Читать книгу Holy Warrior Trojan Horses - Sheldon Cohen - Страница 6

They arrived in her office after school. The introductions complete, Dr. Levine couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between Ben and his father—the same unsmiling, serious face. “Thank you for coming, Dr. and Mrs. Marzan. I’ve seen your boy and I have some thoughts for you.”

“And what do you think, doctor,” said Hari.

“The times I saw him it was like talking to two different people. He vacillated between agitation and depression. I believe that he has either a bipolar disorder also known as manic depression, or he has an agitated depression. At other times, he seemed to be completely engrossed in another world. This makes me wonder if there was a schizophrenic component to his illness.”

“It sounds confusing, Dr. Levine,” said an alarmed Lois.

“Yes, I agree. Adolescents who develop one of these illnesses show the same depression and withdrawal and sometimes hopelessness as adults do, but they also can show extreme agitation and irritability, or they can demonstrate severe rage, use profanity, and have long lasting tantrums. The good news is that many of these people are highly intelligent, and if they can learn to stabilize their emotions, they can become very valuable citizens. One thing I spotted in your son is that he is a very intelligent youngster, even a genius perhaps. His teachers all said the same thing and had no doubt about his intellectual potential.”

“What should we do?” asked Lois.

“I would first recommend a psychiatrist to confirm one of these diagnoses. Then treatment can start if he or she concurs. It may well be that medication would be helpful. As a psychologist, I can’t prescribe them in this state.”

Hari, who had been slumping in the chair, leaned forwarded stiff-backed and said, “Treatment with medicine?”

The way that he responded told Mrs. Levine that the thought of medicine was anathema to Hari, but she dealt with the problem directly, and in an authoritative a voice as possible, she exclaimed, “Yes. The two mainstays of therapy are medication and psychotherapy. Medicine can deal with the medical aspects of the illness, and psychotherapy, or talk therapy, helps the patients to understand their illness and develop the proper approaches to lessen the effects and reduce the hills and valleys.”

“You say talk therapy?” asked Hari with wide opened eyes and a creased forehead.

“Yes, very important.”

“May I ask a question, Mrs. Levine?”

“Of course, anything.”

“What do you feel about just the use of talk therapy without medicine?”

“I understand your concern, Dr. Marzan. There is no such thing as a risk-free medicine, that’s true. Either talk or medication, or both talk and medication, can be used separate or together as therapy. That is a decision best left to a professional in the field.”

“Thank you, Dr. Levine. We appreciate the time you spent with our son.” Hari delivered this last remark with a finality that told Dr. Levine, and his wife, the interview was over.

“You’re welcome. If there’s anything more I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Dr. Levine said with a nagging fear that Ben, now clearly left to the devices of a domineering parent, could be heading for difficulty.