She underlined them for herself.
She had written that about herself. At forty-two, she had been both the doctor and the untreated patient.
Elena looked at her bookshelf—now honest, messy, used. Libros Psicologia no longer meant books about psychology. It meant books that held the psychology inside the reader. libros psicologia
The first line said: “Patient exhibits high functioning avoidance. Primary defense: intellectualization. Prognosis: guarded unless therapist addresses own history of emotional neglect.”
One shelf was pristine: Jung, Freud, Beck. The other shelf was worn, dog-eared, almost hidden: The Inner Child , Attachment After Trauma , Shame and the Self . She underlined them for herself
The Echo in Room 14
The next morning, she called Leo’s new therapist. “I owe him an apology,” she said. “And I need supervision. Real supervision. On my own case.” Elena looked at her bookshelf—now honest, messy, used
For six months, she avoided the worn books. She doubled her supervision hours. She told herself she was being professional.
She had known. For twenty years, she had known her own story: the quiet father, the mother who said “you’re fine,” the adult who became a psychologist to fix everyone but herself.