John and DeeDee were the average couple of their times. Both had been raised in a white Christian environment and throughout their lives were taught that black people were not as good as they were.
Times change though, whether you want them to or not.
Both are now in their early 60's, having been married almost 45 years, and as they grew older the neighborhood around them changed as well. More and more black families were moving in and more and more white families were moving further out of the city, into the suburbs. It was only a matter of time before a black family bought the vacant house to the side of theirs, or perhaps the once slightly down, and across, the street from them.
In order to get a better grip on their lives, as well as the way they had been brought up, they sought out professional advise, in the form of a psychologist, who had been recommended by a friend of theirs. They had also used his services and they highly recommended him.
When John made the appointment he was surprised to learn that the doctor would want to see them individually the first time, and would then see them together. John agreed and set up the first appointment for himself, with his wife getting an appointment for the following day and then the two of them would see him on Friday of the same week.
When John got to the doctor's office he was kind of surprised to find that he was the only one in the waiting room, especially for the time of day, which was just after 1 PM. The receptionist gave him forms to fill out then she disappeared into the doctor's office and shortly after that came out, got her purse and left the office.
About 10 minutes later the doctor, Dr. Richard Gosman, stuck his head into the outer office and called him inside his office.
"I'll have to apologize for my secretary, but she had an appointment and had to leave early today. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I want to make sure that the outer door is locked, since your my last appointment for the day." With that said the doctor left his office and John could hear him as he opened the door, shut it, and then secured the lock, returning shortly thereafter to his office and sitting behind his desk.
"Now then, Mr. Wilson, what can I do for you today?"
Dr. Gosman already knew the reason for the visit, since he'd already read the short files in front of him, but he always felt better if the patient actually told him the reasons for the visit, instead of having to try and pull it out of him.
"Well," John began, "I guess it's kind of embarrassing. You see, my wife and I are products of a different generation and we've had a hard time adjusting to the blacks moving into our neighborhood, particularly afraid that one would move in next to us. We've heard so many horror stories of black kids, and how they behave, and we're not sure we would feel safe even if it were just adults that moved in."
The doctor nodded and appeared to be taking notes, so John continued.
"Both our parents were firm believers that the blacks had a proper place, and that they should stay with their own kind. But, since the economy has changed so much and many of them are working different jobs, especially with a lot of them in management positions, we realize that sooner or later blacks are going to be a part of our community, and we're just not prepared for that right now."
"And why not?" the doctor asked.
"I guess you could say that prejudice runs deep in our families and we were always taught that blacks shouldn't mingle with whites."
"And you find that you have a problem with that?"
"Yes. My wife and I do. She's afraid of what might happen, and to tell you the truth, so am I!"
"Well, you're not here to represent your wife right now. You're here for yourself. I learn more of your wife's position when I see her tomorrow. I see that she's scheduled to be here the same time tomorrow and that both of you will be here around 3 PM on Friday afternoon, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok, why don't you make yourself more comfortable on the sofa over there and I'll sit in the chair across from you. You can relax a little bit and we'll talk more.
"By the way, would you have any objections to me using hypnosis on you today?"
"Why?"
"I find that it helps to put the patient more at ease and is able to talk more openly about his or her problems. I won't do it if you have any objections."
John thought about it for a while then consented for the doctor to hypnotize him.
"Good. I want you to lay down on the sofa and get comfortable. Once you're ready let me know and I'll begin. I promise you that it won't hurt on bit and once I have you under I'll start asking you questions and you'll feel completely at ease answering them for me. OK?"
"Fine with me," John answered.
"Ready," Dr Gosman asked once John was situated.
"Yes."
"Ok. Now, I want you to listen to my voice and shortly you'll begin to feel sleepy and you'll close your eyes, but you'll be able to hear every word I say."
In less then 5 minutes John was completely under.
"John? Can you hear me? Can you understand me?"
"Yes," came the dreamy reply.
"OK. Good. Now, I want you to tell me about your feelings towards black men."
There was no hesitation in John's reply.
"To tell the truth, I'm intimidated by them."
"Why?"
"Because they seem to act so much better then I am. They have management positions in my work place and they seem to flaunt that in front of all us older, more experienced, employees. They always seem like they're much better at doing the same work I've been doing for over 30 years, while they've only been there less then 5 years, and I resent having those feelings."
"Do you feel you were slighted by upper management when they placed a black man over you and your department?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they tend to take advantage of their position."
"In what way?"
"They treat the women, especially the white women, better then they do the men. They always seem to be making passes at them and the women seem to like it that way."
