“Presenting Problem” - “If the Queen Had Balls”
Gottlieb writes, “the presenting problem is the issue that sends a person into therapy. It might be a panic attack, a job loss, a death, a birth, a relational difficulty, an inability to make a big life decision, or a bout of depression. Sometimes the presenting problem is less specific - a feeling of ‘ stuckness’ or the vague but nagging notion that something just isn’t quite right.” The “presenting problem” frames the client’s prime subject. A patient can regain composure once the problem has been alleviated through pertinent therapy. Failure to divulge the problem protracts the anguish which is ascribed to it.
The Imagery of an Intern’s lies - “Namast’ay in Bed”
Gottlieb recalls, “I remember when, during my training a fellow intern told a patient he would be out of the clinic for three weeks,( for vacation) and she asked where she was going…the intern, believing that sharing the news of his wedding would be too personal, decided to focus on the patient’s comment…when the intern returned to work, the patient noticed his wedding ring and felt betrayed: “Why didn’t you just tell me truth?” Manifestly, the patient feels betrayed since the ring affirms that the intern was not on vacation as he had asserted; the intern took a three-weeks break for the nuptial. For the patient, a vacation and a wedding are divergent happenings. The question which the patient poses after perceiving the ring depicts irretrievably shattered faith.
