Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!
Chapter 334 - 332 Too Responsible

Chapter 334: Chapter 332 Too Responsible

Driving the messy thoughts out of his mind, Nan Zhubin quickly went through the verbatim script of his previous conversation with Li Mingchen twice.

After confirming that he had recalled every detail, he took a deep breath and exited the dreamscape.

Still without the drowsiness of just waking up, Nan Zhubin’s eyelids popped open like a rebooting robot, glancing at the phone’s clock.

[20:13]

The evening self-study session for senior high school students starts at [19:00], and Nan Zhubin and the others had gone in halfway and attended a class for about half an hour.

After coming back, he took a short nap.

This brings us to now.

Tonight, the consultation time scheduled with Li Mingchen is at [20:30].

"Just a little while to go." Nan Zhubin got up, walked into the consultation room, and began preparing for the session.

The main tasks were to pour water, check the tissues, and confirm the basic conditions like doors and windows, as Nan Zhubin didn’t have an assistant here, and he felt embarrassed to genuinely treat Teacher Xiao Zhao as one.

Truth be told, if not for accompanying Nan Zhubin and the others, Teacher Xiao Zhao could have left work early today.

Come on, it’s evening self-study time, what’s a psychology teacher got to do?

But Teacher Xiao Zhao indeed hadn’t left yet. Besides volunteering to help Nan Zhubin, she seemed to have other purposes.

"Mr. Nan..." Not far away, Teacher Xiao Zhao was hesitant to speak to Nan Zhubin.

Nan Zhubin turned around, scanning the other person’s face, and saw a familiar expression.

Similar to when she last came to him for a "peer supervision" session but much more restrained.

Not at the level of "needing consultation," but probably just "a bit confused."

"What’s up?"

"Well, I think you’re amazing at teaching. Before today, I never imagined a psychology class could be taught like this..."

Nan Zhubin accepted the praise, displaying a standard social smile after being complimented.

However, he knew that this compliment was just the prelude; Teacher Xiao Zhao had something more to say.

"The Li Mingchen, Little Li, who is coming to you for consultation later, I sort of know about his situation." Teacher Xiao Zhao carefully chose her words, "The principal specifically reminded me to pay attention to him, saying he has anorexic behavior and anxiety tendencies, right?"

For privacy principles, Nan Zhubin didn’t disclose specific details about Li Mingchen to Teacher Xiao Zhao.

However, the psychological assessment report he provided back then was something the school was entitled to know;

And it’s a reasonable step for the school to have Teacher Xiao Zhao, who is in charge of mental health, aware and vigilant about it.

Now, Teacher Xiao Zhao is clearly quite concerned about Li Mingchen; her professional responsibility is apparent.

"Mr. Nan, regarding Little Li, it’s you doing the consultation now."

"But you’re not always here, so after you leave, is there anything about Li Mingchen that I should keep an eye on?"

This way of speaking genuinely regarded Nan Zhubin as a supervisor or even a mentor for guidance.

Nan Zhubin recalled Li Mingchen’s circumstances.

In the cases he’s encountered, Li Mingchen isn’t the type of particularly dangerous visitor.

The challenge lies in the underlying issues behind his problems.

In terms of the problems themselves that Li Mingchen has, the difficulty isn’t high.

But Nan Zhubin wasn’t overly confident in his words; he organized his thoughts and said:

"After I’ve finished the consultation with him, at least you won’t have to worry too much about Li Mingchen in terms of personal safety."

Li Mingchen’s issues are unrelated to self-harm or suicide risks; even if there were, Nan Zhubin would consult him until there’s no longer any direct risk.

"Issues like anorexia and anxiety can certainly be alleviated. However, in the current high-pressure environment, these problems might continue at a lower level..."

This was Nan Zhubin’s most conservative estimate, gauging from the position of total cluelessness about the underlying issues, relying purely on his consultation methods to intervene.

"But to the extent where he improves to a ’psychologically sub-healthy’ level at most. You can appropriately keep an eye on him due to his past experiences, but there’s no need to be overly anxious," Nan Zhubin consoled.

However, Teacher Xiao Zhao showed an unusual level of anxiety: "Mr. Nan, do you mean he might still have issues like anxiety and anorexia in the future?"

Nan Zhubin squinted his eyes.

Teacher Xiao Zhao seemed overly nervous.

He tentatively asked, "Does Teacher Xiao Zhao want to completely resolve Li Mingchen’s issues so that he will no longer be bothered by anxiety and anorexia?"

Teacher Xiao Zhao actually nodded: "I know Mr. Nan is busy and can’t stay at our school permanently. But Little Li will stay at our school for at least another year or so. I’m thinking about whether we can let him recover during this period..."

"Recover?" Nan Zhubin repeated these words.

He glanced up and down at Teacher Xiao Zhao.

Then he realized that the person in front of him was a young teacher who had just graduated from university less than a year ago.

Although during her school years, Teacher Xiao Zhao followed a mentor and was supervised on a case, that bit of consulting experience might only allow her to grasp only an entry-level technique.

In terms of professional proficiency, Teacher Xiao Zhao was certainly not as competent as Huang Xin, whom Nan Zhubin had previously encountered, possibly only slightly better than Liu Pan.

Speaking of which, I wonder how Huang Xin is doing under Sister Pingting’s guidance recently...

"Teacher Xiao Zhao," Nan Zhubin calmed down, "what do you think constitutes ’recovery’ for Li Mingchen?"

Teacher Xiao Zhao was startled: "...Just, turning back to what he was before he had problems..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, seemingly aware of the absurdity of her demand and how amateurish her words sounded.

Nan Zhubin said: "Do you remember how consultants judge when a consultation can end?"

It was like a fundamental problem emerging when submitting a thesis, prompting the professor to ask oral questions, and Teacher Xiao Zhao suddenly tensed up.

She knew which part Nan Zhubin referred to: "When the client feels that the problem will no longer interfere with their life or can independently handle the issue..."

But Teacher Xiao Zhao quickly added her opinion: "But Mr. Nan, isn’t Little Li still a minor? He may not be able to independently make such judgments at that level. When facing minor clients, consultants are obligated to guide certain understandings and even help make suitable decisions."

This is indeed correct.

When dealing with minor clients, consultants don’t function like they do with adult clients, simply "offering the consequences of each choice and allowing the client to choose for themselves."

Instead, they appropriately guide the client through choices, somewhat assuming the role akin to a "teacher."

When Teacher Xiao Zhao mentioned this, Nan Zhubin had pinpointed the issue she was facing at that moment.

This young woman had completed the professional shift from "psychological consultant" to "psychology teacher" indeed.

But it’s like shifting from one dead-end corner to another.