This choice: Your act isn't convincing so Dr. Saunders suggests some hypnosis to help. • Go Back...Chapter #5Your act isn't convincing so Dr. Saunders s... by: fantaghiro   You and Pam reviewed your cover story multiple times, and you repeatedly looked through Jonas' things and what he'd posted online. You thought you had a handle on the actual information - but you just weren't comfortable pretending to be him. Your talked and acted like a middle-aged teacher, not a teenage boy. Pam encouraged you but, by the second day you felt completely hopeless.
You and Pam approached Dr. Saunders. "Doctor, I'm afraid this isn't going to work," she told him. "Steve isn't much of an actor - and in the short time we have, I don't see how he can pull this off."
You agreed, explaining your problems and reservations. "I feel like a fraud. No matter what I look like, I'm not this kid and I don't see how I can convince anyone. I'm sure the social worker would never suspect the truth, but I don't want to be taken in for 'counseling' or screw up the going home with Pam."
The doctor nodded in understanding. "I was afraid you might face this sort of problem. I do have a suggestion although it's rather unorthodox - but then this entire situation is unusual," he admitted.
"What do you have in mind, Doctor?" you asked.
He looked little flustered. "Well, we could try hypnosis..."
"What?" you asked. "Screw around with my mind?"
"Now, now," he countered, "hypnosis is a generally accepted tool. We're not talking anything severe - just something to help you relax and be comfortable in your new body. Hopefully it could also help your act - help you adjust your speech and mannerisms to better fit your new identity. "
Pam looked curious. "How exactly would this work? Would you do it?"
"Heavens no!" he exclaimed. "One of the hospital psychologists is very skilled - he does some remarkable party tricks, in fact." At your unhappy expression he hastened to add "but he's very professional, don't worry."
Pam continued her questionning. "So you've explained everything to him already?"
He frowned. "NO, that's out of the question - I'm subject to the non-disclosure contract as well. I've mentioned to him that I have a teenage patient who suffered brain trauma causing memory loss and personality alteration."
He looked back at you. "I'm given to understand that you knew young Mr. Wright?"
Surprised at the change in conversation you answered "Uhm, yes, to some degree but not personally. I've seen him at school and heard some of the other teachers discuss him." You shrugged, adding "honestly I've learned alot more about him from this stuff" - you waved at his belongings - "and from his twitter and facebook accounts. He posted several videos that are especially helpful..."
"Good, good," Doctor Saunders continued. "We can use hypnosis to have you focus on all that. And I'm sure you have alot of experience with teenagers like Jonas, given your occupation. So we can help you pull that together to give you a pattern of behavior."
"I don't know..." you said, very uncomfortable with the entire idea.
"Now dear, I know you're reluctant. But we already agreed to this plan - and Doctor Saunder's suggestion seems to be the only hope we have of making it work," Pam admonished.
Pam and the doctor quickly wore down your resistance. The whole experience of finding yourself in a new body had thrown you off-balance. You felt confused and a little lost. You didn't know what you would have done without Pam and found yourself relying heavily on her judgement. "Okay, Doc, let's do it," you said without enthusiasm.
That evening you met with the psychologist, Dr. Marks. He seemed pleasant enough but, of course not knowing the truth, treated you like the youth you appeared to be. That plus your general discomfort with this plan would have kept you too tense, but Dr. Saunders had the foresight to give you a mild hypnotic drug to help you relax - and more suggestible.
The session was something of a blur to you, but afterwards you were felt compelled to go back over everything Jonas had posted to his online accounts and dig through his personal belongings again. He suggested that you not be disturbed, so Pam left you alone. You slept solidly that night for the first time since awakening in this body - your dreams were strange in that they kept switching point-of-view, with you often being in the role of Jonas. You even had one dream in which you, as Jonas, were a student in "Mr. Meadows'" class!
Dr. Marks followed up with another session first thing in the morning. That was more clear to you - he basically kept having you focus on your 'memories' of Jonas, and the videos and writings he had posted. He wanted you to feel comfortable with who you were - a 15 year old boy - and to act accordingly. Dr. Saunders wasn't there to supervise this session, however, so Dr. Marks went a bit further than in the previous session. He recognized your strangely 'adult' behavior and assumed it was due to whatever brain injury you'd had, probably from you imprinting on the adults around you in the hospital. So he tried to have you push much of that aside and instead be and act like the person you obviously were - Jonas Wright, a teenage boy.
When he left you didn't think you felt any different - yet something had definitely changed.
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