Hidden: Kelly Richardson It wasn't her first trip to New York, but it was certainly a first to be going based on a course that paid for her trip! For some reason or another, one of the courses at her nursing school in Amherst required her to visit a therapist they had contact with- and, for a day or two, she had to shadow him somewhat to learn more about psychology and how to tend to patience with a professional manner. Though it'd been hard for her to find the office, she knocked and entered fairly easily upon reaching it. "Mister Stuart? I'm Kelly Richardson, your shadow. Miss Parlow at Amherst said she called you in advance to tell you I was coming." She was average height for a woman her age, with a clear muscle tone hidden under her homely dress that showed she was constantly on the go. Her thin, long legs were hidden from the knee up, her skirt dancing with her movements, fluttering softly. Carefully, her brown eyes peaked into the room. "Um, Mister Stuart?" She soon noticed a sign on a door in the office. "Oh...He's already in session, I suppose. I guess I'll have to wait..." @Richard Stuart
He was sitting straight up, listening closely to his client. She was having some issues with her emotions, and thought that the shorter therapist would be the one to share them with. He made an entire effort of making it look like he cared, without caring. He was dressed like the woman liked, in a simple t-shirt and pants. He had on a pair of sandals, and his hair was all about the place. However, the lady had made the request and she talked about her problems more like this. She went on about how she didn't understand why she was sad, but as she continued to talk, she slowly understood what her problem was. Sometimes, that's all that it took. She, shortly after, left and walked out. He stayed sitting for a moment, before stretching and getting up. He flipped the sign and popped his head out to see a girl roughly his size. "Miss Parlow..." He pondered his brain before remembering that she was going to send a student over here to shadow him. Was this her? "Ah." He put on his award-winning smile before continuing. "Right. You're here to shadow me, Mrs.Richardson? Sorry about my attire, that previous client doesn't like to talk to people in suits, and I'm one to try and assist in the small ways. You are aware of who I am, and what my credentials are, yes?" He would rather get the basic, academic introductions over. He'd meander back into the counseling room and sit in the chair he usually sat in. "Come, sit. You can call me Richard if you wish. I'm fully willing to answer to either." He finally finished the whole introductions bit that he felt was needed. That was no matter. It was just a simple matter of fact. He made sure to look attentive to the young lady. @Solaria
Following him to sit in the client's seat, the young woman relaxed into the chair. "I don't see anything wrong with wearing more relaxed clothes around clients. I'd see a man in a suit talking to me about my troubles as a bit troublesome myself, I think. It's easier to talk to someone when you feel closer to them, isn't it? Politeness includes kindness to the needs of others, I think." Brushing her hair bound by a ribbon back behind her shoulder, she paid close attention to the man's introduction and inquiries. With each word he said, she took a moment to mull over how to react. He was both concise and yet rather skilled in the art of conversation, knowing how to interact with the mind and make one ready to response. As it was her turn, she giggled easily. "Mrs. Richardson would be my mother, sir. I've yet to marry, nor do I have plans anytime soon. I still have a lot of work to do, after all." Resting her hands in her lap, she felt her eyes close lightly, her words quieter and a bit more at ease, the energy from prior moments letting off. "And if I'm to call you Richard, I ask you call me by my name as well. Kelly will do just fine." She finally held a hand out, hoping for a proper handshake. Her mind wandered to what she'd been told by her teacher before arriving. "Miss Parlow only told me you were the best social worker she could think of to teach me how to calm others in times of strife. She's a bit lax with details, and while I did do some research on my way here, the full set of credentials is hard for me to claim I know. I'm certain I missed some in my reading."
"I've gotten my degree, and I've gotten years of service in the industry. It started mainly because I wanted to help people." He moved his hand out, grasping hers and started to shake it. He'd withdraw his hand shortly after, as he had some hard truths to hand out to the girl. "That still is the case, make no mistake. Although, I can't say, with a good conscience, that you can care about their problems. It'll hurt you in the long run. I know this isn't anything that one should be told right away, but it's true." He shook his head, he should get this conversation into the front and positive note. "Now, for how to keep people calm, it completely depends on a person. However, I have some tips." He got up, and stretched. "For someone like me, who often looks grumpy, one would usually try to ask and comfort. Although I'm not grumpy, It's often someone like that who just needs an ear to yell at. Let them, and let it go in through one ear, and out the other." He moved over to a cupboard in the office, and dug into it to bring out a stress ball. He closed the cupboard door before walking back and sitting back down. "I'm, honestly, a glorified emotion engineer. I figure out what's wrong with you emotionally, and using that evidence that I gathered, I make a solution. That's what being an engineer is about. Getting together a solution that works, even if it is temporary. I'm rambling, I'm sorry. Do you have any particular other questions?" He sat, toiling with the stressball that he had grabbed from the cupboard not long ago. He was throwing it up and down, left and right and he was having a ball with it. This was what he did with his free time. @Solaria
While his words sounded harsh and horribly difficult, she could see in a way where he was coming from. She'd seen a lot of bad things due to being too empathetic with her friends in the past- things she didn't want to think of or remember. Likely, letting it go through one ear and out the other, especially with a patient that was just throwing a tantrum, was a good idea. "But...How do you learn to ignore it? Well, ignore's the wrong word here, but...In and out, I mean. Isn't it hard to do that?" Though the man called himself a 'glorified emotional engineer', she could barely see the engineering requirements. What she saw as he tossed the stress ball about, entertained with it yet still managing to keep up their conversation, was a doctor. A man who wanted to heal people with the skills he had, even if it was just like a detective or inventor- to find the problem, and to find a solution. When asked to bring up another issue, she took a few moments to take a good look at her curiosity. What was it she wanted to know the most? "How do you figure out their problems? They won't always just out and tell you. Part of my asking is actually pretty personal, but...I think it's just something that happens with a lot of people. It's hard to say exactly what's wrong. So...How do you figure it out with just clues?"
He sat, and listened to her pondering and her questions, he understood what her problems could be and how the questions were reasonable. "It's a skill you learn, the in one ear out the other. It's a skill that had to be cultivated over the years. Is it hard sometimes? Most certainly. It's sometimes hard to not react emotionally at some of their problems, but in the long run, it's far better for the doctors self-esteem. I think, without fail, it's way easier to keep going." He threw the ball, and had it hit the ceiling, before catching it as it came down. "Sometimes they don't out come and say it, but it's often fairly easy to determine via what words they use and who they reference. I admit, that sometimes I have to prod and question what they're saying, and it's never fun to do. I never want to particularly do it, but sometimes it's needed. Sometimes you absolutely must prod to get to the center of the problem." He started throwing the ball around once more, looking at her. "Sometimes they don't even realize what the problem is, and think its another. You have to be there and try to gather evidence and figure out what it is. If you don't, you'll likely end in failure. It's just that, clues are all you have. That's what you have to go off of. Unless you have a secret power that can see into the hearts of men and women alike, then you have that." He shrugged. "I suppose you just have to get lucky in a way." He was entirely serious about this. You had to get lucky with clues sometimes to get the patient and their problem nailed down. Sometimes it was hard, sometimes it was easy. Either way, it happened. @Solaria
Self-esteem for a doctor must have been important, she noted to herself. But wasn't the point of her to-be nightingale oath to focus on the patients? Then again, nurses and doctors had somewhat similar jobs, and she was taking general medical classes just to feel more adept. No matter how much she said she took these trips to learn for the sake of future patients, was it possible it was really just for her own ego? "So act like a detective, huh...I'll work on that skill when my brother throws a tantrum next time." A soft chuckle got out of her as she watched her teacher playing with the ball more as time progressed. Her smile turned upside down, even if only slightly. "I hope it's not rude to ask, but do you find you have a lot of pent-up energy? You're throwing that stress ball like there's no tomorrow, and it's a pretty unique way to use one all points considered. If you have too much stress, it's bad for the body. I've been thinking of seeing someone about my own stress, but perhaps you should too?" Kelly knew she had issues, and it wasn't just her martyr complex that online was even more notable than in the real world (not that this man would know). But adding in her anxiety for her family, her frustration with her father, and her pushing to take care of her brother anytime she saw him...Well, there were a few people that had told her to see a therapist since her mom died five years ago. She really should've listened. "Now that I think about it, I heard it's required for a lot of nurses and doctors and the like to have a therapist just so the stress doesn't add up and affect their work. Is that true?"
"I personally don't get that many doctors, if any. I mostly work with working class people. Not to mention, I do have a lot of pent up energy that's sometimes spent trying to figure out my peoples problems. Don't you worry about that rude bit, I did tell you to ask questions. I'm honest that I have pent up energy. I'm also one that has to amuse himself through the various ways of throwing a stress ball." He brushed his hair back, and felt like he had some questions. "I'm curious about you, though. What is it that makes you want to become a nurse; or doctor if you really wanted. It's not an easy thing, but it's quite obvious you're smart. I'd say I'm impressed, but to get even to where you are, it's a requirement." He threw the ball up once more and didn't catch it. Whoops. He leaned forward, grabbing it back, and looking at it. This made him ponder what she had said. Should he look to ask someone about his stress? He didn't really have all that much, or at least, he didn't think so. This brought him back to pondering the doctor question. "I don't particularly pay attention to the various mandates for doctors. They don't come to me to talk either way. On the subject of me requiring a therapist, I might. It might very well be a good idea, however at the moment, I don't have the time. Not unless one of the people drop my service. I'd rather them not, though. I like the money." He spoke as though his mental health was a big to do about nothing. He was of sound mental health, he figured. He had to be, to coach someone through terrible mental health or anything like such. @Solaria
His words filled her with relief. Was that because he knew how to work with them as a mental engineer, or was it simply the sentiment? Perhaps both? Kelly was pondering this rather seriously for a time, before her hand raised upward, as if wanting to be called on in class- not that she waited before speaking. "Like how some people doodle to pay attention better! The studies are really amazing about that. Am I right?" Her lips were still smiling, but as he asked her about herself, she found herself struggling. She was already bad with compliments- one fault she rarely admitted to. Her face was red just being called intelligent- she was getting used to being called quite the opposite by those closest to her, due to her spontaneity and lack of thinking through her actions. "I don't think someone's called me smart since middle school," she pondered aloud. "To be honest, my reason for becoming a nurse...Is my mother. I've wanted to be a nurse ever since I was little, because my mother was always in the hospital, and I wanted to help her. As I got older, and I spent more and more time there watching her get treatment, the way the nurses took care not only of my mother but also of the then frail and troubled child I was...It was amazing that they worked so hard, to me, to heal not just their patients, but those around them. It just made me wanna scream, 'I'm gonna do that too'!" She took a breath, embarrassed by her rambling, but continued on.The urge only grew after mom died and my baby brother was born. After all...I want to be able to take care of my father and brother, of my friends and of anyone else I can. I can't say my goal is to make it so no one suffers, but my goal is to make many people smile and healthy. Both in body and heart."
His face stayed largely the same throughout the story, his eyes intently focusing on the woman who was speaking. He made the casual shift of body posture. He was sitting straighter and looking more intently towards the woman speaking. She was quite the interesting lass. She was obviously quite nice, and becoming a nurse was a noble task. A noble task indeed. As he listened intently, it was almost funny. She was talking like a patient, rambling on and on until they realized they did. He didn't mind. He listened to ranting and raving all the time. It was, quite literally, his job. That was putting it awfully simply though. As she finished up, he felt the need to talk. "Truly admirable. No one could ask for a nurse with a better story and a better reason to do what they do." He could afford to care in this case, as she wasn't a tragic case. She was the case of a woman who wanted something and was willing to go to lengths, like traveling to Richard and shadow him, to get to where she was today and that was highly respectable in his mind. He couldn't expect such a person to last a super long time unless she didn't become more emotionally detached from her job. He couldn't bring himself to say it, though. "So, all things considered, how do you think you'll do in the whole business? It's tough, and you'll have to be ready for absolutely anything. That's a skill not everyone has, but it's not seemingly something you lack." He kept the professional face up, as it was his job in this case to do so. That was a simple reason for something a lot of people wouldn't do. He had to stay professional. @Solaria
He'd been so patient listening to her, Kelly almost felt bad- especially when the man actually praised her reasoning, something that she hadn't experienced in a while. His words made the smile on her face remain, even if she wanted it to calm down. Who wouldn't like to be praised for their dreams? "Actually, I had a situation happen in a game recently where I wish I knew that skill, though. I'd managed to get someone to tell me about something bothering them...But I got too emotionally invested and got mad at them for saying something very self-loathing and isolationist. I was trying to tell him to rely on me more, but my methods weren't very good." As she let herself laugh, albeit with a clear anxiety and a bit of a whimper, the memories flooded her rather adamantly, as if traumatized by nothing more than a moment in a game. "I mean, he's just a person I met in a game to boot. I wonder if this is a bad sign for my mental stability..." She shook it off, wiping any tears that tried to escape her eyes as she tried to return to the task at hand. She wasn't his patient, she was his student- or at least, that's why she'd gone there. "I don't have as much confidence yet, but I am very certain that with enough hard work, I'll thrive enough to help a lot of patients live healthy, happy lives. Even if it takes time, I'm going to keep working hard, both on myself and on the craft of helping nurse people's body's and hearts. This way, I'll be able to be proud to call myself a nurse- and perhaps, my patients will be proud to call me their nurse as well!" Still showing her ego, she had to admit that this lesson had made her mor worried than she was before. Considering her natural tendency to attach to people quickly, strangers or not, to the point she'd get so mad at them for wanting to be alone when in a crisis...Well, it made her realize she really should have looked into getting a therapist from the get go. "Say, when we're done, think you can recommend me to a therapist? I mean, besides you. That'd be a bit counter-productive, since I'm trying to learn from you. But...If I'm going to be a good nurse and learn to separate myself from my patients, I should also learn to take my own advice and rely on someone to help me with the stress."
He listened intently, the woman talked at length about how she was scared she had lackluster mental stability. He sat still, though. He didn't do anything but listen, trying to figure out what she was trying to accomplish here. She was an open book anyhow, and he knew that. However, there was something about her that did mildly concern him. Getting in such a way over a video game, that was admittedly concerning. He didn't quite care as much as some would, but he could see the possible concern over such personalities. He was not one to get in such a tizzy over even the most significant problems. He couldn't care about it enough, he had effectively molded his personality to not care. "I can give you the number of Sven. He's a friend of mine, really good at his job. He's a bit nicer, and a bit more liable to care." He went towards his cupboard to find again, and brought a notebook out. He found a pencil and wrote down the number of a Doctor Sven. He laughed as he tore the paper and walked back over, handing it to the girl. "Caring isn't bad, it's just not good either. It's a simple guess that must be taken during the situation if one can afford to care while still staying sane." @Solaria
As the man told her it was okay to care and yet it wasn't, Kelly could only stare at him a bit hazily. It was okay, but it wasn't? Was this some sort of paradox puzzle? She hadn't done any puzzles in ages, but it was starting to feel like one. "So it's a matter of balance, basically?" Her words were spoken with uncertainty. There was a mild buzzing in her mind as she felt clouded in confusion, trying to better understand as she took a look at the piece of paper handed to her. Folding it carefully, she put it into her skirt pocket, adjusting some hair that was trying to sneak into her eyes and speaking softly once more. "I'll make sure to give him a call after this. Though, I'll be staying a bit longer today since I'm still supposed to be your shadow. If you'll still have me, I'm thankful both for your lesson and for your future guidance."
"I'm not sure that I'm the man you should be learning from. I'm a savant, sure. I'm sure you understand. You're immensely intelligent. The question to care is not to be fully answered by anyone but you. I told you what I got as an answer to the question. You must think about what your answer is." He had no bigger response then that. Simply put, that was the only thing he could say. That was all. He sat, pondering if there was much else to say beyond the inevitable next appoitment closing in. That was just a sort of thing that was happening. He felt sorry about not being able to answer any more questions. "You should, though, most certainly stay for the next bit. Perhaps even stand in, if it's okay with the patient." He knew that the next person coming was a normal person. Just a man who was an angry chap. @Solaria
His words may not have had much emotion in them, but the sincerity and kindness was there. While entertained he'd called himself a savant, she was more intrigued that he'd called her out on intelligence. She wasn't quite used to that lately, since she spent her free time in a game world acting stupid on a regular basis. "Can I come to you when I find my answer...To tell you what I found? I think it'd be nice to share, when you've given me insight to look for it." Speaking with a soft smile, she fiddled with her fingers and stood up, stretching and turning towards the door. "I don't know your patients, but I know I'd be happy to see you in action. If they'll have me, I'd like to join in and learn more of your work...assuming an outsider won't make them uncomfortable."
