Log Title: An Appointment Made
Summary: A local psychiatrist gets a visit from a potential, very privacy-oriented, customer.
IC Date: 2380-12-12
OOC Date: 2018-12-12
Related Logs: None
asenethwinter

 

 

The office is a little hard to find until you know where to look. Amid all the glint and glare of the Neon District, it's just a relatively plain door wedged in between two larger establishments sporting flashing neon lights. The office, on the other hand, sports only a shingle: Wisteria Tau, Psychosurgeon

A bell jingles cheerfully when the door opens onto a small, well-kept space. There's a spot where one can hang up their coats, and then the entry alcove opens into a warmly lit room with a small couch and pair of chairs set around a coffee table, a small fridge that holds bottled water, soda and juice, a few African violet plants set under a sun lamp and a little electric fountain of water spilling over a polished stone orb that spins to the rhythm of the cheerful trickle. On the other side of the room are two VR chairs, a console and a screen: the place where the magic happens, presumably.

The almost too-perfect form of a high-quality synth walks into the office, causing the bell to jingle. Wearing an old-fashioned, anachronistic dress, the female synth-sleeve pauses in the entryway, door half open, looking about, pausing on the fountain and the two chairs, before taking a step back and looking at the shingle again. "I guess this -is- the place." she mummers to herself, before taking another step inside. "Hello?"

"Hello!" comes a cheerful, feminine voice before the owner of said voice materializes by standing up from where they were crouched behind one of the VR chairs. Their blonde hair is tied back with a kerchief and they're in a pair of cargo pants, a black tank top and a flannel shirt overit. "Sorry, just installing an upgrade. Come in, what can I do for you?"

Aseneth comes in slowly and shuts the door. "I'm considering getting psychotherapy." Aseneth says. "I'm concerned about a number of potential…issues I might have, some because of my sleeve, and some because of my job and history. I'm worried about privacy however, and stigma from treatment should word leak back to my employer."

Winter listens, canting their head faintly as Aseneth speaks and giving a small nod when she finishes. They lift a hand to gesture towards the couch and chairs in wordless invitation for the synth to take a seat. "Would you like something to drink? Water? Juice? I find it's preferable to be settled and comfortable before getting down to brass tacks."

Aseneth moves over towards the couch and sits down. "No thank you." Aseneth says. "The synthetic body doesn't have a very good sense of taste, and I usually just leave it off. Almost everything tastes like water in it."

"Ah," Winter replies with a small nod. "I thought you were wearing a synth, but I didn't want to presume." They come around to settle one of the chairs so as to more easily face Aseneth as the two speak. "To address your concern, the relationship between client and psychotherapist is one of patient and doctor. I am required both legally and by professional ethics to keep all sessions with all clients confidential."

"I don't mind." Aseneth says. "But thank you for the consideration." A pause. "Do you keep the sessions confidential, or the list of your clients? For example, I'm employed by one of the Houses. If they came by and asked if I was a patient, and wanted information on me - what would you tell them?"

"Both," Winter replies, "unless you give me permission to discuss your sessions or the fact that you're a client to certain individuals. Some people grant permission for their sessions to be discussed with their spouse, for example." A corner of their mouth quirks wryly. "Others explicitly do not. And for minors, parents are, to some degree, exempt from standard patient doctor confidentiality in regards to their children's sessions. But, in your case, should an employer ask questions of you to me, I would respond that I am bound by client/patient confidentiality and cannot answer such questions. Neither can I confirm that you are a patient."

Aseneth nods firmly. "That will have to do." the synth agrees. "Very well then, I'd like to make an appointment to speak with you about my issues. How do I go about signing up?"

"Well, you give me a couple dates and times that work for you and I check them against my availability," Winter replies. "And," they add with another one of those small, faint smiles, "Perhaps you tell me your name."

Aseneth nods. "One moment, please." Aseneth mentally pulls up a schedule on her viewscreen, and then begins reciting times and dates. "Pardon me. My legal name is currently Aseneth Li. It is the name I go by for a variety of reasons related to the cause and need for treatment."

Winter stares off into the middle space as they use their ONI to flick through their own schedule, finding a date and time that works with one of Aseneth's availabilities. Once that's sorted, they blink back to the here and now. "I'm glad to meet you, Aseneth Li, and I look forward to working with you. As the shingle says, I'm Wisteria Tau, though I go by 'Winter' if you prefer fewer syllables." They lean forward a little, holding out a hand.

Aseneth leans forward and shakes the hand. "Wisteria Tau is fine, ma'am." Aseneth replies. "I think that time should work. Its a pleasure to meet you, and I thank you for your time and patience in this. I realize probably not many customers come in and demand questions about privacy, and for that I do apologize."

"Oh, it's not so uncommon," Winter replies, leaning back into their seat after the handshake. "Certainly, nothing for which to apologize. Let's aim for that time, and you can send me a message if anything changes and you need to reschedule. Try and get a good amount of sleep the night before, and I'd advise against alcohol, mind altering drugs or excessive caffeine within four hours of your appointment time."

"I can't take alchohol, drugs or caffiene, Wisteria Tau." Aseneth reminds. "However, I do often play with the user control settings in my body to give a buzz, especially when I get too stressed out, and I'll avoid doing that." The synth stands back up. "Thank you kindly for your time. I look forward to seeing you then."

"Mmm, synth," they murmurs, perhaps more to remind themself than Aseneth, who surely knows she's a synthetic. They stand as Aseneth does, giving another small nod. "Have a good day, or at least aim for a tolerable one," they reply. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Tolerable is often the most I can hope for." Aseneth agrees. "Thank you." The synth goes to leave.