02 March 2017
1530 hours
Maj. Ashley Kellerman's office

Sherman was not looking forward to this day. 'Rurik' and 'psychologists' simply did not fit well in the sentence together. He did not like having his brain picked apart. It had already been done by one psychologist, why did he have to see another? Only recently had he been told about his referral over to the Major's office and they had booked him in for a session.

Honestly, it was embarrassing. But, orders were orders and if the higher-ups said that he needed to see the shrink, he needed to see the shrink. He could keep his comments to himself. Sherman had been grumbling about it earlier on in the day, it ruminating at the back of his mind - hell, Sherman was even certain that it had been seeping into his dreams. As usual, he was dressed properly. Everything was ironed and fresh as he made his way over to the office.

He used this time to think about why he did not like visiting people who'd question him on almost everything he had done up to the point.

They may have a point.

Really?

His brain had to be betraying him.

You've been through a trauma, something you've never really talked openly about.

Sherman grumbled, shoving his inner voice to the back of his mind, hoping it would eventually stop yammering. He entered the building, taking off his cover and tucking it under his arm as he approached the door. He rapped lightly against the door and stood patiently.

@ashley

Ashley had just finished reviewing the information that had been sent to her in reference to the new patient coming to see her when she had heard the knocking on her door. She tucked all the papers back in the folder and left it on her desk before walking and opening the door, greeting her new referral in a friendly tone. "Come in, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. If you'd like a water feel free to grab one out of the fridge. What would you prefer I call you?" She loved the military but when she was dealing with patients she often did away with the formalities in favor of simply trying to have a friendly conversation with someone. Ashley had found out that people were much more receptive of having to talk to you, when you were at least friendly with them.

Her office reflected this way of thinking, while she had a desk she never sat behind it when speaking to someone. She had placed a couch and several comfortable chairs on the other end of the room, grabbing a water for herself out of the refrigerator she walked over and had a seat in one of the big overstuffed recliners and waited for the guy to have a seat. Sometimes she tended to catch her patients off guard, as they were expecting something much more formal.

"So, as I understand it you were referred to me because your last psychologist thought that it would be a good idea to keep an eye on you. They seemed to think that you had been through some things that you hadn't dealt with yet. So if you can tell me what happened and why you think the last psychologist believes that you haven't worked through everything yet, we can decide together if there's any truth to their observations and figure out if you continuing to come see me would do you any good. I've found that some of my colleagues can find something wrong with anyone, and I don't believe in throwing labels on people because they react to something differently than I would."

Ssgt. Sherman Sullivan

"Come in, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. If you'd like a water feel free to grab one out of the fridge. What would you prefer I call you?"

Sherman walked in, making sure to close the door behind him. Even though the shrink had told him to take a seat, it had taken him a couple of seconds to adjust to new surroundings. It was not exactly what he was expecting - his old psychologist had a very minimal set up, more office than...this. The staff sergeant had finally taken a seat, settling into one of the chairs, his back still very much stiff - moreso out of habit than anything.

"Rurik is fine, ma'am," Sherman replied. "Pretty much everyone aside from my father calls me Rurik."

He had been taken off-guard, certainly by the friendliness of it all. Even the room had been set out to seem more like a lounge than a shrink's office. Or at least his own perception of what one was to be. He had glanced over to the fridge, wondering whether it was some sort of technique in making him open up more.

"So, as I understand it you were referred to me because your last psychologist thought that it would be a good idea to keep an eye on you. They seemed to think that you had been through some things that you hadn't dealt with yet."

This was the part in which he did not want to indulge in. They had tried before, and Sherman had been quick to shut them out. She went on to ask about whether he could give her the details of what had happened and why he had not opened up.

"What gave them the impression that things had been left unsaid?" Sherman replied, in an attempt to deflect the conversation off of himself.

@ashley

"Relax Rurik, I don't bite... I also don't force you to talk about things that make you uncomfortable. I'd like you to open up to me, but I can't force it." She smiled at him before taking a sip of water. "I get it though, trust is earned and you don't know me." She saw him looking at the fridge and smiled. "Anytime you decide you want something to drink you are more than welcome to help yourself."

She noticed a slight change in him when she started asking questions, she could sense that he was uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was headed. When he turned the question back to her she laughed, "Nice try Rurik, but what I think isn't important. What's important is why you think that they got that impression. Is it because you didn't talk to them, or did they just not hear what they wanted to hear. Believe it or not I have seen many a soldier sent to me simply because a therapist didn't hear what they wanted to hear."

She was silent for awhile giving Rurik a chance to gather his thoughts, "I'm not prying here, I'm just giving you a chance to tell your side of things so that we can work together to try and figure out why exactly you're sitting in my office. If I see that you don't need to be here with me I have no problem turning you loose, unless you want to keep coming."

Ssgt. Sherman Sullivan

"Relax Rurik, I don't bite... I also don't force you to talk about things that make you uncomfortable. I'd like you to open up to me, but I can't force it."

Sherman still looked wary of opening up but nodded respectfully anyway. He did not want to be rude, nor did he want to show any disrespect to the woman of higher rank than he. The woman began speaking about how it was difficult to form signs of trust, Sherman nodded once more in complete agreement.

"Spasibo." Russian tumbled out of his mouth, his brain had only seconds later to register the fact he had switched so easily to his mother tongue. "Thank you, major."

"Nice try Rurik, but what I think isn't important. What's important is why you think that they got that impression. Is it because you didn't talk to them, or did they just not hear what they wanted to hear. Believe it or not I have seen many a soldier sent to me simply because a therapist didn't hear what they wanted to hear."

Or maybe it had been the fact he had switched to Russian when he had gotten properly nervous, something that may have been off putting to the other psychologist. A fact that he would not admit freely, but perhaps an insightful woman - such as Major Kellerman - had already took note of it. He ran a hand through his short hair, trying to hold on to the stoic look as he gathered his thoughts.

Sherman cleared his throat, "My previous psychologist believes that I may be developing symptoms of PTSD ever since the ambush on our convoy." He portrayed this in information manner, emotion was not going to get them anywhere in the conversation and this was something he needed to take the initiative with. If someone had deemed that they have seen something of concern, it was on his own merit to follow up on it and get it sorted out.

Even if he did not think much of it.

@ashley

She noticed his obvious wariness of speaking to her and when she heard the Russian word she smiled, “Hmmm Russsian, I know just enough to recognize it. You’re welcome, but in this office please feel free to drop the Major. In here we’re just two people having a conversation. There is no judgement in here, only understanding.” She took a drink of her water and played with the label for a minute while she gave him ample time to form a response.

“I’m guessing that you’re nervous and uncomfortable, right? Which is perfectly normal considering that this is the first time you’ve met me. I can’t say I would feel comfortable discussing certain things with someone I’d just met either. Which is why I don’t think this is going to be a quick fix, I know that’s probably not what you want to hear but until you feel like you can trust me and confide in me we’re not going to be working through too much. Don’t worry it takes me a couple sessions to get a read on you too.” She smiled.

She heard him speak of PTSD and an ambush on his convoy in a matter of fact tone and smiled at him again. “PTSD is not an uncommon diagnosis in people in your line of work, you see things and experience things that nobody should ever have to. It’s simply the minds way of dealing with the things it can’t grasp. Did your psychologist mention what symptoms she thought you were developing? Having symptoms isn’t the end of the world as long as you can learn how to deal with them and not let them become debilitating. It’s definitely something that many people live with, and many of them with the correct treatment learn how to successfully handle their symptoms.”

Ashley watched him for any sort of reaction to what she had just said, “Of course on the other hand, it could very well have been a psychiatrist trying to find something wrong when in fact there was nothing to find. So once we get to a point where we can talk about what happened in that ambush and how it made you feel, and discuss some of these symptoms you’re supposed to be having we’ll have an idea of how we need to proceed.” Ashley had seen several cases of soldiers wrongly diagnosed with PTSD by psychiatrists simply because it was the ‘new’ diagnosis that covered so many things, she preferred to get to know someone before slapping that label on them. “So let’s start with the simple stuff, tell me a little about yourself Rurik.”

Tag: Ssgt. Sherman Sullivan

Rurik scratched the back of his head as he realised that the woman recognised that he spoke Russian. Though, then again, he was pretty sure there was something in his file that would have given it away. He nodded in response, unsure of what he was supposed to say next. Gesturing over to the fridge, he slowly got up - assessing whether he had the right to head over to the fridge, even with the woman's verbal permission - and got to the fridge to take out a bottle of water before quickly returning to his seat.

"...Did your psychologist mention what symptoms she thought you were developing? Having symptoms isn’t the end of the world as long as you can learn how to deal with them and not let them become debilitating. It’s definitely something that many people live with, and many of them with the correct treatment learn how to successfully handle their symptoms.”

He thoughtfully tilted his head to one side, eyes wandering the room, trying to think back to his discussion with his previous psychologist. The soldier softly scoffed - albeit dismissing some of what his previous shrink had told him, before listening as she spoke even more about the fact it may as well be something that is being made a problem rather than a problem that was already present.

“So let’s start with the simple stuff, tell me a little about yourself Rurik.”

"I was born into a family of two pacifists," Rurik gave a smile at the sentence, perhaps the most interesting part of his childhood. It was strange how little he had thought of it once he headed into training, for they had given him a lot of grief but eventually had to settle and accept the fact that their son was going to head into war. "They were very much into their literature, and got me into it for a long while; Tolstoy, T.S Elliot and others. But, I preferred to play football - uh, soccer - with the local kids and play basketball for my school team back in England."


Tag: @ashley

When Rurik gestured towards the fridge, Ashley nodded and smiled "Help yourself, that's what it's there for." She watched as he took a bottle and rushed back to his seat. "No need to hurry, I'm not going to yell at you. Take your time, you'll find that everything here is pretty laid back. I won't force you to talk, and I don't hold you to the whole hour timeslot. If it takes longer no problem, and if you feel you're done for the day early then I'm ok with that too."

She watched as Rurik tilted his head and let his eyes wander the room, she figured he was trying to recall what the previous psychologist had discussed with him. When she heard him scoff she smiled at him, "It's ok, I have a file in my desk over there I can read if I need to. I'll be honest, I don't like to read the files I'm sent on a new patient until after I've met them and had a couple of sessions with them myself. I'd hate to think that I had let someone else's opinion cloud my own judgement."

Ashley listened carefully as he started describing his childhood, this was often her favorite part of meeting a new client. Listening to how someone reflected on their own childhood was often very good insight into their character. She had to keep herself from interrupting and asking questions, instead she grabbed a notebook to write down any questions she might have so that she could ask him later. When he stopped talking for a second she spoke, "Please continue, I'm just writing down any questions that I might have for later so that I don't have to interrupt you to ask them. This isn't a test or anything I'm just trying to learn as much about you as I can. When you finish I'll tell you a little about myself, and then you can decide if you're done for today or if you want to continue."

Tag: Ssgt. Sherman Sullivan

"No need to hurry, I'm not going to yell at you. Take your time, you'll find that everything here is pretty laid back. I won't force you to talk, and I don't hold you to the whole hour timeslot. If it takes longer no problem, and if you feel you're done for the day early then I'm ok with that too."

Rurik fell back into silence, doing more observation than speaking as of yet. The man had plenty of time and experience watching his surroundings, even more so since the ambush that his unit had fallen into. The one that they were currently speaking about. It was not an easy subject, but there was the lull of trust that was slowly seeping into him, it bounced off the mental barrier that he had put up for himself as he took a deep inhalation of breath.

"Please continue, I'm just writing down any questions that I might have for later so that I don't have to interrupt you to ask them. This isn't a test or anything I'm just trying to learn as much about you as I can. When you finish I'll tell you a little about myself, and then you can decide if you're done for today or if you want to continue."

He nodded, trying to think of anything, "I have a friend, another vehicle commander - William. Met through training and really just stuck together ever since...Probably couldn't have made it through training without his support, I guess."

Rurik paused for a short while as he contemplated how much he should tell her at this moment before going ahead with another line of thought, "How much is a little bit of myself?"


Tag: (@ashley,)
Notes: Terribly sorry it took so long to get this one up!

Ashley smiled as Rurik became quiet again, she could see that he was still feeling out the whole situation. Feeling out whether or not he could trust her. She leaned back in her chair and took a drink of her water waiting to see if the man would offer up any more information before she spoke. She got a feeling that Rurik wasn’t one who trusted easily so she was going to have to take this slowly, she didn’t want to spook him and ruin any chance of him ever opening up to her.

As he started talking about a friend of his she nodded, “Having friends is very important, especially when they prove to be a source of support in the tough times. So this William is here in Tierney, or was he at your last base?” She knew he hadn’t been here long at all, and sincerely hoped that he had someone here to help him feel more at ease. “I know you haven’t been in Tierney long, but it’s a good little town… Most who come here learn to love it pretty quickly. The good thing about this base is… once they’re here people tend to stick around.”

It was almost as if she could see the wheels turning in his head trying to figure out how much he was expected to divulge, she almost laughed when he asked her how much was a little bit of himself. “As much as you feel comfortable sharing.” She answered.

Closing her notebook she looked up at Rurik and smiled, “Ok so a little about myself. I was born here in Tennessee, and was adopted. My mom was a nurse, dad a pharmacist. I had a brother who was almost a year older than me. We had a happy childhood, my brother Scott and I were very close. Unfortunately my brother and I don’t speak anymore, he chose a different path and I just couldn’t overlook the drugs and what his choices were doing to my parents. They tell me that he has two children that I’ve never met.

I did the whole school thing getting my Bachelor’s degree before joining the Army, since joining the army I’ve gone on to get my master’s degree.

I’ve been married to my husband for 25 years and have two children of my own. Christina is 20 and away at college, Matthew is 18 and has just informed us that he will be joining the Army. So you could say that I’m very proud of both of my children.”

Smiling up at Rurik she continued, “I hope that someday soon you come to realize that you can trust me to help you through whatever it may be that’s bothering you.” While Ashley felt it was important to maintain a professional relationship with her clients she also realized that unless they trusted her and felt comfortable around her they would always be hesitant to tell her things. So she usually shot for something somewhere in between stuffy stuck up shrink and friend, but made adjustments to suit the individual patient. Thus far she’d seen fairly good results with the numerous other ‘difficult’ clients that had been sent her way.