought I caught a glimpse of a smile on his face at the sound of me being single, or was I over-imagining things?
“That’ll be all for today, we’ll continue on Thursday”
“Wow! That fast? You barely scratched the surface!” I exclaimed genuinely shocked.
“The first sessions are usually brief,” he replied. “Besides you look like you’re in great shape,” he said with a smile.
The first session barely lasted for thirty minutes and we didn’t dig into any of my real issues. The second session was, however, four days away and doctor Obi somehow had me looking forward to it. It felt so good talking to him; he knew exactly what to say to calm my nerves.
“Wait, was I already falling for him? And, more importantly, was the feeling mutual?” I thought deep to myself.
To be continued next week.