Friday, December 26, 1997
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10:15 am. Sixty-Sixth Session with Anna Green. Anna called me in crisis and asked me to see her. When I got to my office, she was huddled outside, clearly underdressed for the cold weather, with a large contusion on her right temple. I got her inside and tried to make her comfortable while she told me about the calamitous Christmas Dinner she spent with her parents, Martin, and Kathy. Kathy took that opportunity to announce that she was pregnant with Martin's child. Obviously, all hell broke loose. To make it even worse, it appears that Martin knew about it in advance--at the same time as he was telling Anna to wait until after the holidays to announce their wedding plans, he was apparently telling Kathy to wait until after the holidays to announce her pregnancy. I don't know what the guy was thinking--perhaps he was hoping that he'd be hit by a bus between then and now. Anna described her physical state immediately following Kathy's revelation, and it sounded like she went into shock. Despite her dizziness, nausea, and her inability to control her muscles, she ran from the apartment, eluded her parents, and spent the night alone in a park, purposefully putting herself in danger. She described having a revenge fantasy, hoping that she would be murdered; she composed her own obituary and fantasized about how sorry everyone would be when they read it. But I don't think Anna is actually suicidal. I insisted that we go to the hospital to check for concussion, although I did a brief neurological exam in my office and believed that Anna wasn't suffering from a neurological deficit. The hospital confirmed my diagnosis, although Anna clearly had a bad contusion and was getting a bad cold. I ended up spending half the day in the emergency room with Anna--she spent most of her time asleep. Anna believes that she still has a chance with Martin. When I asked her what her plans were, she said that she wants to go home, evict Kathy from her apartment, and force Martin to make a choice between them.
3 pm. I received a fax from Mr. Eric Stillwell respecting Olivia Stillwell. He says that he's pleased with her progress after one session and he undertakes to pay for her future sessions, "Expense is no object." But in the letter he belittles her interest in therapy--"if it makes her feel better to talk to someone and feel important"--and he goes to some length to try to assure me or himself that he has been a good parent. The subtext was a lot more interesting than the surface content.
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Charles Balis' Personal Diary & Log