RP: My Manic and I
Date: October 11, 2011
Characters: Ava Byrne, Tobias Whitehall
Location: Tobias' at-home practice
Status: Private
Summary: Ava comes in for a session.
Completion: Complete
Even if it hadn't been intentional when she'd called to schedule, picking National Coming Out Day for her first appointment with a therapist was either hilarious or depressing. Ava couldn't figure out which, but it was easier to contemplate the irony of that than to wonder what she was doing pulling up to Tobias' house at all. It wasn't the same as running into him in the park or on the street...he'd been easy to talk to then, but this was therapy. Which had never really been a thing for anyone in her family--either of her parents might suggest she see a priest, or else feel stung that she wasn't talking to one of them. They weren't the kind of people that needed therapy. But if she could talk to either of them, she wouldn't need to be here.
She knew at least some of the scientific basis for therapy, had read papers and personal accounts, but it was hard for her to separate the idea of therapy from sickness, illness, disorder, or at the very least a label she'd be branded with for the rest of her life.
Still, she knew for sure that she hated the way she felt. Scared all the time, shaky and ashamed, unable to move forward even when she had someone to possibly move forward with. This was worth at least one try even if she wasn't sure what this extremely nice man could tell her that she didn't already know. Logically, anyway.
Ava got out of her Jeep and got her first look at the office, which was an extension of his house. She didn't know if it made her feel better or worse that it was less clinical than some rented office space, but the surroundings seemed to fit what she knew of him; quietly elegant and whimsical and...warm. She took a long breath to keep herself steady as she walked in right on time and looked around, wishing she'd asked Rori to come just for a hand to hold, but she hadn't been sure she'd have the nerve to do this until she'd got up this morning. She hadn't been able to eat anything since the toast she'd had for breakfast, and her stomach was dancing.
Characters: Ava Byrne, Tobias Whitehall
Location: Tobias' at-home practice
Status: Private
Summary: Ava comes in for a session.
Completion: Complete
Even if it hadn't been intentional when she'd called to schedule, picking National Coming Out Day for her first appointment with a therapist was either hilarious or depressing. Ava couldn't figure out which, but it was easier to contemplate the irony of that than to wonder what she was doing pulling up to Tobias' house at all. It wasn't the same as running into him in the park or on the street...he'd been easy to talk to then, but this was therapy. Which had never really been a thing for anyone in her family--either of her parents might suggest she see a priest, or else feel stung that she wasn't talking to one of them. They weren't the kind of people that needed therapy. But if she could talk to either of them, she wouldn't need to be here.
She knew at least some of the scientific basis for therapy, had read papers and personal accounts, but it was hard for her to separate the idea of therapy from sickness, illness, disorder, or at the very least a label she'd be branded with for the rest of her life.
Still, she knew for sure that she hated the way she felt. Scared all the time, shaky and ashamed, unable to move forward even when she had someone to possibly move forward with. This was worth at least one try even if she wasn't sure what this extremely nice man could tell her that she didn't already know. Logically, anyway.
Ava got out of her Jeep and got her first look at the office, which was an extension of his house. She didn't know if it made her feel better or worse that it was less clinical than some rented office space, but the surroundings seemed to fit what she knew of him; quietly elegant and whimsical and...warm. She took a long breath to keep herself steady as she walked in right on time and looked around, wishing she'd asked Rori to come just for a hand to hold, but she hadn't been sure she'd have the nerve to do this until she'd got up this morning. She hadn't been able to eat anything since the toast she'd had for breakfast, and her stomach was dancing.