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EXTRACT 3

February 5, 1958

Kuhn Memorial State Hospital

1422 Jackson Blvd

Vicksburg, MS

Elijah H. Newburg, MD= EN

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[Begin Transcript 00:00:10]

EN: Do you remember me?

██: No.

EN: It’s wonderful to see you again. I hope we get to know each other better these upcoming weeks. I know our first session was a bit rough, but I only want you to know that you can trust me. You can tell me anything. I’m here to listen.

██:……………………

EN: I know it may seem scary, but I would like you to understand that we are only here to help you. [Redacted] is with you. You just tell her you would like, and she will get it for you. Whatever you need.

██: I want to go home.

EN: I understand.

██: But why can’t I go now?

EN: Because it is not safe. Your parents are not well yet. You are here to get better too.

██: ……………………………………

EN: Tell me why you just kicked your chair and threw it across the room. Tell me how you feel.

██: …………………………

EN: Do you see this chart I have in front of me? Each smiley face represents a feeling. Red is anger, blue is sad, yellow is happy, green is disgust, purple is sleepy, orange is fear. Point to which one you are experiencing right now. It doesn’t have to be a single one. It can be a mix of both.

██: ………………………………

EN: Orange.

██: Uh-huh.

EN: Would you like to tell me why?

██: Mama forgets.

EN: What does she forget?

██:…………………………………

EN: It’s okay. Can you tell me what else you are feeling right now?

██: Blue.

EN: Look at me, please. Now, can you tell me why?

██: Mama forgets about me.

EN: How?

██:………………………………

EN: Does she ignore you?

██: She sleeps a lot.

EN: She doesn’t make you meals, take you to and from school, tuck you into bed at night, none of those things that she is supposed to, does she? You usually have to figure out how you’re going to get your next meal, something you should never have to worry about.

██:…………………

EN: I see that you are still hitting the chair with your fists. I understand that this place is big and scary. It’s nothing like you’re used to. But you are here because you are very sick and malnourished, so you can get well.

██: I don’t want to get well.

EN: Why not? Look at me, please.

██: Papa gets the red.

EN: Can you draw me a picture and show me what that looks like? You can use any crayon you would like.

██: ………………………………

██: He’s always red.

EN: Who is that on the right? That’s it—-where my finger is.

██: Mama. She drinks her juice. It puts her to sleep.

EN: And on the left, I see that you’ve drawn a tornado. Is this your father?

██:………………………

EN: Hmmm. There’s a tiny black dot in the corner of the page. And you’ve added a box around you and your mother. Is this black dot your father?

██:……………………

EN: Would you like to tell me why you crumpled up the paper and threw the crayon box at me? Is this what your father does to you and your mother at home?

██:……………………

EN: I see that as a nod. He yells, throws things, and calls you mean names, correct? Things that a parent should never say or do to you.

██:………………………

██:…………………………

EN: I know it hurts. Very much. It’s very important to tell a grown up how you are feeling. When you flipped over the table and scattered all of the supplies in my office, you want to do those same things he’s done to you. You want him to feel what you feel. That’s okay.

██:……………………

██:……………………

EN: Would you like a moment?

██:…………………………

EN: I can step out of my office and give you your space. When you are ready to talk again, just knock on the door. And when we are calmer, we can begin again.

██:…………………………

██:…………………………

EN: Are we safe?

██: Yeah.

EN: Show me what colors you are experiencing right now.

██:………………………

EN: Blue.

██:……………………

EN: I see you are picking up the paper and smoothing it out. Would you like to add something else?

██: Yeah.

EN: Is it alight if I take a look?

██: Yeah.

██: That’s the monster.

EN: And why is there a stick figure in the middle of the tornado?

███: Because it’s inside.

EN: Inside of your house?

███: No. Inside of me.

[End Transcript [02:00:25]