Transcript of 62nd Session between Charles Balis, M.D. and Ms. Anna Green, Thursday, November 13, 1997 at 4:00 pm.

Ms. Green: Hello, Doctor.
Dr. Balis: Hello, Anna.
Ms. Green: Before we begin, I'd like to set things straight, Doctor.
Dr. Balis: Yes?
Ms. Green: Last time was very unpleasant. I really look forward all week to seeing you, Doctor. I think of our time together as very special moments of my life--bits of reality that I tuck away for my pleasure.
Dr. Balis: Hmm. That's very poetic.
Ms. Green: Thank you. But I really do feel that way, Doctor. This is my time to step back and disassociate myself from real life. It's very therapeutic for me.
Dr. Balis: I'm glad you think of our therapy as therapeutic.
Ms. Green: Very funny. But you know what I mean.
Dr. Balis: I have to say that I don't think of therapy as a place to move away from one's problems. Quite the opposite, I...
Ms. Green: I didn't say "move away," Doctor. What I mean is that I think of our therapy sessions as...as a mud bath.
Dr. Balis: Mud bath?
Ms. Green: I've never really taken one--I'm not into mud that much--but I assume that when a person is sitting submerged in mud from neck to toes he won't be moving away from his problems.
Dr. Balis: I'm afraid I'm lost.
Ms. Green: It would be more like he would be gaining a new perspective on them.
Dr. Balis: A muddy one?
Ms. Green: Doctor!
Dr. Balis: Sorry.
Ms. Green: What I mean is that the relaxation a person feels while taking a mud bath would change how he reasons about his personal problems. That it would...never mind. It's not important about the mud bath. I was just trying to explain that coming in here and talking to you changes the way I feel.
Dr. Balis: What changes do you feel?
Ms. Green: I don't know. Many changes.
Dr. Balis: Well, try to give me an example.
Ms. Green: Something that I think of as important before I come and talk to you suddenly become less so after our session. Things like that.
Dr. Balis: You still didn't give me an example.
Ms. Green: That's what I mean, Doctor. Stop this!
Dr. Balis: Hmm?
Ms. Green: You know. This is what you did to me last time. I really hated last time. Can we just move past this and continue with our regular therapy?
Dr. Balis: What's our regular therapy?
Ms. Green: Don't play dumb. You usually ask me about my week, and I tell you how it was. Then you pick a particular thing that we concentrate on for the rest of the session. But it's never in the form of interrogation. It's pleasant and nice.
Dr. Balis: Hmm. So how was your week, Anna?
Ms. Green: That's better. It was stressful. Kathy accused me of acting strange all week. And Martin will be leaving for Boston on Saturday.
Dr. Balis: Let's start with Kathy. Were you acting strange all week?
Ms. Green: No.
Dr. Balis: So why did Kathy accuse you of it?
Ms. Green: She thinks I'm mad because Martin and she made love without me.
Dr. Balis: You were upset by that, remember?
Ms. Green: Of course I remember, Doctor. But as I told you and as I told them, I had PMS. I'm allowed, you know.
Dr. Balis: So you explained away your behavior by ascribing it to PMS.
Ms. Green: I started taking these birth control pills, and I have much more pronounced mood shifts just before my periods now. Kathy and Martin have noticed this before; they understood when I told them that I was acting irrationally because I thought my period was coming.
Dr. Balis: What birth control pills are you taking?
Ms. Green: The little ones, I don't remember the name. There's twenty eight of them in a package.
Dr. Balis: If you can let me know the name of the pills next time, it would be good. I try to keep a record of all the medication that my patients are taking.
Ms. Green: I'll try to remember to bring a package with me next time.
Dr. Balis: Thank you. So, why was Kathy still upset with you?
Ms. Green: I don't really know.
Dr. Balis: Did she say anything that made you believe that she was upset with you?
Ms. Green: She said that I act a lot more irritable with her than I do with Martin. And that I've been avoiding her after the...after the incident.
Dr. Balis: After you walked in on them making love?
Ms. Green: Yes. But it's not really true. I've just been very tired and stressed lately. It seems that Martin is having all the fun working on this new project, and I just get to do endless stupid shit that I know they'll change anyway.
Dr. Balis: Hmm. Did you talk to Kathy about this?
Ms. Green: Whenever I talk about the project at home, Martin jumps in and starts to rave about just how terrific it is. He's met with Lloyd Major--they went out for lunch, actually. Lloyd--we call him Lloyd now--is very impressed with Martin. He thinks he's got great ideas. He's got Martin flying to Boston to meet with the artificial intelligence team at MIT. He'll be gone all next week.
Dr. Balis: That sounds very exciting. Are you happy for Martin?
Ms. Green: Sure.
Dr. Balis: Hmm.
Ms. Green: But I think Lloyd just likes Martin's cute little ass.
Dr. Balis: Really?
Ms. Green: I heard a rumor he was gay. But he's got a wife, so...I know I sound resentful, Doctor. It's just been very stressful for me lately. And before you ask, I don't really know why. It just has been, okay?
Dr. Balis: Do you like Martin's project?
Ms. Green: I don't really know much about it. I mean I know some parts--the stuff I've been assigned to code. But Martin told me that his ideas are still kind of rough, and when he's thought things out better, he'll try to explain it to me. He had no problems talking to Lloyd about it, though.
Dr. Balis: But he has to talk to Lloyd to get his project approved, right?
Ms. Green: I suppose so. I am really happy for him. He's doing what he always wanted to do, and that's great.
Dr. Balis: And how about you?
Ms. Green: Actually, I really love my profession, too. I like the "solving the puzzle" feeling that it has and the thrill of getting it right. I just wish I was more in the "in" group. It helps to understand the goal of the project. Otherwise, it's just blind programming--what seems like a good answer usually turns out wrong in the large scheme of things. You know?
Dr. Balis: I think I understand. But let's get back to your conflict with Kathy.
Ms. Green: It's not really a conflict. Kathy's mad at me for nothing; I just don't care to deal with it.
Dr. Balis: Hmm. So Martin is leaving on Saturday?
Ms. Green: Yeah, great. I'll have a whole wonderful week with Kathy. Yippee!
Dr. Balis: Are you going to try to resolve things with her?
Ms. Green: Oh, I know she'll try--girl-bonding sort of thing. I guess I'm really in a bad mood.
Dr. Balis: Why?
Ms. Green: I just had an image of oral sex flash in my head, and it just made me...hmm.
Dr. Balis: And it made you...?
Ms. Green: Oh, nothing.
Dr. Balis: Are you worried about having sex with Kathy while Martin's away?
Ms. Green: I'm not exactly worried, Doctor.
Dr. Balis: Apprehensive, perhaps?
Ms. Green: Licking my clit is Kathy's way of saying "I love you."
Dr. Balis: Would you be expected to say "I love you" back?
Ms. Green: Wow, look at the time. I'm just amazed at how time flies when you're having fun. I think I better go and try to wipe the mud off before getting home to my lovely family.
Dr. Balis: All right, we can end for today.
Ms. Green: Thank you, Doctor. I feel so refreshed and rejuvenated. Maybe I'll get Kathy to give me a few lashes for good measure--it'll make me sleep better.
Dr. Balis: I'll see you next week, Anna. Please take care.
Ms. Green: Yeah. Have a good week.
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