Clinical

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1

[fire crackling]

[wind howling]

[wind gusting]

[haunting music playing]

[distant choir singing "Silent Night"]

[touch tones beeping]

[line ringing]

Hello, this is Dr. Jane Mathis.

I am calling in a prescription

for Nora Green.

Yes, no "E."

DOB 2/2/1998.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, calling in for Risperdal,

125 milligrams.

Sig one tablet PO BIO.

Distribute 60-plus. One refill.

My phone number's 610-555-7682.

DEA B4758491.

NPI 13663.

Great, thank you so much. Bye-bye.

[line rings]

Hello, it's Dr. Mathis

and I was just calling to see

how you're doing on the new medicine.

If you're sleeping okay.

If you still have anxiety.

[touch tones beeping]

Yes, but I need you to try harder.

You can't cancel within a 24-hour window.

Mm-hmm.

- [line rings]

- Hi, Greg.

Does 2:
00 p.m. on Friday

work for you?

Great. Thank you so much.

Bye-bye.

[ticking]

[groans]

[choir singing

"Ding Dong Merrily on High"]

[yawns]

[sighs]

[loud clatter]

Terry?

Terry?

[ominous music begins]

[girl] Dr. Mathis?

[sighs]

Nora.

[whimpering]

I did what you told me to do.

Nora...

Nora.

You need to listen to me.

Give me the glass.

Nora, it's okay.

I'm going to call the ambulance,

and you're going to give me that glass.

Nora, look at me. Look at me.

You were wrong.

Give me the glass.

You were so wrong.

Let me help you.

Aah!

[struggling]

[grunts]

No.

[gasps]

No, no, no!

[siren wailing]

[screen door squeaks]

[birds chirping]

[wind chimes ringing]

[swing chain creaking]

[child playing in distance]

[Jane] Remember when you were a kid

and a year felt like a really long time?

[Terry] Perils of age.

Last week I was 20.

So, it's the anniversary.

[Jane] Two years.

I feel like I have to move on now.

I need to be helping people.

I can't... I've been avoiding this

for too long.

[Terry] What would you like

to talk about today?

[Jane sighs]

Well...

feeling slightly disconnected,

insecure,

some mild form of general anxiety,

obsessive-compulsive thoughts...

Jane, you drive 90 minutes

every week to see me.

Let's make it worth the trip.

You are the patient now.

I'm sorry, I... I just...

I think it's time to move on.

Last time you talked

about going to see her.

I'm not ready.

Fine.

Uh...

the painters left yesterday.

Finally.

[chuckles]

Now it's kind of back

to how my dad had it.

[chuckles]

He was always working, but he...

he wasn't at work

when I was a kid, you know?

Could always go and visit him.

I am seeing this guy.

Oh!

He's a cop.

- I know what you're thinking.

- What am I thinking?

You're thinking I...

You're thinking I'm dating Miles

because I have a...

I didn't know he was a cop

when I met him, okay?

I just want you

to find someone you care about.

He's a really good person.

And, um, it's been a while.

[chuckles]

[sighs]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...

I like him.

Well, that's good!

[chuckles]

You see that, right?

You're confronting the trauma,

and now you're getting on with it.

You just take care of yourself.

I'm taking it slow.

- Good.

- Yes.

That's what all great psychiatrists say.

[chuckles]

[patient] Finally,

you know, I just got up,

I walked into her office,

and I told her... you know,

I told her that she was wrong.

You know?

It... it offended me as a person.

Feel good?

Actually, yes!

It's like this giant weight's

been lifted off my shoulders.

[no audio]

[no audio]

Good. That's the hour.

Mm.

Greg?

Um... you think there's anything

you might be able to give me?

You know, I'm still having

a lot of anxiety.

Let's try a few more sessions

working through it first.

All right?

[sighs]

[buzzing]

Dr. Mathis.

[heavy breathing over phone]

Hello?

Hi.

Can I help you?

[sighs] I...

I thought...

I don't...

I-I don't know how to start this.

Are you looking for a psychiatrist?

Ah, um... I was in a bad accident...

severely injured, and they tell me that

you're the best at this kind of thing.

Well, I should tell you, Mr...

Alex.

Alex, I don't do post-trauma anymore.

I haven't for quite some time.

But I can recommend some very qualified...

Please, I don't... I don't know if...

I need to start over fresh.

I need to put this behind me,

and if you're the best,

then I... I... I need you.

[melancholy music swells]

[crickets chirping]

[ticking]

[pounding on door]

[glass breaking]

[dramatic film score

playing on television]

[clock ticking]

Ebenezer Scrooge.

Oh, no! What do you want of me?

Much.

[clattering]

- [clattering]

- [dog barking]

You don't believe in me.

[sighs] Oh.

[A Christmas Carol

continues indistinctly]

[clattering continues]

[dog barking]

[wind chimes clink]

[branch cracks]

[rustling]

[tense music swells]

[inhales and sighs]

[whistling "Winter Wonderland"]

[sobbing]

Hello.

You must be Alex.

Come in.

Sit anywhere you'd like.

Most people choose the couch.

Clich, I know.

What can I say?

I like to give people options.

Uh, it is Alex, right?

Unless you prefer...?

Um, yeah, that's fine.

Can you... pull the curtains?

Oh, sure.

Better?

I like your lack of Christmas spirit.

[scoffs]

Well, holidays are stressful.

I like to make this place a safe zone

for those who are about

to drown their relatives in eggnog.

[sighing]

So... what's the first step?

You tell me.

Why are we sitting here?

[soft scoff]

Besides the obvious?

Do you want to talk about that?

See, this is why I never do this.

What do you mean?

It annoys me that you people

never guide the sessions,

sort of leave us here,

like struggling fish in a boat.

Also, my... my last therapist

couldn't stop staring.

[chuckles]

Well, Alex, that's what therapy is.

We listen...

and then we analyze and treat.

I want someone to tell me

how to live with this.

Well, I'm not a life coach.

You open up,

and we talk.

Therapy's a give and take.

You get out of it what you put in.

But shouldn't you ask more questions?

Family history?

Why I dream of being buried alive

by my grandfather?

Does that happen?

It was a joke.

[chuckles]

Well, we can start off

by talking about your childhood.

No.

I want to talk about this.

I don't see myself.

Disassociation.

That's... that's common with people

who've undergone

such a extreme procedure.

Women, and...

well, people who've even had

a simple nose job

are bothered by their own reflection.

This isn't some housewife desperately

trying to hold on to her youth.

I need medication.

I want to take something

so that I can forget

about this transplant.

It's been my experience...

that drugs usually make things worse.

I'm not like other psychiatrists.

I won't put you on something

I don't think is necessary.

I care about the patient first.

And the other shrinks don't?

- Don't?

- You said you're not like the others,

that you care about the patients first.

And the other doctors,

what do they care about?

Well, everyone has their own approach.

But I believe that talking

and exposing what's bothering you

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