Session 1

Posted on Tue Oct 4th, 2016 @ 9:00pm by Lieutenant Ryan Rose

Mission: Bad Moon Rising
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: Mission Day 1, 0700

ON:

Ryan was ready for his shift after a trip to the gym, a quick shower and change, and a light breakfast. Now he just had to meet with Cameron. It was a nerve racking prospect. He'd been with his therapist for nearly a decade. Starting over with somebody new was frankly scary, and Cameron was male to boot. Ryan wasn't quite sure how this was going to work, but he'd agreed to try. So he arrived right on time to the Counselor's office and sounded the chime.

Cameron looked up from his fruit salad- pineapple, oranges, and strawberries as the chime sounded. Smoothing over his uniform and hastily clearing some of the debris, he cleared his throat. "Come in." he said. He had been going over Petty Officer Quinn's report and readiness evaluation. He had never received a rating below 'Outstanding' in any category in the five years he had been in Starfleet and was a shoo in for the Fleet Medical Commissioning Program in the next year. Every single division officer had mentioned that Quinn was well put together and had the chops for additional responsibility, which made it all the more maddening when he had suffered his breakdown.

"Good morning." Ryan greeted the Counselor as he stepped into the man's office. He was pleased to see the man appeared to be done decorating. There
was now a..well Ryan wouldn't call it 'homey' it wasn't much to his taste, but it felt that the space was 'owned' that was probably a better word.

Cameron waved. "Morning!" he said cheerfully. Placing the PADD on the desk, he set it off to the side along with his fruit bowl and grabbed another PADD in his ever growing pile. "Grab a drink and have a seat. There are also some stress balls and the like in the box next to the couch if you'd like one as well."" he said, motioning to a small, weather beaten, wooden box containing everything from teddy bears to the aforementioned stress balls. Often, Cameron felt that while traditional methods of therapy had their uses, he had always preferred to have his clients face their fears and traumas head on followed by periods of deep reflection. However in Ryan's case, he couldn't be sure. Last night, he had pored over Doctor Diane West's notes on his case and the treatment methodologies that she had used. It had mostly consisted of affirmation journals and relaxation breathing exercises and it had worked- at least for a while, then Doctor West's notes alluded to a lack of progress, almost as if she had hit a wall over the course of their treatments. Making a mental note, he looked over to Ryan and observed his behavior.

"So how are you feeling?" Cameron asked, taking a digital pad that he could jot notes down on. He had now switched into 'Doctor-Patient Mode' and he wouldn't snap out until the end of their session.

Ryan did grab a glass of water and took a seat, but he didn't even glance at the wooden box. He was too focused on trying to relax, and didn't want any surprises, who knew what was in that box besides a simple stress relief ball. Ryan took a sip of his water before answering Cameron's question. "Actually a bit nervous if I'm being honest."

Cameron smiled slightly. "It's okay, Ryan. I understand that being in a new place and especially having a new counselor can be jarring, so I'll just sit here. We can do anything you want, we can talk, we can sit in silence, or we can even play catch if you felt so inclined. When you want to talk, I'll be here, so I'll wait as long as it takes, okay?" he said warmly. Cameron knew that trying to force someone to talk about a trauma could cause more issues than it solved. So he would wait and wait and wait, even if it killed him. Turning to his console, he opened his music file and found a playlist of an Erunian String and heard soft strains of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, hoping that it might lighten the increasingly still atmosphere.

Ryan relaxed. With the pressure off he was able to appreciate the music. "This is nice. What is it?"

Cameron looked towards Ryan. "Erunian Strings Orchestra. Apparently they negotiated their entry into the Federation by presenting their advances in art and medicine. It's even rumored that some of their music has slight healing abilities." Cameron pointed out.

That interested Ryan. "I've read about the Baku and their homeopathic treatments, but I'm not familiar with the Erunian's. I'll have to look them up."

Cameron nodded. "I'd recommend it. I occasionally use it to stimulate neural activity in some of my patients during the initial recovery phase of their therapy in conjunction with other treatment methods like physical therapy." Swiveling in his chair, he reaches for a wide box and hefted it. Placing it on his desk, he motioned to Ryan. "Open the box, Doc." Cameron said, leaning back in his chair.

Ryan looked a tad wary, but leaned forward and did as asked and opened the box. There was a device similar to a small harp but with a three strings, with several small, slightly luminescent crystal disks suspended along them. Ryan raised a brow, then touched one curiously. A low note sung from it as the disc glowed. "Erunian?" Ryan asked.

Cameron nodded. "Right you are, Ryan. That is an Erunian lyre- it's kind of like a glass harmonica as you probably noticed, just run your fingers along the discs and different speeds and levels of pressure. If you want to tune it or change your key, just twist the dial at the top. Something else that's really cool-" Cameron pulled out an identical lyre and gently but rapidly ran his fingers along several of the discs, playing a series of rapidly ascending notes. As he did so, gentle, multicolored lights danced on the ceiling. Pointing up, Cameron smiled slightly. "Those can be quite therapeutic as they'll match everything from the pressure of your fingertips to the speed of your touch."

It was interesting, certainly, but Ryan already had his own musical respite. "I play the piano." He blurted. At least it wasn't out of the blue, they were discussing music at least. "Well more like the keyboard, I haven't been at a real piano in ages."

Cameron raised an eyebrow, sensing an idea. "Then we're going to have to change that, Doc. Do you have anything in particular that you like to play?" he asked, making yet another mental note. If a piano got this patient to open up, then he would take it.

"Oh, lots of stuff. though, oddly enough I'm not really a fan of classical. Most of the time I just end up playing my own stuff. Helps to unwind after a long shift." Ryan circled back around to Cameron's first statement. "Not really room for a piano on a starship, not a real one anyway. The holodeck's not quite the same."

"Hmm. We can use that." Cameron pointed out. "Have you ever heard of a musical narrative?" he said, bringing out a small book printed on old fashioned paper as opposed to a PADD and handing it over.

Ryan raised a brow. "A musical narrative. Is that pretty much what it sounds like?" He took the offered book, admiring the cover.

Cameron nodded. "Exactly. You simply play a piece of music that you create that corresponds to a piece of your history and if you desire, recall some of it in that journal. It can be anything you want- no restrictions. Anything you write in there will be secured- that thing is equipped with a deadlock seal. If anyone attempts to open that, they'll fail and it'll give them a nasty surprise." Cameron said slyly.

Ryan had done journal work, a lot of journal work. He'd done art therapy, but never music therapy. But his art therapy had always been vague, draw what you feel. He'd never tried to put anything to a specific incident. He looked over at Cameron. "I can give it a try. No restrictions?" He asked, just a bit hesitantly.

Cameron leaned forward slightly. "None. We'll be the only ones who read it and if you don't want me to, then we won't. Sound good?" he asked.

"Yeah. Ok." Ryan agreed. None of it sounded 'good' per se , but it was something he thought he could work with. "Until next week?"

Cameron nodded thoughtfully as he popped a piece of pineapple into his mouth. "I'm looking forward to it." he said simply, turning to back to his PADD to transcribe his notes.

:OFF