Patient Summaries

Anna Green

Ms. Anna Green began therapy right after a nasty breakup from her boyfriend, a fellow programmer working for SII. The trauma of that relationship left her unable to work. But Anna's low self-esteem, coupled with her chameleon-like ability to adapt to the needs of her partner, lead her from one strange sexual relationship to the next, although Anna has a great deal of trouble reconciling her feminist beliefs with her desire to be dominated by men during sex. Anna has tried to seduce Dr. Balis and, although mindful of his professional ethics, he also feels a strong sexual interest towards her. Total number of sessions: 102.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Alex Rozzi

Mr. Alex Rozzi began therapy as a 16 year old male prostitute, referred to Doctor Balis by social services. Although very bright, Alex lives in a complex world, with an ever-shifting variety of unusual characters. Dr. Balis struggles to keep Alex from the emotional abyss and out of jail. Total number of sessions: 76.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

The Anonymous Faxer

The Anonymous Faxer's story is told primarily through the bizarre images that he sends to the Doctor over the fax machine. His cryptic images reveal a tortured individual unhappy with his gender. Extremely shy, the Anonymous Faxer is unable to face therapy, forcing Dr. Balis to learn what he can from the strange but self-revealing images in hopes that the Faxer will someday be able to bring himself to accept treatment. Total Number of Communications: 60.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Sylvia Bows

Ms. Sylvia Bows is a high ranking executive at SII. She had been trying to get pregnant for two years and suddenly found out why she had failed: her husband had undergone a secret vasectomy. After she was able to control her homicidal rage, Sylvia plots a methodical plan to revenge herself on her husband and to get what she wants. Total number of sessions: 53.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Katherine Lippard

Ms. Katherine Lippard might be a control freak. She's a top ranking executive at SII who needs her highly ordered life to be just so. But she is also a woman who wants to learn how to assign self worth other than by the amount of money she can make in a year or by how far she can ascend the corporate ladder. Although very business oriented, Katherine is inexperienced when it comes to social and sexual relationships. Dr. Balis works with Katherine to help her to expand her horizons and to come to grips with a personal loss that has been haunting her since she was just a little girl. Total number of sessions: 48.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Sharon Lough

Ms. Sharon Lough is a walking cornucopia of psychological complexes. She has a severe inferiority complex and believes herself to be completely worthless. This low opinion of self results in Sharon's basic inability to function, leaving her teetering on the verge of homelessness and unemployment. But underlying that is a sharp intellect and a merciless wit, tinged by the bizarre and unencumbered by notions of political correctness. Sharon abuses drugs and alcohol and she also allows people to dominate her both sexually and economically. Dr. Balis is trying to restore Sharon's ability to love and respect herself, but he watches her slip lower and lower into a nightmarish situation that Sharon has created for herself. Total number of sessions: 41.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Thomas Darden

Mr. Thomas Darden is a bright, sarcastic man who is completely unable to interact with others socially. His social isolation and substance abuse have left him bitter, lonely, and sexually frustrated--often seemingly hovering on the brink of suicide. He feels an almost unbearable emotional pain the source of which Dr. Balis works to discover. Total number of sessions: 36.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Christina Herald

Ms. Christina Herald is a bright, assertive, appealing graduate student who has an air of one completely in control and yet humorously self-deprecating. But she's addicted to caffeine and it sometimes results in unexpected and severe panic attacks, sometimes with cardiac involvement. She's also drawn to the dark side: sexual relationships with dangerous men. Total number of sessions: 25.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Rachel Tanner

Ms. Rachel Tanner was sent into therapy by her grandmother when it became obvious that her inherited Obsessive Compulsive Disorder was completely overwhelming her, leaving her unable to function or even tend to herself. Dr. Balis believes he can get to the root of Rachel's obsessions and give her back her life. Rachel is beginning to believe it too, and is beginning to explore her nascent sexuality. Total number of sessions: 19.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Eliza Raven

Ms. Eliza Raven is being treated for severe depression and recently attempted suicide. Eliza is also dating Peter, another patient of Dr. Balis, whose psychic girlfriend claims to be pregnant with his child. But Eliza is a practicing Wiccan priestess, and she is trying to use her witchcraft to help Peter. Total number of sessions: 18.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Olivia Stillwell

Ms. Olivia Stillwell is a nervous, insecure young woman sent into therapy by her adoptive father who is also her boss. Olivia is the product of a violent rape which led to her mother's death, shortly after her birth. As an infant, she was rejected by her mother's family who were grieving over the loss of their daughter. Olivia's father is extremely over protective of her, and Olivia is trying to break free and find her own way in the world. Total number of sessions: 16.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Kester Langford

Mr. Kester Langford is obsessed with making marks. This obsession has cost him the ability to even provide for his own food and shelter. When he first came to see Dr. Balis, Kester had been living on the charity of his friends. It's not clear whether the marks that Kester makes are art. He is not even sure what they are himself. And while his outwardly appearance is calm and composed, Kester is clearly very unstable and immature for fifty year old man. Total number of sessions: 14.
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Joseph Mazurka

Mr. Joseph Mazurka, a salesman at SII, is a misogynistic racist and a sociopath. He's abusing methamphetamines and spinning fantasies of starting a paramilitary group. Joseph has been arrested for physically abusing his wife and is probably abusing his two children, although he has never admitted to it. He has an extremely variable temper, liable to flare-ups where he loses control. He is also fond of firearms. Although Dr. Balis strongly dislikes Joseph personally, he is trying hard to steer Joseph from the path of self destruction that Joseph has chosen. Total number of sessions: 14.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Sarah Wright

Ms. Sarah Wright is very emotionally confused woman. She is in a loveless marriage and is serving as a nurse to the charismatic man who was her only true love. He is now dying of AIDs and, as it turns out, was also her husband's lover. Dr. Balis is helping Sarah to reconcile her feelings and cope with her unusual situation. Total number of sessions: 14.
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Cassandra Evans

Ms. Cassandra Evans suffers from a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A horrible affliction that debilitates millions of people, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is often derided as the "Yuppie Flu" or "Chronic Laziness Syndrome." But it's all too real for this previously active and healthy woman who now finds herself exhausted by ordinary life. Dr. Balis is helping Cassie get appropriate medical treatment and is trying to allow her to cope with the emotional impact of the disease, especially as it effects her romantic relationships. Total number of sessions: 12.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

George Landau

Mr. George Landau works at SII and is something of an anachronistic fussbudget, forced into therapy by his younger boss. George sees himself as a person out of his time, thrust forward a hundred years and now fighting against the depersonalization of technology. He has a true technological phobia and he's begun to feign illness so that he can avoid computer training courses. During treatment, George reveals that his phobia is perhaps more deep seated than the Doctor could have imagined, explaining that he believes machines are sentient and evil. Total number of sessions: 12.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Peter Hossfeld

Mr. Peter Hossfeld is a patient who has rejected western medicine and belief systems and instead engages in a succession of new age treatments and philosophies. Peter is also suffering from episodes which Dr. Balis believes are epileptic seizures brought on by the flickering of his computer monitor. However, Peter believes that these seizures are really a gateway to another plane of reality. He begins a relationship with an extremely manipulative and controlling psychic because he wants to explore those other realities. Unfortunately, Peter is also quickly losing his already fragile grip on reality. Total number of sessions: 11.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Decker Jenkins

Mr. Decker Jenkins is considered a suicide risk by Dr. Balis. He was abused as a child and developed an imaginary companion named Simian. Simian talks to Decker all the time and tells Decker what to do. Decker realizes that without Simian he might have a normal life, a girlfriend, and a steady job, but he is very dependent on Simian. Using therapy and drugs, Dr. Balis is trying to keep Decker's schizophrenia under control. Total number of sessions: 11.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Kelly Wiseling

Ms. Kelly Wiseling is a deaf woman with a sharp tongue and a quick temper. Her childhood was dominated by a mother who desperately wanted a hearing "normal" daughter. Kelly was forced to function in both the hearing and deaf worlds, and now she feels alienated from both of them. Although she has a strong interest in sex--and worries needlessly that she may be a nymphomaniac--her past is marred by romantic disappointments. Total number of sessions: 11.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Phylis Birch

Ms. Phylis Birch is a senior graphic artist at SII. Strikingly attractive, she's happily married but she has taken to trolling through the seediest dives in town. She feels that she needs a certain amount of danger and instability in her life, so she puts on a disguise, assumes a different persona, and cruises the squalid bars on the bad side of town. Now, she's afraid that her bizarre hobby could lead to the destruction of her family life--but she still can't stop. Total number of sessions: 10.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Madeline Trent

Ms. Madeline Trent is the wife of Jesse Trent, who's also a patient. She was viciously raped by a particular sadistic intruder in her home. Now, she's trying to cope with the post traumatic stress disorder, and she's trying to regain some control and find a way to love her husband again. Madeline is now pregnant, but she's afraid that the father may be the rapist. Total number of sessions: 7.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Lisa Benjamin

Ms. Lisa Benjamin works as a secretary at SII by day and as a stripper at the Lusty Lady by night. Lisa thought she needed therapy to help her deal with the stresses of leading a double life, but it's the exploitative and surprisingly addictive side to being a sex worker that provides the real motivation for therapy. Lisa suffers from fits of sudden rage and unbearable fatigue. And her addiction to amphetamines is getting out of control. Total number of sessions: 6.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Helen Gregory

Ms. Helen Gregory decided to confide in Dr. Balis about her battle against the great conspiracy which grips the world. The conspiracy is far-flung and the participants are constantly dogging her. Helen has a tremendous intellect but she's drowning in a sea of delusions. Dr. Balis believes that she is a paranoid, persecutory schizophrenic with auditory hallucinations. Total number of sessions: 6.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Herbert Michel

Mr. Herbert Michel is a janitor at SII, providing a much desired supply of illegal drugs to some of the technical elite of the company. When he began therapy, Herbert hoped that Dr. Balis would be a good source for prescription drugs. But Dr. Balis learned that he is much more than a drug dealer. Herbert is an abusive addict, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. Total number of sessions: 6.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Jesse Trent

Mr. Jesse Trent came to Dr. Balis when he realized that he was unable to cope with his wife's depression and rage after she was brutally raped in their apartment. Jesse is very much in love with his wife and fears that he is losing her. Jesse has strong feelings of guilt and anger over the rape. Dr. Balis wants Jesse to understand his wife's feelings, and his own, and save their marriage. Total number of sessions: 6.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Hal Mainor

Mr. Hal Mainor is a frustrated writer who originally sought Dr. Balis' treatment for writer's block. But after a one-night stand with Sylvia Bows, his boss at SII, Hal is both terrified that his wife will find out and he wants to use Sylvia to advance his writing career. Total number of sessions: 5.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Nina Alvidrez

Ms. Nina Alvidrez is a very shy young woman who was brought to Dr. Balis by her mother for failing to function well in a corporate environment. Nina suffers from multiple undiagnosed ailments. She is very reluctant to speak to Dr. Balis, and it's a struggle to get her to come to her therapy sessions. Dr. Balis is worried that Nina's general sense of personal inferiority might lead to more severe problems. Total number of sessions: 4.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Darius Booth

Mr. Darius Booth is clerk at SII trying to become a stand-up comedian. Darius had been pursuing his chosen vocation in Australia and now wants to bring his act to San Francisco. Darius' main problem is that he isn't funny, and he's unwilling to destroy the artistic integrity of his act merely to make it palatable to audiences. Unfortunately, Darius isn't good at dealing with the rejection which he faces every time he performs. Total number of sessions: 4.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Samuel Eldrich

Mr. Samuel Eldrich is a high school student whose depression has lead him to several suicide attempts. His mother fears that Sam indulges in self-mutilation as a way of avoiding life. Dr. Balis is trying to figure out the roots of Sam's feelings of guilt and worthlessness and save his young life. Total number of sessions: 4.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Jerico Freeman

Mr. Jerico Freeman works in San Francisco sewers. He is haunted by indescribable horrors that he believes live there and affect his sexual performance. Dr. Balis is helping him to separate his delusions from reality. Total number of sessions: 4.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Logan Marcas

Mr. Logan Marcas was sent to Dr. Balis after he assaulted a co-worker. Logan apologized to the person he put in the hospital by his brutality, and now Logan is anxious for Dr. Balis to give him a psychological clean bill of health. But behind Logan's very controlled and calm demeanor, he seems to hide a very dark personality capable of extreme aggression and violence. Total number of sessions: 4.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Lloyd Major

Mr. Lloyd Major is the CEO of SII. Previously Lenny Majedenski, a son of Hungarian Emigrants, Lloyd is in his fifties, the father of two, and prefers sex with young men to sleeping with his wife. He started SII after he made his millions in the hi-tech sports gear material--the stuff that surfing suits and the like are made from. Lloyd thinks that owning a cutting-edge computer company is cool. SII is his biggest toy. Lloyd owns a private island somewhere in the tropics, and his favorite lovers find themselves entertained there, until they grow tiresome. Lloyd believes in the importance of exercise and has mandated that SII executives spend Friday afternoons rollerblading as a pack along San Francisco's waterfront. Lloyd Major wants Dr. Balis to help him deal with his morbid fear of suffocation stemming from a persistent sinus problems due to allergies. Total number of sessions: 4.
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Alan Kurtz

Mr. Alan Kurtz is hoping Dr. Balis will explain the odd behavior exhibited by all of his previous girlfriends. Alan feels that he is perfect in every way and doesn't understand anyone's desire to ever leave him. Dr. Balis believes that Alan might be suffering from a form of Narcissism. Total number of sessions: 3.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Nicole Ulreich

Ms. Nicole Ulreich is a teenaged drug addict hoping to get pregnant as a way of improving her life. Dr. Balis is trying to get her off the drugs and work out Nicole's self worth issues that are driving her to motherhood at the tender age of 16. Total number of sessions: 3.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes

Claire Steven

Ms. Claire Steven is a very beautiful young woman desperately looking to find a way to enjoy sex with her husband before he abandons her and their marriage. She is extremely insecure, harbors a great deal of guilt, and is very sexually frustrated. Total number of sessions: 2.
First Communication | Patient File | Transcripts | Doctor's Notes