Support Group - Private w/Brooke

[veralynn]

Started by a group of therapists for their clients, this support group was founded to help those work through PTSD/other trauma. Meeting at the Park Slope Armory YMCA in Brooklyn, this group is mainly made up of military veterans, first responders, and ER staff. Though this group is open to anyone as all it takes to join is the referral by one of the therapists. After the first meeting it's clear that for many this group will provide the extra support and a chance for connections.

The Five Therapists - They rotate with one sitting in on the meeting each week just to monitor for major concerns. Their clients are listed after their name.
Dr Anna James - 28/F - clients
Dr Paul Morranson - 42/M - clients
Dr Taylor Garland - 31/F - Logan Harper
Dr Boris Krakowski - 53/M - Dominic Winters
Dr Edward "Ed" Fink - 35/M - Blaire Carter

Group Members - This is just a brief list including group background characters that aren't connected to our characters.
Blaire Carter - 28/F - psychiatric nurse
Dominic Winters- 29/M - marine veteran and widower
Logan Harper - 24/M - army veteran, lost his leg in a non-combat related accident
Courtney Know - 26/F - nurse who works in the emergency burn unit
Hayden Stephenson - 37/M - chief in the fire department
Ivy Williams - 46/W - works as a 911 operator at the local call center.
Tanner Jacobs - 57/M - works in the K-9 unit at the police department.
Naomi Johnson - 24/F - works as a social worker for families.
Mason White - 30/M - works in the navy.

[veralynn]

Dominic made his way through the building, scanning the plaques beside each door for the right number. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be here, but he knew his therapist had suggested it for a reason. Likely it was meant to help him open up a little more to strangers, his doctor was always encouraging him to widen his social circle. This was just baby steps towards that goal. After all everyone who was likely going to be here had some issues to work through, Dominic always found it a little easier to connect with others who went through bad situations. It just made it easier to offhand mention something traumatic and not have to dive into how it made him feel.

The meeting room was set up with chairs arranged in a circle and about half of them were currently filled. Scanning the room he ended up sitting facing the door next to a man with a prosthetic leg. They each looked at each other and nodded, not saying a word but already coming to a general understanding of each other. It was always easy to spot another veteran, there was just something about the way they carried themselves that made it easy for Dominic to recognize.

[brooke0518]

Blaire parks her car as close to the front entrance of the main building, as she could, before clicking her seatbelt, so that she could exit her vehicle. Group therapy....this was something that she never would've considered for herself. In fact....this was something that she would've witnessed....sort of. It felt really weird to her, to be on the other end. But after what had happened to her, and how it had impacted her well-being, as per a suggestion by her therapist, as well as some of her coworkers when she had been put on medical leave, she had...albeit a bit hesitantly....agreed to the sessions. Or.....at least...she was going to start with one. She hated talking about what had happened to her, as it was something that was still lagging behind her, almost like a shadow threatening to engulf her, when she was alone.

Walking down the long extensive hallway, she could see other people, likely here for various different support groups. Every person here had their own story to tell, some had their own personal nightmares, that were severely impacting their life. But they were here to get better, so that....whatever was bothering them, could be better managed and put in the past, so that they could move forward. Grasping the cold metal door handle, she pulls it open, revealing a very open room, with chairs fanning out into a circle. Keeping her eyes off of the other people.....who appeared to be both men and women...she lowers herself into one of the chairs closest to the door. That way, when it was over, she could be out of there as fast as she could. It wasn't that she hated the idea of being here....she was just very uncomfortable with the concept of sharing some of her darker experiences.

[veralynn]

Dominic watched as a few more people trickled in before one of the therapists spoke up. There were five of them, most of who he had seen once or twice in the hallways of the practice he went to; He couldn't name them other than Dr Krakowski who preferred to be called Boris or Dr. Boris if you had to be official. The woman went on to say that while all five of them were here today in the future just one would be attending and the only reason they were there was just in case something came up. Dominic could appreciate the sentiment but he wasn't sold on them sitting in. At least with Boris he knew the guy had went through some stuff, but that was almost expected considering the guy had grown up in the USSR.

[brooke0518]

Watching every person in the room, though her gaze doesn't linger on one person for too long, Blaire quietly crosses her legs together, placing her hands in her lap. She wasn't much for talk, so for now, she would just listen. There were many different types of people here, and they all looked like they had some unspoken story, scrawled across her face. In her line of work, she sort of learned how to read the faces of other people, so that she would know if they needed help or not. Of course, sometimes, some of those faces could be incredibly deceptive......a mask....to prevent others from seeing how they truly felt. Or they were a mask, because the person behind the mask, didn't truly know how to show their true selves. She could see her therapist, Dr. Fink, and she was wondering why he, and several others, that she didn't know, were here. She had seen different rooms, with therapist's names on plaques, just next to the door, but she couldn't match the names on the walls, with the other faces in the room. For now, she fiddles a bit with her fingers, as she listens to each therapist talk.

[veralynn]

Dominic was relieved when the therapists stepped back and let the group know they could start. Four of them left with just the one who introduced himself as Dr. Fink remaining. So apparently it was his week to make sure no one threatened their life or others. Now that it was turned over to the group they all stared at each other until the guy next to him spoke up.

"Hey I'm Logan, I'm retired army. I guess most of my issues come from my missing leg." Logan spoke in a tone that made it clear he was trying to make others comfortable. It was also clear his only reference for support groups was AA. Which was fair enough, that was all Dominic knew himself.

To keep it going Dominic spoke up when Logan was done. "I'm Dominic, also retired military though marine corps." He really didn't add on though as there was just a few too many things to list. The biggest one probably was his husband's death, though his own combat experiences, and his childhood definitely caused their own issues as well.

[brooke0518]

Blaire's gaze flits back and forth, from each person in the room. There were several different people here, all with their own stories, and hardships. Apparently, the military was very prevalent here, since there was one from the marines, one from the army, and one from the navy. But there appeared to be other individuals, from high stress jobs here as well. There were a few, that did pique her interest, but she knew better than to pry. The reason why all of them were here, was all because something in their life, stemming from their line of work, was making it hard to do things in their daily lives, and they wanted things to get easier. When it came to her turn, she focuses a bit more on the therapists, since she was a person, who didn't like to divulge too much. "My name is Blaire. I'm a nurse, working in the mental health ward. I work mainly with adults, but I also work with adolescents from time to time." She says, her voice calm and quiet. There wasn't really anything to showcase, that was just her line of work.

[veralynn]

Dominic listened to everyone introduce themselves with a quick reason they where here. It was nice but it was clear that they were not quite ready to actually share their issues with. Though Dominic had no room to talk as he was in the same boat. He wanted to be able to share and connect but it just didn't feel right. They were strangers after all with trauma being the only similarity. The group fell silent after the last person introduced themself. He didn't know what to do so he just sat staring down at his hands, maybe they did need a therapist to lead them for at least a week or two.

[brooke0518]

Dr. Fink

Seeing that everyone was pretty quiet, after introducing themselves, Dr. Fink exchanges looks with the other therapists, to see if there was something that could be done, to open everyone up. Therapy could be a tough thing to do, since no one really wanted to divulge just why they were here. It was a very sensitive process, and one that took time. This was only day one, so of course things wouldn't necessarily go smoothly, on the very first day. Flipping through his mental journal, of what would be best to get things started, Dr. Fink figured....that sometimes the best way to get things started, was to go as far back to the basics as possible. Figuring that he could start with his own patient, he would ask her things, that the others could hopefully latch onto.....something that was often incorporated in just about any setting. "Alright. how about we start, with.....what are some of your hobbies, and what are things that you like? Start with one at a time, please." He says, looking over at Blaire. "Why don't you start first, Blaire?" He prods.

Tapping her feet, a bit on the floor, Blaire didn't particularly like being singled out first, since she wasn't a big talker. Suddenly all eyes were on her, and it was making her feel rather uncomfortable. It was like the long, unblinking stares at the hospital, that usually held nothing behind those gazes. But this was different, of course. As far as she was aware, everyone had challenges, but they should all be there, mentally. Fiddling a bit with her hands, she figured that maybe it wouldn't hurt to only say a little bit. "I guess a hobby that I do a lot, is lacrosse. I'm a very active person, and I like being outdoors. I like dogs and have one at home." She says.