Zach: We'd been toyin' with the idea of settin' the boy up with a therapist fer a while...
Vanna: Pretty early into our adoption it was something that those in charge of handling his case had recommended to us. While Marcus hadn't really...opened up about his trauma by that point, it was very clear to everyone that he had been...*winces* abused...
Zach: And that's before we knew about the scars...
Vanna: But we were concerned that thrusting him into therapy while he was still in such a vulnerable and...well turbulent situation, it might put greater pressure on him.
Zach: We wanted to make him comfortable, and make sure he had...well...that he felt like part of the family. That he knew we weren't gonna let him go, and that'd he'd always have us before we went and broached that subject.
Vanna: When we heard he started opening up to Dawn about his time on the ship, and the guilt he felt...that's when we well...we started discussing with Dawn if she could ask her therapist if he knew of any good child psychologists that could help Marcus.
Zach: Not that we was aimin' to just shove him into therapy er' nothin' then either...we wanted him to come to talk it out with us...and then present it as an option that he could y'know...think over and pursue if he felt he wanted to.
Dawn: Which I think is probably the best way to handle the situation. Although, granted I'm not a therapist myself.
Vernon: Yeah, y'all don't want it to come off like ya don't want to lend an ear, and er' pushin' his problems off on someone else, but ya want them to know they got resources they can make use of if they want 'em...
Dawn: It's a difficult tightrope to walk, in some ways, it's similar to Vernon and myself trying to find a balance between encouraging and fostering Lily's talents and interest in policing while discouraging her from putting herself in danger while she's still so young.
Zach: He has opened up a bit more since the talk y'all had...and we've been sorta...tacklin' things as best we can in little bite-sized chunks...*Chuckles* With lots o' hug therapy fer good measure.
Vanna: Though we suspect he...still is holding on to that guilt despite our reassurance. *Sighs somberly* Which I'm sure will take more time, and a great deal more of reinforcement to help make him see that nothing was his fault.
Dawn: That's how therapy works...among family and friends, or in practice. Dealing with one's trauma isn't something that can be fixed with the snap of one's hooves. It can be quite a long, treacherous road, and it never truly ends, it only gets easier to walk over time.
Vernon: 'Turn that suitcase into a carry-on bag' Right Floofs?
Dawn: *Giggles* You got it Sheepdog.
Vernon: As fer our pups knowin' about the whole documentary...well...it was unavoidable.
Dawn: *Sighs* Between a bunch of their classmates having seen it, and it even being assigned watching as part of Alice's homework barring our request to have her excluded, it was a bridge we were going to have to cross.
Vernon: Basically we all had to have a little sit-down, and discuss what it all was, and what was shown that featured Marcus *winces* ...though we did softball the gritty parts.
Dawn: And we instructed them to keep from discussing it with or in front of Marcus until...well...Zach and Vanna had their own talk with him.
Zach: Which...*Zach rubs the back of his neck in clear discomfort.* we're still figurin' out exactly just how we're gonna tackle that...*whines* It's a difficult conversation...and I don't think we got a lot of time before he stumbles on it through school, er' his friends, er' some other way...
Vanna: We're just scared it could...*Glances down at the ground* It could cause him to...it could undo all the progress and strides he's made thus far...
Dawn: I don't...want to sound insensitive...but...that really comes with the territory when recovering from trauma...Sometimes you slip, and sometimes you stumble. It does happen. Still, I think the best way to minimize how badly that possible backslide will be is if he hears it from...well, both of you...
Zach: I suppose yer right...at least he'll have us to lean on, and to cry too iffin' it comes to that. I just...I wish I could hug that boy till the end of time iffin' it meant takin' away all his pain...I just want to hold him till it all goes away...
Dawn: It will in time Zach, in the meantime, while you can't hug him forever, a steady administration of smaller hugs throughout the day will surely help. *Giggles*
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