Monday, June 2, 1997
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2 pm. Twelfth Session with George Landau. The flooding continues. George was not really in the right frame of mind for today's session, and if he was coming once a week, I probably would have passed on the session. But since I see him only twice a month, I thought it important that we continue. We used directed visualization to get George into the room where the computer classes are being held, and after a battle with a coffee machine, George broke the session by breaking out of the scene that we'd established. I tried to put him into another scene--this one at his office where it was imperative he turn on his computer to get some figure--and again he broke out of the scene when it became uncomfortable. I let him leave it like that, and although I urged him to come in next week, he refused. I hope that during our next session, George is better prepared to continue the flooding approach.
4 pm. Eleventh Session with Thomas Darden. Tom has decided that his main problem is that he can't interact with women with whom he is interested in having a relationship. He ticked off his assets, but he sees the men who are successful in bars as being smug, self-confident, and supremely able. His own attempts at trying to pick up women have been virtually non-existent. He described a situation where a woman was trying to give him an opening, but he choked. And yet, reminiscent of the Woody Allen movie, "Play it Again Sam," when he is not trying to "score" he can converse with women. He said that he is considered a good listener and that women seek him out to complain about their current boyfriends. He even referred to his perceived empathy as a curse--an example of how quiet, non-threatening guys are completely uninteresting romantically to women. It was obvious that Tom considers this a major problem in his life, so we need to work on it strenuously. My own abilities in this area though are somewhat suspect--I've never had a particularly strong ability to strike up a conversation with a woman previously unknown to me where my intent was seduction. With Tom, I think the largest issue is to build up his confidence. He is still drinking while taking the Librium. He said something odd. Right after telling me that he has been taking the two drugs in combination, he said that he believed that the combination was potentially fatal. I need to be concerned that Thomas might become increasingly self-destructive, especially if he stops taking his Librium.
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Charles Balis' Personal Diary & Log