THE FIRST TIME THERE; WHAT HAPPENS?
You have made an appointment. You are there and knock at the door. Somebody opens it. You come in. You meet "the doctor" .and size him up. He seats you, gives you a form to fill in, personal data. And asttement of why you come.He takes it, looks it over and probably asks you about a lot of things in connection with it.
Then comes the first question. He asks: if you do not come here, how will life end for you, good or bad, if you go on like you do now?
A difficult question to answer, maybe the most difficult answer in your whole life up to now. For now you will have to think about yourself. Still, the question will be asked and the doctor will not be content until it has been answered to his satisfaction with a simple: good, or an, as simple: bad.
It may be you answer will not be in these terms, or you will avoid the direct answer. You will hear how the answer has to be, you will be given a reasonable time to reflect.
If you do not answer after a reasonable time has lapsed, for your own particular reason, very probably you will hear something like: if you do not take the opportunity to answer, I ( the doctor) advise you to go home and think it over.If you are ready to answer in the direct way after all, you may come back. If not, it is no use spending your time with me, you may go find somebody else to take care of you. In any case, I can spend my time in a more satisfactory way.
If your answer is:o, I will be all right, even if I do not come to you, you will probably hear about the same: there is for the doctor a more useful way to spend his time than with a person who does not find a good reason to come here
In more simple words:if you are not with your back against the wall when youy come there, the doctor has no interest in your case.
He has,however an interest, if you say that you think things will end badly. The medical man wil aks next: bad in what way?
For the doctor has long thought about possible answers to this question, he has read about it and talked about it with others of his kind. Together they have come to the conclusion, that there are 4 ways in which life may end badly in the opinion of patients: 1. they may die untimely, 2. they may go crazy, 3. they may end up too lonesome or 4. they may end in the gutter, dependent on the benevolence of others for all important matters like food, clothing and a bed.
You will probably talk over your answer with the doctor,until the meaning of it is clear.
Then comes the third question in this third degree: what will you avoid by taking that way to let things end badly. In all probability you will avoid one of the remaining three possibilities that way. It is very probable that there will be a further discussion about your answer to this question.
After this questioning is over it will very probably be clear to both of you, that you have your good reasons to let your life go on as it does and to let it end as you think.
Now it will be possible for your helper and you to make a treatment plan to alter what is necessary to make things in life more acceptable to you than now and with the purpose that you will end your life in a more satisfactory way than you do now.