Posted by Lieutenant Anastasia Darren (Psychiatrist) in side sim - psychiatry suite bording evaluation

Posted by Crewman Jasper Jarvis (Cardiology and Surgery) in side sim - psychiatry suite bording evaluation

Posted by Crewman Jasper Jarvis (Cardiology and Surgery) in side sim - psychiatry suite bording evaluation
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<snip>

Dr Jarvis watched the lollipop Ana span between her fingers and listened to her words, ‘There are a lot of people’. An odd thing for a psychiatrist to say, he thought to himself. From his experience, her kind were usually quite the socialites. How interesting. “Do people make you feel uncomfortable, Counsellor?” he asked. It was a slight stretch and he did not expect her to answer him, at least not with her words.

He then answered the question that she had posed, “I do not find the medical profession to be stressful. When not practising I read articles related to my fields of interest, postulate new theories and techniques and attempt to hone my skills. In short, Counsellor, I enjoy my work. However, what I will say is that I am partial to the occasional game of chess.”

Dr. J. Jarvis M.D

Jarvis’ answer came in the form of a tomato red psychiatrist as Ana blushed profusely in response. She had sincerely hoped he wouldn’t pick up on that slip and she squirmed nervously in her chair as she thought about how to answer him. Again, thankfully, he continued on to answer her question and she closed her eyes briefly to engage in a slow, deep breath as she listened to his response. Her dark eyes soon met his again and she cocked her head slightly to the side, “it seems like the strategy of chess is similar to how you approach your work in medicine, Doctor. Maybe you should try doing something illogical, like…” She paused for a moment to contemplate an answer and then finished, her voice inflecting at the end with a slight amount of uncertainty, “… zip lining?”

Lt Darren, Psychiatrist

The scarlet colour that covered the woman’s cheeks told Dr Jarvis everything he needed to know. He sat calmly and listened to her trying to draw a comparison between his work and the classic earth war game. It was not entirely without merit. In both, you sometimes had to sacrifice a playing piece in order to make significant advancements. However, sometimes a game of chess was simply a game of chess; a recreational activity. If she had wanted to draw a better comparison, his childhood obsession with taking apart and rebuilding electrical and mechanical devices would have been a better avenue. He wrinkled his nose as though it had picked up a foul odour when she made the ‘ziplining’ comment. Had she simply cycled through a list of activities she often prescribed to find the one least suited for the individual in question? Perhaps in the hopes of eliciting some sort of reaction? For now, he chose to ignore it.

“It seems to me, Counsellor, that you don’t like people very much,” Jasper said calmly, his blue eyes boring into her black ones. “Yet I would have thought a psychiatrist who does not like people would be akin to a doctor with iatrophobia.”

Dr J. Jarvis M.D

Ana’s eyes narrowed slightly as Jarvis failed to respond to her suggestion and instead pried into her own responses. She squirmed slightly in her chair under his stare, which certainly didn’t help the flush in her cheeks. Defensively, she fired back, “I’m a psychiatrist, a doctor just like you.” What she meant by that was left up to Jarvis to interpret. She could have simply been providing her credentials to serve as a counselor on board the Ogawa. On the other hand, she could be distinguishing that she was a medical doctor and, perhaps, scientist first and a psychotherapist second.

Dr Jarvis let out a short laugh of what could have been taken as derision, “no, dear Counsellor, you are not a doctor just like me.” Like her own statement, she could make her own mind up about what exactly he meant by that. “However, do you often feel the need to reaffirm your credentials with people you converse with. Does it offer you cane to steady yourself as you trudge through the murky bog that is life outwith an academic institute?”

Ana stared blankly at Jarvis. She chewed the inside of her lip for a moment as she contemplated how to respond to what felt like an actively adversarial comment. But then, maybe she wasn’t really a real doctor… she’d taken the courses, of course, but she’d ended up in psychiatry, not surgery.

A predatory look appeared in those piercing blue eyes like he had caught the scent of blood from a wounded animal. “Do you take comfort in chewing the inside of your own lip when faced with having to turn your own powers of perception inwards? Does it help you cope with what you see?” Jarvis probed, unable to resist the temptation to indulge himself. “If I were your therapist, I would take great interest in such behaviour. For it could be construed as a form of self-harm.”

She leaned back, her defensive words matched by a defensive posture as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Ridiculing herself for allowing the doctor to work her into a tizzy, she gulped and tightened her arms to steady herself, finally responding, “I’ll mark you down in Holodeck 2 at 2000 hours tomorrow for the program, then.”

Lt Darren, Psychiatrist

While the thought of zip-lining did not appeal to Jasper in the slightest, it was not the first time that he’d dealt with a psychiatrist who took pleasure in such petty torments. Counsellor Pope’s predecessor had been all for that kind of therapy. If he could make it through spelunking without grievous bodily harm, zip-lining shouldn’t be an issue. Indeed, it was simply a shame that Pope’s predecessor had not. He eyed Darren carefully, “will you be joining me?” he asked as he interlocked his fingers across his stomach.

Dr J. Jarvis M.D

OOC: My apologies for the typo in the last line. It opens up a whole realm of possibilities that I don’t think either character wants to get into, lol. I’ve corrected it in this post.

Dr J. Jarvis M.D

OOC: Bwahahahahaha. It was even funnier the second time around.

IC:

Ana’s eyes blinked rapidly several times in response to Jarvis’ question. “No....” she replied, softly and with her voice trailing off.

Dr Jarvis clicked his tongue in disapproval. “It would seem hypocritical of you to prescribe such,” he tilted his head slightly before saying, “unorthodox therapy if you are not willing to share in the experience. Especially given that you gave no thought towards whether or not it would be something I might enjoy. Suffice it to say, I think it would be far more beneficial for our continued relationship if you were to join me. A patient should have complete confidence in their doctor, after all.”

The movement of his hands caught her attention and she watched the hands that were so important to his profession for a few moments as he interlaced his fingers. Flushing slightly again, she quickly returned her gaze to his face and abruptly added, “I’m happy to check the Holodeck logs to confirm your participation. Will that be all?”

Lt Darren, Psychiatrist

Dr J. Jarvis M.D