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My female owner ended another therapeutic relationship today. Well, sort-of. The set of parents was one of her first clients when she first started her clinical work. They came to the clinic because they were having problems managing their 9-year-old daughter. Non-compliance, temper tantrums and laziness.

They are young and modern, obviously doing well in life. They are also expecting a baby in September. From the very beginning, my female owner had problems getting them to do therapy homework. They either claimed that nothing adverse happened during the week or that they did their homework but forgot to bring. Even though dad is not the biological father, he was more conscientious than mum. Nonetheless, they were both attentive and motivated, often quoting what my female owner said in the previous session (which my female owner obviously didn’t remember saying).

Anyway, in July, Yuppie Parents requested to take an extended break because they were in the midst of renovating and moving house. They said they would be back in mid-August. Today, my female owner decided to make contact with Yuppie Mum because she knew that Yuppie Mum was going to give birth. As expected, Yuppie Mum sounded flustered and disorganised but she eventually calmed down and spoke coherently to my female owner.

She was a little shaken when my female owner proposed closing their file in view that they would not be able to come into the clinic for quite a while and my female owner had to move on to another clinic. She was reluctant to continue with another psychologist and wanted assurance that my female owner would be able to pick up their case again when they came back. This was obviously something that my female owner was not able to promise but my female owner told her to call nonetheless when they are ready. Yuppie Mum went on to ask about my female owner’s holiday, school and future plans (crossing some boundaries here but that’s Yuppie Mum for you).

It warmed my female owner’s heart when Yuppie Mum told her that she had been a great help to them and that they would want to come in, even if it was just to say thank you and goodbye.

Ahhh… the perks of clinical work - knowing that you made a difference to a family.