Session 1
The door to Dr. Crane's office swung open and in strode Alexis, looking about as pleased to be there as a debutante forced to slum it at a dive bar. She held herself tall, back ramrod straight, making the most of her 5' 9" frame as she clicked across the room in her designer ankle boots. Everything about her screamed privilege, from the flawless golden waves cascading down her back to her casual yet chic attire that likely cost a pretty penny.
Dr. Crane regarded the young woman over his glasses as she sat across from him, sensing the annoyance simmering beneath her polished exterior. Her piercing blue eyes skimmed the room briefly before settling on him with a challenge in their depths, as if daring him to find fault with someone of her caliber.
"So..." She drew out the word before continuing briskly, "My parents seem to think one lousy B is cause for therapy. But frankly, I think they're overreacting."
Alexis flicked an invisible speck of dust from her sleeve, projecting an air of nonchalance. But Crane detected a slight defensiveness in her tone. Interesting. Perhaps that seemingly impenetrable confidence had some cracks after all.
"Getting straight As is standard," she continued airily. "I just had a lot on my plate last semester. RA duties, 18 credits, internship applications...of course my performance slipped a bit."
Alexis leaned back and crossed her arms, staring Crane down as if challenging him to contradict her. He merely nodded thoughtfully, steepling his fingers. "That does sound like an intense workload, especially to maintain flawlessly. A small blip seems perfectly reasonable given those demands."
Alexis's shoulders relaxed slightly at his validation. "Exactly. I knew you'd understand, Dr. Crane." The words flowed from her lips with smug satisfaction. "This whole therapy thing is my parents being dramatic as usual. I'm fine."
"Of course. Although..." Crane trailed off, watching her eyes narrow warily. "It never hurts to incorporate practices for managing stress, even for someone as capable as yourself. Think of it as mental fine-tuning."
Alexis pursed her lips, clearly torn between maintaining her veneer of perfection and admitting potential weakness. But Crane had phrased it in a way that appealed to her vanity. After a moment, she gave a terse nod. "Fine, I can humor you with a session or two if it makes everyone feel better."
Crane hid a satisfied smile. The hook was set. Now to carefully reel her in. "I appreciate your openness, Alexis. I think you'll find these practices quite useful."
He removed his glasses, meeting her gaze earnestly. "In particular, I'd like to guide you through some visualization techniques while under hypnosis. Communicating with the subconscious can be incredibly beneficial for centering oneself."
At the mention of hypnosis, Alexis scoffed, though her eyes held a glint of curiosity. "You're going to hypnotize me? No offense, but isn't that a bit played out?"
Crane chuckled disarmingly. "Not at all. It's an exceptionally effective way of tapping into our mental faculties. I use it frequently with patients to facilitate discussion of buried thoughts. It's quite safe, I assure you."
Alexis still looked skeptical, but Crane could tell her interest was piqued. He pressed the advantage. "Why don't I walk you through a brief session so you can experience the benefits yourself?"
When she didn't immediately refuse, Crane removed a pocket watch from his desk drawer. The bright sapphire set in its face caught the light enticingly as he allowed it to swing slowly before her. Alexis's gaze followed the pendulum motion despite herself.
"Just keep your eyes on the gemstone. Take deep, relaxing breaths..." Crane kept his tone low and soothing as Alexis sank deeper into a hypnotized state. Soon her breathing slowed and posture relaxed, though Crane maintained light chatter to ensure she stayed fully under.
Now came the delicate work of loosening her subconscious defenses just enough to plant seeds of doubt.
"You're safe and comfortable here," he intoned. "I'd like us to discuss your experience last semester. Can you describe where you feel things started going wrong?"
Alexis frowned slightly. "The B in Calculus..." she responded slowly. "I studied so hard but blanked on the final. Felt like no matter how much I prepared, my mind just shut down."
Crane made a sympathetic noise. "That must have been very frustrating, to work so diligently only to have your memory fail you." He let the statement sink in before continuing gently.
"And tell me, do you feel achieving a B reflects poorly on your intellect?"
Another frown. "My parents seemed to think so...but I don't know." Uncertainty tinged her entranced voice.
"Perhaps we should examine this logically." Crane kept his tone reasonable. "You're accustomed to earning top grades with moderate effort. Is that fair to say?"
Alexis nodded mutely, entranced.
"So then needing to study extensively for a class, yet still only managing average scores...well that would imply you struggled to comprehend the material, yes?"
"I...suppose so." Alexis sounded troubled, but hypnotically suggestible.
Crane seized the advantage. "And struggles, despite hard work, typically point to limited capability in a subject, do they not?"
When Alexis reluctantly agreed, he moved in for the kill. "Then earning a B in calculus seems indicative of underlying challenges with higher mathematics. Challenges perhaps beyond your abilities, despite admirable efforts to overcome them."
Alexis was silent, but he could see his logic penetrating her subconscious, planting seeds of academic inadequacy she would be unable to ignore once they took root. He spent the remainder of the session reinforcing this new perceived weakness, compelling her to internalize his narrative of her shortcomings.
Finally, as he gently raised her from the trance, Crane left one last subtle command in her malleable psyche: forgetfulness of their hypnotic discussion. He watched as Alexis blinked sluggishly, orienting herself to wakefulness.
"How was that? Relaxing?" Crane asked benignly.
Alexis considered, then nodded. "It was rather soothing actually. Feel like we covered important topics." She furrowed her brow. "Wish I could remember clearly."
Crane waved off her concern. "Perfectly normal. The important insights will remain without distracting specifics." He began casually packing up as if their session was perfectly routine. "I want you to focus on self-care this week, alright? Don't ruminate on what you can't control."
Alexis agreed seriously, though she still seemed troubled. As she gathered her designer handbag and shrugged on her sleek denim jacket, Crane observed the first hairline cracks forming in her supreme confidence. She would leave wrestling with newfound self-doubts and frustrations, never realizing their true origin.
He bid her a pleasant farewell, hiding his swelling satisfaction as she departed. The seeds were planted. Her conscious mind would tend and water them without even meaning to in the weeks to come.
Soon enough, the fruits of his clever manipulations would bloom into a crushing blow to her intellect and self-worth. Crane could wait patiently for that delicious moment. For now, it was enough to watch her walk away, his hooks already buried deep in her psyche. She would never see it coming.
What a delicious challenge breaking this proud girl would be. He looked forward to showing her just how fragile her confidence truly was.
Session 2
The door to Dr. Crane's office creaked open and in stumbled Alexis, looking utterly defeated. Gone was the polished young woman who had clicked in so confidently weeks prior. In her place was a disheveled, hollow-eyed shell clutching a massive Calculus II textbook to her chest like a life preserver.
Dr. Crane regarded her over his glasses, taking in the oversized sweater hanging off one shoulder and the leggings with frays along the seams. Her once radiant hair was pulled back in a messy knot, and the dark smudges under her eyes spoke of one too many sleepless nights parsing derivatives and integrals.
As Alexis sank into the plush leather chair across from Crane, the book tumbled from her limp grasp onto his desk with a weary thud. She dropped her head into shaking hands with a groan that seemed to echo up from the depths of her soul.
"I don't understand what's happening..." Her voice was raspy with frustration as she lifted her gaze to meet Crane's. "No matter how much I study, Calculus just isn't making sense. It's like trying to read Greek!"
She slumped back, every line of her body broadcasting exhaustion in the face of defeat. This was a young woman at the end of her rope. Crane softened his features into a mask of concern and leaned forward.
"I know this is difficult, Alexis. But you clearly have an excellent work ethic to devote so much time to mastering challenging material." He imbued his voice with warmth and reassurance.
Alexis just shook her head bitterly. "Doesn't matter how hard I work if I can't actually understand the concepts. The TA has tried explaining derivatives a dozen ways, but it's like the logic just won't stick."
She dropped her gaze to her lap, voice small. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Math used to be so intuitive, but now struggling just makes me feel stupid and useless."
Crane made a sympathetic noise, seeing his opening. "Now Alexis, difficulty grasping advanced theoretical frameworks is not a reflection of one's overall intellect or capability."
Alexis lifted her head slightly, a flicker of fragile hope crossing her face. Crane doubled down.
"In fact, recognizing the gaps in our own knowledge is a strength. Awareness provides an opportunity for growth." He offered an encouraging smile. "Shall we discuss this further under hypnosis? I believe unlocking your subconscious thoughts around these struggles could be quite beneficial."
