03.

A mind-boggling day. I don't have much time to explain, but we learned two of the girls' stories today. This whole day felt like "this is what I came here to learn".

We had a meeting with the psychiatrist/psychologist before she did an "intense psychological examination" for one of the girls. We asked her questions of what it is like for her to follow trauma psychology, what the requirements for schooling are in Romania, etc. It was incredibly informative, and then she said "let's move to my office upstairs." Where, subsequently, she pulled out a genogram and showed us how to map out family trends. The treasure really was a book full of drawings made by the girls in their initial stages of therapy. They were incredibly graphic and detailed, and she led us through one of them. I kept my composure, but I think it was only because it seemed too unreal.

We went back to DH2 later that day, and had lunch. Afterwards, one of the girls asked Ashley and I if we wanted to go to her room, where it was cooler. (It was over 100 degrees today, with just as much humidity) We played Uno and talked casually--eventually frustrated at the evident contradicting rules between Romanian and American Uno. We gave up. More casual talk, and then I don't remember anything leading up to "My parents died when I was young." For the next two hours, I sat listening intently while this girl my age spilled her heart out. Her whole story leading up to today, and all I could do was sit and listen in astonishment. Unreal, unreal--I have to stop telling myself this. I think that the comprehension had to have come from the Lord, because even though I am not as fluent in Romanian as I used to be, even though she talks incredibly fast and had frequent moments of talking-while-sobbing...I heard her, and even though I can never truly understand her, I listened. It was an incredible feeling of being let in.

I realize how grateful I am to have had that Counseling Theory & Practice class this spring. I learned, from a therapist's perspective, when to be quiet and when to ask questions. My discernment has been sharpened, and my pride shut down. I don't know as much as I think I know about how psychotherapy is done, so I simply listened and empathized. It sounds small, but it was incredibly humbling for me.

I am praying for the skill of compartmentalizing. I can't take these things home with me, or I will be ruined. I cannot linger on them too long, and I can't focus my time here on one girl. It's an imperative skill, and I intend on learning quickly.

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(Can I also tell you that I am being eaten alive by bugs? It's slightly uncomfortable.)