Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Callahan (Chief Tactical Officer) in Pre-sim: Psych eval for the CTO
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Callahan stepped into the reception area of the counseling suite and was, again, amazed at the size of the area as well as the fact the ship had a number of counselors onboard. Most of the ships he previously served on were lucky if they had a full-time CNS. Smaller ships often did not have that luxury.

The Athena was different though. A Mythology class ship with a crew of 900, plus room for another 100 or so of the crews family members. This was going to take some getting used to.

Stepping up to the reception desk, he introduced himself.

“Good morning, NE Wallace,” he said looking at her name plate on the desk. “I’m Lt. Cmdr. Callahan, reporting for my boarding eval.”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
COO-USS Athena

Their usual receptionist, Cherry, was actually on vacation for once, and so the rest of the admin staff were making sure everything was taken care of. Wallace had deep brown eyes that bordered on black and cropped straight black hair. “Hello, Commander. Do you have an appointment or are you a walk-in?” she said.

~NE Wallace

“Appointment, actually. Says so right here on my PADD.” He flipped the PADD around and pointed directly to the appt. “Right there. I know I’m a few minutes early, but being tardy is one of my pet peeves. Being responsible and all that . . . .

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
COO-USS Athena

Wallace frowned slightly at the scree, “Ah! Yes, here you are. Sorry, I’m just filling in while our usual receptionist is on R&R. Lieutenant Commander Callahan, appointment with Doctor Kingston. I’ll just check that she is ready for you.” The ensign rose and stepped to the red door, chimed and poked her head in. A moment Wallace returned, a smile on her face. “She’s ready for you so you can go right on in, just through that red door.”

“Thank you,” Harrison replied. He then made his way to the red door.

Past the red door, Janna’s office was a modest space rather fitting the petite woman. She didn’t go to great lengths to decorate, but it was definitely more than the standard grey furniture and carpet. On the wall above the couch was an image of a forest scene that could be almost anywhere and the standard grey slim arm chairs had been replaced with softer larger armchairs in a dark blue that looked inviting to curl up into. On top of the standard carpet, the sitting area was covered in a plush rug in different shades of blue. On the other side of the room where she mostly worked, there was a tall leafy plant near her desk and a single silver photo frame on the corner of the desk where she could easily see it when she worked at the computer terminal. Overall, the place was warm but practical and uncluttered- much like Janna.

The petite psychologist was sitting in on of the arm chairs. As Callahan entered, she rose and smiled, her grass green eyes vivid. “Come on and and have a seat. Can I get you anything from the replicator?” Kingston asked.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“Yes, just a nice cool glass of water would be nice, thank you. I’m Lt. Cmdr. Callahan, but you already knew that, didn’t you. When you’re in your office and on duty, what do you prefer to be called? Lt.? Doctor? Mind-delver?’ he added the last with a smile.

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
COO-USS Athena

Janna rose from her chair and ordered the water for him and a fresh cup of coffee for herself. Setting the glass on the table in front of him. She grinned as she settled back into her chair, mindful of the hot coffee in hand as she rested the elbow of that arm on the arm on the chair. “I’m far less of a digger than other therapists might be, but I will do so if need be. I like to think of myself as a guide. It’s your journey and I’m just here to help a person find clarity, comfort, or something else they might need, even if they don’t know it when they set foot in my office.”

Kingston took a sip, letting the dark liquid warm her throat. “But as far as name goes, I am flexible. People rarely call me doctor aside from my staff, but Lieutenant Kingston is normal for those that feel a need for formality. Everyone else in this office just calls me Janna. I’m comfortable on a first-name basis, especially when the work I do with someone is more challenging. Formality can get in the way, create barriers.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“I’m fine with keeping it informal, Janna. Please call me Harrison.”

“Good to hear you don’t like to dig unless you need to. It’s been my experience over the years, and I’m not trying to make this sound stereotypical of all counselors, but many of them have tried to dig, and probe, and uncover a deep-seated anger, or resentment in my mind that ISN’T there, because there isn’t. But, some of the counselors are bound and determined to dig it out.”

He took a sip of his water before continuing.

“I’ve developed a resentment more toward counselors for that reason, than for anything that happened in my past. I’m hoping you can change my view of counselors.” he said with a smile.

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

She tipped her head up and down a couple of times. “At the end of the day, therapists are just people, with their own flaws and biases. They don’t always get it right. But in the defence of my profession, most don’t just make an assumption without any sort of observation, so if you walk in hostile, they will note that,” Janna said with a half shrug.

His eyes shot up in surprise. “Did I come off as hostile?? i apologize if I did. That was not my intention in the least. I was just letting you know where I was coming from. But you’re right, I shouldn’t lump all counselors into the same box. It’s just been in my experience, in my childhood, and career, that the counselors I’ve dealt with seem to want to make a case study out my situation.

Janna smiled. “You were’nt hostile. I was saying it in general since you mentioned being resentful. People often have their guard up when they first enter and it’s really not necessary unless you have something you’re particularly worried about. The uneasiness makes it harder to get through what can and should be a very simple conversation for most people.”

“That being said, we have a duty of care to the crews we are a part of to ensure every single member is okay to be on duty. Especially for those who are in higher risk positions like security and tactical. You should be well used to having yourself challenged at this point, yes?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“Oh, I am. But before you try to analyze me, not you particularly, read my previous evaluations. You’ll see that I am well-adjusted, and very capable of doing my job.”

“You’ve read my file. You know that my mother was declared KIA when the USS Cairo went missing during the Dominion War. I was less than a year old when she was called back to duty. I never really got to know her myself, only from stories my father told me. She was a proud Starfleet officer, proud of serving on the Cairo, and she died doing what she was trained to do. I can see how someone in my situation could be resentful, but I’m . . .not.”

“So that’s what it boils down to. . . . since I was a child, therapists have tried to figure out why I’m NOT resentful, why I’m not angry. Can’t they just respect the fact that I’m NOT?”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

Janna nodded. “Yes, they should. I can’t speak for others and what motivated them to push on a topic. I can only tell you that I am going to go where I am lead through our conversation. If I have a concern or something I want to understand better, I will ask questions around it, though it might not be obvious at first. I’ll be frank, I will be sometimes that stereotypical tricksy therapist. It’s never out of malice. I’m not trying to make you do or feel anything that isn’t true, but sometimes I have to go about things sideways or otherwise to figure something out. In a basic eval where someone has been continually cleared for duty and there are no obvious issues, it’s a pretty basic and quick conversation. My goal is to build a basic rapport and specifically in our case, we’re both senior officers. I’m going to spend a little more time with you because it’s important we get to know one other. We’re going to work more closely together than others and I need to understand the members of the team so I know how best to support everyone when things gets dicey. Because on this ship, things get dicey. A lot,” she said, her grass green eyes glinting as she gave him a lopsided smirk.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Bump

“I appreciate that,” Harrison began. “Really, honestly, even. And I appreciate you being honest with me.”

He took a long sip of his water. “I’m not a counselor, but, you do know that goes both ways. I’ve kinda become an unofficial counselor through the years. Maybe it’s because I just have a trustworthy face? Or I’m a good listener? Maybe I’ll look into bar-tending when I retire.”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena

Janna smiled. “Some people just have a natural charisma that helps others feel more at ease. Perhaps that is true for you too,”

“As far as the Athena goes, you’ve been placed on this rather interesting assignment. What do you think about that?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Bump

“Honestly?” I’m okay with that. New ship, new crew, a whole new quadrant of space I’ve never operated in before. I’ve got to build up a whole new network of contacts out here, and that’s going to take some time. Starfleet Intel must figure I can do it, or they just needed me to get away from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.”

“Ooorrrr, I’m getting too well known by the criminal element back there, so they sent me here for both our safety?”

Lt. Cmdr. Harrison Callahan
CTO-USS Athena