My day started off non-eventful and rather mundane, with the added bonus of our note-writing computer application being on the fritz. This meant I had more time to catch up on phone calls and treatment plans instead of doing the tedious work of documenting sessions.
After sending out some emails, I went to greet my first client of the day. I knew the hour might be quite demanding when I stepped into the lobby and waited for my client and his mother to walk up the stairs. A man who had been waiting in the lobby with them walked passed me, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "You're seeing him? Whew, good luck with that one!" I looked back to the stairs and noticed that my client's mom was holding his shoulders so that he wouldn't make a quick escape, nudging him up the stairs. After I said hello, he answered me with a grunt, no, more of a growl. He continued to growl as we walked down the hallway. Once in the office, there was more growling and some innovative hissing sounds. I calmly asked the client to "use his words" as he tore around my office. In less than five minutes he had jumped on the couch, hid under both tables, ran around in circles in the middle of the room, and finally sought rest under a chair where he continued to make animal sounds. I sat on the floor next to him and asked,
"Are you mad?"
The animal sounds suddenly stopped, he looked at me and said,
"Yes. My mom wouldn't get me that toy."
"Oh, that's too bad."
"Yeah."
"Remember last time you were in here?"
"Yes."
"We practiced looking at each other when we're talking, remember?"
With his eyes toward the floor, he was trying hard not to make eye contact with me. Still looking at the floor he stood up and shouted,
"I'm evil! I'm the devil!!!"
"Oh, you are, are you? What does it mean to be evil?"
"Run around! Be bad! I'm bad!!!," he raised his arms into the air, making his hands into claws and growled like a lion.
"I don't think you're evil."
He sat back down, "You don't? Oh."
Perhaps I took all the fun out of his theatrics, it probably wasn't the reaction he wanted. He was fine the rest of the session, only running out of the room once and he didn't throw a temper tantrum like he usually does. Progress comes in such small steps sometimes.