70 The Explosive Child“I’d like to spend a few more minutes with your par-
ents. But you can wait outside if you’d like.” Mitchell left
the office.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” the therapist said. “My
initial impression is that Mitchell is extremely irritable,
pretty black-and-white, and doesn’t have a very good
sense of how he’s coming across. He’s tried to kill himself
once...”
“Twice,” interjected the mother. “He tried twice in the
same year.”
“Twice,” the therapist continued. “He’s got very high
expectations academically but some significant learning
issues getting in the way; he isn’t satisfactorily medicated
at the moment; and he has no faith in the mental health
profession. And there’s a particular trigger that seems to
set him off very reliably.”
“What is it?” the mother asked.
“You guys,” the therapist replied.
There was a long pause. Finally, the mother said,
“Where do we start?”
“Well, I need more information about a lot of things,”
the therapist said. “But one thing is certain: We’re not go-
ing to get anywhere unless I can establish a relationship
with him. And we’re going to have to help you guys
learn how to communicate and collaborate so that
Mitchell’s interactions with you guys aren’t so frustrating
for all of you.”