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Comments
you spelled "templar" wrong in that link.
Oh man, Ben! Lying to your shrink is never a good sign. Unless your shrink's an asshole.
Posted by Amy at August 27, 2006 01:38 AM
24.42.30.47
ALL shrinks are assholes. Goes without saying, his is too.
Yours,
Me
Posted by Khay Prower at August 27, 2006 02:49 AM
68.97.13.236
My, that person he's talking to on the phone... sounds really controlling, in an abusive way. *shudder*
Ben, keep running! Don't go back!
*my parents were like that -_-; *
Posted by Mista_B at August 27, 2006 11:13 AM
68.147.39.213
Actually, that shrink is doing her job. "Are you safe?" is the correct question to be asking, regardless of how much someone may be annoyed by it. "Safe" has a very particular meaning in this situation.
Posted by Wagner at August 27, 2006 12:11 PM
70.113.120.230
On the other hand, proving to someone else's standards that you're 'okay' or 'sane' is usually impossible, because the other person hold the power, and so decides what you really are.
And that isn't ever healthy. Cult leaders do something similar.
The mentioning of his parents leads me to guess that the psych was something they're using to manipulate/control/keep from growing up to independince against him.
*shrug*
Whatever the reason, run Ben, run!
Posted by B at August 27, 2006 04:55 PM
68.147.39.213
It's like a bunch of Scientologists showed up, I swear. EVIL PSYCH DOCS GONNA GETCHA.
Posted by Wagner at August 27, 2006 10:23 PM
70.113.120.230
There's no need to get insulting here; they've got a perfectly good point. On the surface this woman doesn't appear to be a very good shrink.
Almost the entire conversation is her telling him what other people think. His parents are upset and want him to come home. She thinks he's made a mistake and she thinks he should come home. She's happy he's still taking his meds, but disturbed that he didn't tell her he was leaving.
Nearly all of her questions can be answered with yes or no, which usually isn't a good way to get a quiet person to open up (and Ben is not exactly the chatty type.) She's asking very superficial questions, and she's not listening to him.
She tells him she's disturbed that he left without telling her, but doesn't follow it up and ask WHY he left.
She asks IF he's all right, but not HOW he feels.
She presumes he's coming back because she told him to, without asking if he wants to.
Compare this to Reagan's conversation in the clay bar. She got a ton of personal info out of him by asking "How" and "Why" and "What did you do?" Reagan talked to him like an adult; Dr. Bright is talking to him like a child.
This conversation so far isn't about him, it's about her telling him what he's GOING to do, like a good boy, right, Benny, right? No wonder he started surfing the web and tuning her out.
We don't know all the reasons he called in the first place, yet; but I doubt it was because he wanted a lecture. Given his outburst in the last panel, the next few comics ought to be very interesting.
Can you tell I've fallen in love with this strip?
Posted by Stacey at August 28, 2006 08:52 AM
69.216.98.223
"On the surface this woman doesn't appear to be a very good shrink."
The fact that she asked him "are you safe" suggests that Ben has a history. That's a code phrase for "are you in physical danger due to your mental state?"
In that context, I think Ben's doctor is behaving as expected. Maybe not with perfect professionalism, but he did call her out of the blue, and probably dragged her out of a meeting with another client or something.
Personal theory: Ben skipped town while under therapy, and nobody even knew if he was alive until now. His doctor freaking out a bit is not surprising, and neither are her attempts to get him back home where she can make sure he actually *is* okay.
Posted by Wagner at August 28, 2006 10:51 AM
146.6.154.118
My own personal theory that Ben is a runaway and not even 21 years old yet (maybe not really even eighteen) has pretty much been blown away by Spike's statements in the FAQ. I've never been an expert on psychiatry, but if he were a minor, then everything the shrink is saying would make perfect sense. But, like I said, Charlie specifically stated that he is twenty one and we all know she never lies...
Posted by michael patrick at August 28, 2006 01:07 PM
141.150.204.98
That's http://www.ironcircus.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=13665#13665 , right? The FAQ linked from www.templaraz.com doesn't mention Ben's age currently.
Posted by Document at August 28, 2006 07:43 PM
68.44.13.236
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