Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Pre-Sim - Counseling Intake - James Rowe
(SNIP)

Kingston nodded. “Which means you are cleared for duty, but it can still impact you. What aspects would you say affect your quality of life the most? Even if it just feels like more of an annoyance.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“I don’t sleep as well as I once did. I feel nearly constant creepy-crawly sensations on my skin. My feet don’t seem to like me very much, and when I get fatigued I feel like I’m waddling from place to place.” He said honestly.

• Rowe

She liked that he was being forthcoming. It meant that he was more open to the conversation in general and wasn’t viewing it simply as an obstacle to be overcome. “Are there things you’ve found that help those symptoms?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“Nothing long term.” James said flatly. “There are lots of things that provide some temporary relief… massage, acupuncture, and dry needling all seem to help for a few hours up to a day. EMDR’s (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) pain protocol is helpful in the moment. But it feels more meditative and isn’t practical while on duty.”

He paused a moment before saying the next part, a sense of ironic humor leaking into his voice… “Nerve blockers or good old fashioned alcohol make me care a hell of a lot less about it, but I reserve those for days where I’m off duty the next morning.”

Rowe

Janna took a moment to process what his treatment plan constitute and frowned slightly. There were always situations where a certain amount of discomfort was the best they could do, but it was rare. She wasn’t here to ‘fix’ him, nor was it her place to try to, but offering opportunities for healing was. “I know your medical care team has a lot of it covered, but how has your mental health workers been able to support the work the medical staff are doing?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“It has been better since the doctors have figured out the sleep equation. It was real touch and go there for a bit when I struggled to sleep because a sheet against my skin felt oppressive. I was on edge and sometimes a real bear.” He said casually.

• Rowe

Janna was quiet for a moment and fully took in that he didn’t answer her question. Sidestepped it quite deftly, even. “When our nervous systems are dysregulated due to any number of issues, it can definitely cause a lot of cascading problems. I’m curious about what other counsellors have suggested in terms of mental exercises to help with that. Even if the physical symptoms are better, as you’ve established, it’s not nil.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

OOC: I completely missed the word “workers” the first time around… LOL

Rowe sat there quietly as he thought about the question. “I’ve been engaging in weekly EMDR Pain Protocol Sessions. The therapists have had me practicing the breathing and bilateral stimulation routines that go along with it. It serves its purpose… it doesn’t make the pain ‘better’ per se… but it does alleviate some of the sensation in the moment. It’s pretty useful after a shift. When I’m using it after a shift to wind down, I can’t do the bilateral light stimulation… so I use binaural audio instead paired with bilateral taps.”

Janna nodded, taking in the information and adding it to the overall impression she was gathering of Rowe. “Finding small ways to adapt techniques is good. It allows us to make use of them even when conditions aren’t ideal.”

James shifted in his seat trying to find a more comfortable position. “When I was planet-side, I would do that while laying in the floor of my closet. It was a smaller space that somehow felt quieter, almost in a sensory deprivation type of way. Obviously that’s not as accessible on a ship given the space constraints.”

Rowe

Kingston braced her right elbow on the arm of the chair and held her chin with her thumb and the side of her index finger. “Hmm, actually that’s really interesting. If you could recreate something similar to that here, would you want to do so?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

James nodded silently for a moment before responding. “Absolutely. A good hidey-hole to disconnect sounds delightful.” He said in what was easily the most honest response he’d offered to any question thus far.

Rowe

Her mind was already working on some options and she grinned. “I like getting creative. Okay, so maybe this is something we can figure out together, if you’re comfortable. If you’re alright with it, maybe I can come by your quarters and we can look at what sort of solutions we can come up with? I happen to be friends with the Chief Engineer, and I know he loves a good challenge. He wouldn’t even need to know the reason.” Janna was generally cautious about insinuating herself as a therapist into people’s personal spaces unless invited, but there were limits to what could be achieved in her office. Sometimes you just had to get out and where the work needed to happen.

~Janna Kingston, CNS