What Does a Preternatural Psychotherapist Do?

I realized, after several inquiries from potential patients as well as students interested in studying preternatural psychology, that there is a common misunderstanding about the work of a preternatural therapist. Our goal is not to "cure" the patient of being a werewolf, ogre, incubus, witch, elemental, faery, etc. Such a goal is not possible even if it were desirable.

But it is true that preternatural communities tend to have a significant number of troubled individuals, and the prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders is appalling. In the absence of functional physiology, psychotropic medications are ineffective with the Dead, the Undead, or the Disembodied. So psychotherapy remains the treatment of choice. We work with the same issues that plague the human population, including depression, anxiety, identity confusion, and problems with interpersonal relationships.

Preternatural therapy is not risk free for the treatment provider. I am required to take out an expensive rider on my accidental death and disability policy to cover the possibility of being bitten by a werewolf, possessed by a demon, or raised as a zombie by a voodoo practitioner. Liability coverage for practicing therapists who regularly work with lycanthropes—to give only one example—is a substantial business expense. Dark Side treatment lends a new meaning to the term “risk management.” There are compensations for the upside-down work schedule; for example, reimbursement from the Forces of Darkness is actually a little less complicated than seeking payment from the average health insurance company.

Although my office hours tend to be later than those of my diurnal colleagues, our therapy methods are much the same. Ethical guidelines and treatment standards are identical. Be assured that troubled preternatural friends and family who seek psychotherapy obtain as high-quality psychological care as the human population.

Welcoming Werewolf Immigrants and Refugees

Those who follow news of preternatural communities at home and abroad will be aware that relations between werewolf clans and their human neighbors in central Europe have been strained if not adversarial ever since the end of WWII.

The original conflicts were over the clans' unfortunate support of the Nazis up to and through the end of the War and into the occupation.  Since then, problems have arisen over migration of weres from the east as the Soviet Union dissolved; other conflicts have been due to the difficulties inherent in merging former East and West Germanies.

Recently, the difficulties have flared into open conflict, and clans in rural areas are being forced to leave their homes. As Americans, in a country formed by immigrants, I hope we can accept these political refugees and help them find new homes among us.

Unfair Demonization

I see that the Vatican has initiated another round of attacks on demons. Anti-demon sentiment never seems to go out of fashion, especially among religious groups. Demons tend to be unpopular, and their negative reputation is warranted in many cases, but no group of entities deserves to be entirely condemned.

As a psychotherapist working with demons and their hosts to help them either live beneficially together, or separate amicably and without further trauma, it is very difficult for me to see just how often demons continue to be demonized. "Go back to where you came from!" they are told. Most of the demons I work with in my practice are trying to do just that; they have been summoned by a black-arts sorcerer against their will, and want only to return to where they originated. Often their destructive behavior can be attributed to frustration with our corporeal world. A little empathic listening goes a long way to reducing their understandable vexation with humanity.

We see demons depicted in the media as monumental, tragic, and terrifying,
humorous, or silly.
None of these is necessarily true.

This demon,

for example, was beneficial to humanity, or at least not harmful, and was recognized as such by one of our most renowned vampire slayers.

Not all demons, in other words, are like this:

On the Implications of Names and Labels

One of my favorite local private agencies has the name the Center For Human Potential, which I like to think was an oversight, with no intentional exclusion of those of us who are only part-human or not human altogether.

I know I risk sounding peevish, humorless, and hopelessly PC, but names matter.

And I don't like faery jokes either.

Correction

A reader reminds me that not all—or even most—werewolves consider their lycanthropy to be a diagnosable condition or disease. Rather, “we find our lives transformed, the Change an existential challenge which we face and survive triumphant to become both truly human and truly wolf,” as he eloquently puts it.

And I agree, to an extent. Why assume that a person’s challenges, no matter how difficult, are a handicap, or that they are necessarily regretted? At the risk of sounding like a second-grade lesson on citizenship, we should not make the assumption that different equals bad.

On the other hand, if a woman is missing work that she cannot afford on a monthly basis, breaking up the furniture when she can’t find the Cadbury, and scaring the neighborhood children (to say nothing of her own), maybe it’s OK to look for a palliative. Especially if she asks for help.

I agree that words have meaning, however, and “diagnose” can (or does) have negative connotations.

Werewolf Referral

I had an email question from a colleague the other day which I share here with her permission:

Hi Dr. Wallace:

I ran across your interesting and informative blog recently, and remembered it when I had a call from a potential patient yesterday. She is thirty-something, a working mom, a werewolf, and dealing with severe PMS. Even with medication (for the PMS and to prevent the Change), she is having breakthrough episodes whenever the full moon falls during the week before her period. The only solution she has found so far is to curl up for three days with a romance novel and a box of chocolates--which is obviously playing havoc with her job.

Although I'm not really qualified to deal with this type of preternatural question, I remembered your site and told her I would query you about her problem(s). What can you suggest?

Thanks in advance,

name deleted

And here is my reply:

Dear Dr. deleted:

Thank you for your inquiry.

These sorts of breakthrough episodes are of course very disconcerting to the patient and to everyone around her. As her psychotherapist, I would first establish communication with her prescribing MD (hopefully one trained in treatment of the preternatural) to make sure he or she is aware of the problem and is using the optimal class and dosage of both the PMS med--usually an antidepressant such as fluoxetine or paroxetine--and her anti-Change medication.

Sometimes, however, werewolf patients are reluctant to use the stronger medications, or--as seems the case with this patient--the meds are not (or are no longer) effective. As you know, before the development of anti-Change pharmacological therapies, many weres were still able to live active, happy and productive lives even during full-blown lycanthropic episodes.

There has recently been a return to the traditional or natural treatment of werewolves. Several associations and support groups have arisen, including: the Association of Homeopathic Lycanthropists; the NAAAP/National Association for the Advancement of Animal-People; Wolf, Cat, and Bear; and HOWL (Heralds of Wolf Liberation, a somewhat more radical political action group).

In my opinion, one of the best groups is sponsored by Utah's own People of Ammon Clan. They host modified 12 Step meetings at their colony headquarters near Fish Springs (west Juab County), and for urban weres who are unable to travel so far, a weekly meeting is held at their Clan Hall in West Valley City. The Clan has lived peacefully in Utah since its formation in 1857.

I would be happy to consult with you in your treatment of this patient, or if you would rather refer her, she can contact me at the phone number below.

Again, thank you for your question,

Claire

Welcome to my blog!

And already I see I've been misleading. I'm not preternatural myself--my patients are preternatural--I'm as mundane as they come. But my practice has evolved over the years, and now I see a preponderance of non-human folk: shapeshifters, haunts and ghosts, minor demons, giants, trolls, goblins, leanan-sidhe, other incubi, the more eerie and less human of the faeries... even, recently, the Undead.

Which is why I'm here. My friends have encouraged me for some time to write a book about my professional experiences. A book is such a big undertaking. Maybe I'll get to it eventually, but my practice keeps me busy, and for now, I thought I'd start with this blog. I'll tell some stories of preternatural psychotherapy (with identifying details appropriately modified or omitted, of course), I'll answer questions and take comments. I'll share interesting items and information about the preternatural and links to sites on the web. You can reach me at
claire.rowan.wallace@gmail.com

So if you're preternatural yourself, or you're mundane like me and want to better understand preternatural friends or family, welcome!