22 Phoenix place, Wednesday afternoon

[sharp_as_knives]

So, the group therapy sessions were to begin today. There hadn't been much terrible island trauma in some time, but there had been the minor ones, and surely some people had issues of their own. Hannibal was curious to see how many would show. The chairs and sofas in his office had been arranged into a loose and seemingly haphazard grouping designed to eliminate pressure from any one position.

After some deliberation, he'd decided that the food shouldn't overpower the discussion, and had gone with an assortment of very good cheeses, a few homemade sausages, fresh-baked bread and crackers, and a few types of jam. Plus, naturally, coffee, tea, and water.

When the time came to start, he nodded at the people there. "Before we begin, I must insist on a few things. First, there is to be no judgement. You may question each other, you may say you would do things differently, but this is to be a supportive environment for all. Also, anything said here remains here. Unless you are explicitly told otherwise, whatever you hear is not to be repeated." He waved toward the rear of the house. "The squirrels are currently working on a ridiculously good bottle of rum. The rest of you will simply have to be trustworthy."

He looked them over. "I thought to begin, we might start with stories. What is something you have had happen to you on the island - good or bad - that you would never have conceived of where you came from? And also, if you will, what is it you hope to get from this group, if anything?"

Hannibal smiled. "I can say from my own perspective that there are many things I never would have conceived of. Meeting aliens, being possessed, being a woman, being a child. It's fascinating, but it was quite an adjustment. And what I'm hoping for is to help people to make that adjustment." He looked expectant and waited for the next person to speak up.


[OOC: Open post! Other than who came and what Hannibal set up the office for, the rest is NFB due to therapy and squirrel bribes.]

Comments

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal frowned faintly. "And why was that?"

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa closed her eyes for a moment. To this day, she still vividly remembered the sight of the angry red vision (http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/iceolatedqueen/67696236/8238/8238_1000.gif) the trolls had shown her, leaping on her to tear her apart.

She still had nightmares of it, from time to time.

"I hurt my sister, once," she said, softly. "It was an accident. We were playing, and both got carried away, and a piece of ice struck her head. Since then, I hid what I could do, and tried not to do it any more. Papa and Mama sent most of the staff away, and they closed the gates to Arendelle. Most of my life has been spent hiding."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

"But it isn't what you do, is it?" Hannibal asked gently. "It's who you are."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"It's a part of who I am," Elsa noted, shaking her head. "A big part, but still only part. There are a lot of parts of who I am. Sister, girlfriend, princess. Queen, someday. But this has impacted my life in ways none of the rest ever really could. I don't remember a time when I didn't have powers. I can stop worrying about being a princess from time to time, or a sister, or a girlfriend, but what I can do... that's always there, no matter how hard I try to push it back."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "There is never only one facet to a person. But what I meant is - this isn't something you can put down, is it? You can hide it, but you can't turn it off."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa nodded a little. That sounded right enough.

"That's true," she admitted. "My powers are always there. I can't stop having them. All I can really do is try to control them to the best of my ability, and... and I'm only somewhat good at that."

Hence the gloves. Always the gloves. Or at least the bracelets that Barry had made for her.

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

"And you can't turn off your feelings, either." Hannibal leaned forward to meet her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with hiding if you feel you're in danger, but pretending that your feelings or your power doesn't exist could be disastrous in the long run."

He kept his voice gentle; he suspected he wasn't telling Elsa anything she didn't know.

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa pulled in a breath as her eyes met Hannibal's, and she forced herself to not look away. He was right, of course, and she already knew that there was some level of disaster just waiting in the wings. Hiding how she felt and hiding her powers went hand-in-hand, it seemed, and the more she tried to repress either, the harder it was to repress both.

"I've never been all that good at hiding either, anyway," she admitted. "I'd usually attempt to do both by barricading myself in my bedroom."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "Unless you're very happy in your room, I would suggest finding another solution. This place is uniquely suited to that. If nobody here has offered to help you learn to use your abilities, I will be very surprised."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I've had offers," Elsa confirmed. "And I've gone out with a few people to try to at least figure out what my personal limits are. I keep finding myself being surprised."

She wasn't about to name names. No, Raven and Celia weren't especially concerned about secret identities or anything of the like, but Karina certainly had been, even if she'd left at the beginning of summer.

"It worries me, though," she added. "Bringing somebody else along. As much as they help to keep me grounded, I'm always afraid I'll hurt them. Even then, I suppose not all of those offers have come from people that I can actually injure."

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[sharp_as_knives]

"That's good." Hannibal nodded. "Learning in a controlled environment is a good way to work on that fear."

There were other ways, too, but somehow he didn't think the techniques he'd used on Will would work here.

Re: Therapy! Discuss!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

The techniques he'd used on Will would get him sealed in a block of ice, more likely. Probably with an eternal winter thrown in for good measure.

"Well... then I'll have to keep trying," Elsa decided, smiling tentatively. "It's worth it, if only to know I won't accidentally do something that I'll end up regretting later."