Mental Evaluation

‘Tell me about a traumatic incident in your life,’ the psychologist said.

‘I was in college. A girl wanted to meet me. We used to talk on the phone, that’s all. She was getting married. I don’t know why she wanted to meet me.’ I paused.

‘Go on.’

‘I told a friend to pick me up after ten minutes. I didn’t want to be with her for more than ten minutes. She getting married and all that, you know.’

‘Uh-huh…’

‘She came with a friend, a beautiful girl. It was love at first sight.’

‘What happened?’

‘My friend came to pick me up after ten minutes, on the dot, what else.’

‘Ah!’

The psychologist placed a Rorschach inkblot in front of me.

‘What do you see?’ he asked.

‘A ballet dancer leaning against an exercise bar, one leg raised and looking at her reflection in a mirror,’ I replied without hesitation.

‘You see a ballet dancer?’ the psychologist seemed surprised. He turned the inkblot and studied it. ‘Hmm, quite true, quite true…’

‘Bit heavy on top for a ballet dancer, isn’t she?’

‘Quite true, quite true…’ 

‘Reminds me of that girl, you know.’

‘Which one: the one who wanted to meet you or her friend?’

‘Oh no, the friend who came to pick me up...’

‘Ah, so, you did leave with a girl then. You should look at the bright side,’ the psychologist urged.

‘Who said she left with me? She went off with those two girls, didn’t she?’

‘Ah, so, it was traumatic after all,’ the psychologist sounded relieved. He continued studying the inkblot. ‘Amazing, I did not see the ballet dancer in this till today.’

‘Only because you reminded me of that trauma…’

‘Quite true, quite true…’