Doctor is Always Right

Author's note: While I'm used to giving credit when another writer's work inspires a story, I'm less used to giving credit to a specific porn video. This story is largely inspired by Mind Under Master's "Melody Marks -- Trance Therapy", which has been occupying a large portion of my personal free time in recent days.

Session 1

Abby was nervous. She had never been to therapy before. Her perspective was filled with old Frasier reruns, the odd episode of the Sopranos, and the ever-present stereotype of an old man in a musty room with a deep voice and notepad full of secrets.

She took a deep breath and glanced towards the door. Behind there was a therapist. She spun her diamond wedding ring in circles on her finger--a sort of nervous twitch. She told herself that she was being silly. People went to therapy every day. They went because it helped. And frankly, this anxiety is exactly why you need it.

Abby thought back to her conversation with her friend Melody. Melody had said that this therapist was easygoing, insightful, and helpful. He had a few odd methods--Abby didn't know how she felt about the idea of hypnotherapy--but Melody had laughed at that. "It's not like the movies, Abby," she had said. "It's just a relaxation thing. Lord knows you could use some relaxation." Abby couldn't exactly argue with that.

So Abby sat in the waiting room of Doctor Osiris' office, feeling the anxiety that plagued her welling up again and trying to clamp it down. She didn't know if it helped or hurt that there was no receptionist, just a sign saying, "Welcome. Sit and make yourself comfortable. The doctor will summon you soon," it meant one less pair of prying eyes to face, but it also meant Abby was sitting and waiting alone, Finally, just as her anxiety was about to win and send her home, the door opened.

"Hi, Abby?" the man said. He was younger than Abby envisioned, with a pleasant smile and a t-shirt and jeans. "I'm Doctor Osiris. I'm ready for you." His voice was also soft, pleasant, and conversational. Frasier Crane he was not.

Abby smiled, stood, and stepped into the room. It was more stereotypical than the doctor, with a large couch, a dark-stained desk, and a bookcase with hardcover volumes from end to end. There was a large television screen at the foot of the couch, which Abby hadn't expected to see, but she supposed that some technology was to be expected--especially in a post-pandemic, Zoom-ready world. The thought of the pandemic struck another wave of anxiety through her.

"Well Abby," the Doctor said, sitting down on an office chair by the dark-stained desk, "why don't you have a seat and tell me a little about yourself?" He gestured towards the couch.

Abby settled onto the couch, laughing nervously and spinning her wedding ring, and said, "Ummm. Ok. Yeah. Ok." She laughed again, realizing that she had said nothing, and tried again. "I'm Abby. I'm an accountant. I just started working a few months ago. And... um... I've been dealing with some anxiety."

"How long have you been out of school?" the doctor asked casually.

"I graduated college almost a year ago," Abby said.

"So you're... what... twenty-three years old?"

"Twenty-two," Abby corrected. "I skipped a year of school."

"I see," Doctor Osiris said with a warm smile. "And you're married?"

"Yes," Abby nodded. "We got married between sophomore and junior year of college."

"That's rather unusual," Doctor Osiris observed. "Isn't it?"

"Well... it depends on the school," Abby said sheepishly. "My husband and I both attended a private Christian school. So... when it came down to a choice between getting married earlier than normal or... um... doing something that would violate our faith... we chose marriage." Abby was red, but Doctor Osiris just smiled again.

"You mean you got married so you could have sex?"

Abby giggled nervously. "Well... I wouldn't put it like that... it's not uncommon from our school. They have married housing."

"And how was the sex?" Doctor Osiris asked.

Abby blinked, taken back by the straight question. "Ummm... what?"

"Did it meet the expectation that you had given it?" Doctor Osiris said. "Abby, lots of times we feel out of control in life because we assign expectations to events that fail to meet them. You took one of the most serious decisions in your life--not to mention in your faith--because you had a desire for sex. I'm asking, as a therapist, if it met your expectation."

"Oh," Abby said. "Well... I mean..." She stammered, trying to find a way of telling another man about her sex life. Even if he was a therapist--her therapist--it felt wrong.

"We can get back to that later," Doctor Osiris said with a wave of a hand. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Ok," Abby said with a nervous laugh.

"Tell me about your anxiety," Doctor Osiris said.

"Yeah," Abby nodded. "It's gotten pretty bad. In familiar situations I'm pretty okay. In my house, in my car, even at my job--although that took a little while to get comfortable. But anywhere new... I just... feel paralyzed. Like there's a car parked on my chest. Like I can't breathe. I feel so... conspicuous."

"I see," Doctor Osiris said. "And why is that?"

"I just think that... that everyone knows I'm a fraud. And they can see it. And they're talking behind my back about it. Because how could they not?" Her breaths were coming faster now. Doctor Osiris lifted a hand and smiled.

"It's okay," he said. "You're in a safe place. I'm here to help you."

"I know that," Abby said, "it's just... it's hard."

"Well," Doctor Osiris said. "Do you know my specialties?"

"I... uh... do you mean the trance stuff?"

"Yes," Doctor Osiris said comfortably. "I know that fifty years ago I would've been called a crackpot, but modern psychology has come around in the last few decades to the healing ability of a trance. Think about it like your phone. If you have a problem with your phone, if it's running slow or running hot, one of the first and best things you should do is to restart it. Now, of course, we won't be restarting a brain, but a trance allows your brain to rest, reset, and clear out a lot of the junk that you can carry with it." He paused, cocked his head, and said, "Think of it like clearing the mental cookies that you pick up through the course of your life. And if you've never done it, that cache is pretty full."

The metaphor was impactful, but Abby wasn't sure. "What about the whole clucking like a chicken thing?" she asked tentatively.

Doctor Osiris laughed. It was a pleasant, easing sound. "I think you'll find that there's very little in common with this form of therapeutic hypnosis and the stage magic of the fifties. I do not have the ability--or the desire, frankly--to input foreign ideas into your brain." He was moving to the tv screen.

"I understand that new experiences are one of your anxiety triggers. And I want to applaud you for coming here in the first place. It's a great first step and I promise it will lead to you living a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life." He glanced over at Abby on the couch. "Are you willing to give me just one more new experience today to see if it can help?" He smiled warmly.

"Yeah," Abby said with a sigh. "Okay. Let's see how it goes."

"Good," Doctor Osiris said. He pushed a button on the television screen and it came on. Abby saw a picture of a mountain range, which she thought was odd, until she realized it was the desktop of his computer. He was using it as an extended monitor. Doctor Osiris sat down, dragged a program onto the screen from his computer, and then looked up at Abby.

"This is going to be a bit of an odd experience for your first time," Doctor Osiris said. "Some people aren't used to feeling this level of relaxation. It's good, though. It's healthy." He pointed at the screen. "I want you to lean back on the couch and look at that screen. Get very comfortable."

Doctor Osiris reached under his desk and push a button. The lights in the room dimmed slightly. Abby leaned back on the couch, finding it quite comfortable. There was a pillow that was well positioned so that she could see the screen, but wasn't craning her neck.

"When this starts, you might feel the urge to go to sleep," Doctor Osiris said. "Don't fight that. It's actually the trance itself. And afterwards, you may feel that you are awakening from the most restful nap ever."

That did sound nice. She knew she was here to get better and deal with anxiety, but the idea of taking a nap for her first session was a lot less pressure. She had been expecting to open up to the dark spots of her psyche and tell a stranger about traumatic memories. A nap was easier.

"All set?" Doctor Osiris asked.

"Yep," Abby said.

Doctor Osiris pressed a button and Abby focused on the television screen. From the black screen, a soft purple light appeared. It was a small circle amidst the black screen. As Abby watched, the color of the circle shifted to blue, then green, then yellow. It worked its way through the color wheel and restarted.

"Just relax and watch the light," Doctor Osiris said softly. Abby jolted a little bit at his voice. She was surprised to find that she had begun to drift already. She focused on the light again, just as it split.

The one light became two lights. They shifted through the color wheel again, very slowly. Abby was trying to see if one was moving faster than the other, but they seemed to not progress at the same rate or with any consistency. Abby realized at one point that there were three lights now. They were spinning in a triangle. One appeared to be moving backward through the color wheel.

Abby realized that she could no longer see anything outside the television screen. The room had faded from her vision. Had Doctor Orisus turned off the lights completely? Or had her eyes adjusted to the lights on screen? Abby briefly considered looking around to see, but didn't want to look away from the light.

She did feel sleepy, but it was more than that. It was like she was looking into a window and there was a room on the other side.

"Just relax." Doctor Osiris's words sounded like they were drifting across an ocean. They didn't startle her this time. "Watch the lights."

Abby was trying, but it was light the lights weren't even there anymore. She was looking past that, into something beyond. She was amidst the swirling colors in the darkness.

"You're safe, Abby," the distant words were almost a whisper.

Abby found herself on a beach of some sort. Instead of water, however, the waves that rolled in and out were made of the night sky, filled with stars of every color. The beach she was on was made of tiny beads of glass. She walked, listening to faraway voices that she could no longer understand and no longer recognize. The nightsky pooled around her feet, then receded back into the ocean.

She didn't know how long she was in that no-place. Time didn't seem to matter. But eventually, she became aware of a circle of lights, spinning before her eyes in various colors. They dropped away, one by one, until a single light was in the center of her vision. Around her, Abby could see the office of her therapist, Doctor Osiris.

Finally, the last light faded and it was just Abby on the couch. She stretched, feeling that her muscles were very stiff, but relaxed.

"Oh," she muttered. "Did... I fall asleep?"

"No, dear," Doctor Osiris said softly. "You were put under a relaxing trance. Do you remember that?"

"Oh yeah," Abby said, smiling. She did feel very relaxed. "That was wonderful."

"Not scary?" Doctor Osiris asked.

"No, not scary," Abby shook her head. "I want to do more of them." The words popped out of her mouth spontaneously.

"Maybe later," Doctor Osiris said. "For now, I think we should talk some. This is therapy after all." (sAfE spAcE)

"Okay," Abby nodded. "This is a safe space."

Doctor Osiris smiled pleasantly. "Yes, it is a safe place. And it's important that you trust me." (trUst) "Abby, do you know what 'repression' is?"

"It's like when you push something down, right?" Abby said.

"Very good, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr)

Abby smiled, glowing with the compliment.

"Specifically," Doctor Osiris continued, "it's when you take something that is natural and hard-coded in your DNA and attempt to deny it. Push it down, in your words. And bottle it up. But it doesn't go away. It's just hiding. Does that make sense?" (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr) (sAfE spAcE)

Abby nodded. "Yes, that makes sense."

"I'm worried that for a person of faith such as yours, you may be dealing with a lot of repression," Doctor Osiris said. (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr) "Can you tell me at all about your sex life?" (trUst) (sAfE spAcE)

"It's... it's pretty boring," Abby said. She was glad that she had done the relaxing techniques. She felt much less stressed talking about her sex life now. "We do it once a week. Thursday nights are date night. We do it after that."

"Do you cum?" Doctor Osiris asked. (sAfE spAcE)

"Sometimes," Abby said. "We mostly do hand stuff. We try to do more sex, but he doesn't like wearing a condom and neither of us have much practice. So hand stuff is simply easier."

"Very good, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr)

Abby gushed with the compliment.

"I'm not surprised that you have a pretty boring sex life," Doctor Osiris said. "Sex takes practice. It takes exploration. And that is something that a faith generally squashes. But it's natural for a young woman such as yourself to want to explore. That energy is being repressed and is causing you anxiety." (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr)

Abby nodded vigorously. "That makes sense."

"I can help you, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. (trUst) "So how about you schedule another appointment and we can dig more deeply into this?" (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr)

"Yes, absolutely," Abby nodded.

"But... I think it's important that doctor-patient confidentiality works both ways," Doctor Osiris said. (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr) "So I want you to keep what we discuss between just us. That's how this remains a safe space for you." (sAfE spAcE) (trUst)

"Absolutely," Abby nodded. "I'll do whatever you say." (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr)

"Very good, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. "You've been an excellent patient today."

Abby rode the high of that compliment all the way home.

---

Session 2

"Welcome back, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. He stepped aside and let her come in.

As soon as Abby was in the room, she felt the weight of the world drop away. (sAfE spAcE) It had been a hard few days since her last session. Her relaxation coming out of the last session had lasted a few hours, but once she was back into the routine, the anxiety crept back up. She yearned to come back and find that relaxation again.

"How has your anxiety been, Abby?" Doctor Osiris asked. "You seem a little stressed."

"I've been managing..." Abby said. "But I've been looking forward to coming back here and destressing more."

"Well should we get to it?" Doctor Osiris asked. "We can talk more afterwards."

"Yes, please," Abby nodded.

She laid down on the couch and looked at the screen. The purple light appeared and immediately Abby began to feel (sAfE plAcE) relaxed.

"Just take a deep breath," Doctor Osiris instructed. "Let the stress melt away." (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr)

"Yes, Doctor," Abby said, feeling her brain slow and her eyes drift off amidst the lights.

"You're doing great, Abby," Doctor Osiris' far-away voice said.

"Thank you, Doctor," Abby said (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr), the words taking much longer to pronounce than normally. Already the room was dark around her. It was easier this time, like finding your way to a place you had been before.

Before she even realized that the lights had split or that she was going under, she was standing on the beach again, walking on glass sands while the night sky rolled in and out in gentle waves. Far away, she could hear words. She knew she was listening to the words, even if she couldn't understand them. But none of that mattered here in the glass sands.

When Abby awoke on the couch, the same, familiar peace was resting on her. She wondered how long she had been out, then decided it didn't really matter.

"Welcome back, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. "How do you feel?"

"I feel good," Abby said with a smile. She hoped that he wasn't too bored while she was in a trance. It must be really boring. (yOU OwE yOUr dOctOr)

"Good," Doctor Osiris said. "Now tell me about the last few days. How have you been since our last appointment?" (frEE frOm rEprEssIOn)

"It was good for the first day," Abby said, "and then I got anxious again."

"Worse than before?" Doctor Osiris asked.

"Not worse, no," Abby said. "But the same. And I think it felt worse because I knew how relaxed I could be."

"That's very insightful," Doctor Osiris said with a smile (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr). "Very good, Abby."

"Thank you, Doctor," Abby said with a wide, relaxed smile. The euphoria of relaxation was still on her.

"It might be like that in the future," Doctor Osiris said. "Until you learn to control your anxiety and find your own safe place" (sAfE spAcE) "you are going to find that these sessions provide temporary relief. If you need to, we can increase the frequency of these sessions."

"I would love that," Abby said. "But I don't know if I can afford that."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Doctor Osiris said. (trUst) "We can work out a plan or figure out another way to pay. The important part is that you get the help you need." (yOU OwE yOUr dOctOr) "So let's schedule what's needed and you pay what you can." (yOU OwE yOUr dOctOr) "Don't worry, Abby, I'm not going to bankrupt you. I'm here to help." (trUst) (sAfE spAcE)

"Thank you so much, Doctor," Abby said. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Absolutely," Doctor Osiris said. "But let's talk about the real issues. Do you remember what we discussed last time?" (frEE frOm rEprEssIOn)

"Repression," Abby said. "Bottling up natural feelings."

"Very good, Abby," Doctor Osiris said. (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr) "Specifically, we were talking about how your upbringing in faith might have bottled up some rather natural feelings" (AlwAys hOrny) "for a healthy, developing woman."

"You think I bottled it all up," Abby said.

"Didn't you?" Doctor Osiris asked. (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr)

"Probably," Abby nodded. (frEE frOm rEprEssIOn) "You're not allowed to... want it... in church. You're told that it's bad. That you're bad for wanting it."

"It's not sin," Doctor Osiris said gently. "It's biology." (frEE frOm rEprEssIOn) (trUst)

"I can see" (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr) "that now, Doctor," Abby nodded thoughtfully.

"Good," Doctor Osiris said. "Now, I want you to start to look at what you have repressed. What natural" (AlwAys hOrny) "healthy" (AlwAys hOrny) "urges you might have denied."

"I... I am horny, Doctor," Abby said. She hadn't actually realized how horny she always (AlwAys hOrny) was until now. Therapy was teaching herself more about herself (sAfE spAcE).

"I see," Doctor Osiris said. "And tell me... are your needs being met?" (sAfE spAcE)

"No," Abby admitted. "I'm so" (frEE frOm rEprEssIOn) "bottled up all the time. Even if I let it out, I don't think I'd get what I need." (AlwAys hOrny)

"Just because you don't get what you need, doesn't mean you don't need it," Doctor Osiris said. (lIstEn tO yOUr dOctOr) "You should be honest with what your body needs."

"Yes, Doctor," Abby said. "I'll try to be more honest with how horny I am."

"Good girl," Doctor Osiris said. (wAnt tO plEAsE dOctOr) (AlwAys hOrny)

---

Session 3

"How has the past couple days been, Abby?" Doctor Osiris asked. Abby had tried to schedule a session the next day, but he didn't have an opening until the following one. Her husband had been concerned about the cost of so frequent of sessions, but Abby had explained that the Doctor wanted to make sure (trUst) she got the help she needed and he wasn't going to bankrupt them. He hadn't seem convinced, but had relented.