This has been cycling the net for a good long while but I want to call out how much this specifically helped me.
If today is your first day reading this, welcome to the battle you never realized you had been winning every day until now.
I feel like General Martok would probably fall into the Klingon Therapist category.
Well, Martok did recognize and validate Garak’s fight with his claustrophobia when they were prisoners of the Jem’Hadar
Martok was always my favorite character. He is the kind of man I aspire to be for my son; respectful, wise, polite, and humble. Real alphas protect and guide their pack. They are never the loudest voice in the room, but when they speak, others cease! That’s how I see that character and others like him.
And Klingons love strong women, none of that oppressive shit. Of course there’s the thing where women can’t be heads of their houses except in specific cases, but… Well that’s writer dependent.
Didn’t Voyager have a Betazoid serial killer for a couple seasons?
Edit: in fact, i think Troi was the only highly empathetic Betazoid we meet in Stat Trek, and she’s half human so that could just be a her thing.
Full Betazoids are fully telepathic, not just empathic. Knowing all the heinous shit people are thinking but don’t say outright can’t be good for their sense of empathy!
Serial killer? No. I can’t even say he was a psychopath really. But there was a dude, Suder, who had insane violent tendencies but was aware of them and could (generally) control them. He knew it was unacceptable so he looked for acceptable outlets to get it out. Working with the Maquis was one of them because who cares about dead Cardassians? But after being stuck in the Delta quadrant, he had zero outlets for it. Was about a year of it that he couldn’t handle it anymore and gave into an urge and just killed a Voyager crewman, but only the one. Tuvok mind melded with him to figure out wtf was going on in his head and Tuvok nearly went insane for his troubles. But they spent a while working together and Suder had everything completely under control. Working on plants and shit. But the Kazon attacked and he had to go a-murderin’ again. First dude he kills actually gives him a full blown panic attack and he has to be basically talked into killing other Kazon. He then gets his shit together, kills a fuckload of Kazon and manages to take the Voyager back but dies in the process.
No no no.
For the Klingon Therapist:
The battle against mental illness is not to be understood as a conventional battle between conventional militaries. It has much more in common with the scenario of a guerilla resistance pitted against a better trained force, with more numbers, better equipment, and seemingly unlimited resources, and logistical capability.
But, this seemingly dire state of affairs is itself the enemy.
In this situation, your continued existence is in itself a victory, for the truth almost always is that the seemingly infinite and omnipotent enemy… is not actually so.
You cannot fight the enemy on their own terms and expect to win, you can however study your enemy, find its weaknesses and limitations, and develop your own unorthodox manuevers and techniques to diminish the enemy or neutralize its effects, while slowly growing your own strength, and morale, knowing that every day the guerilla force that is you, that this still exists… that that is a victory.
Total, definitive, perfect victory is not guaranteed, the path may be a long and gruelling one, with many tragedies and much heartbreak along the way…
… but you honor yourself and your ancestors every single moment that you do not admit defeat, every moment that you can still draw the breath of a warrior.
I have the Klingon therapist quote framed on the wall.
Good quote.
Strax from Dr. Who vibes
Just keep him away from any sneaky folks with hammers.
BOTH FUCKING WORK AND NOW I’M SAD WE DIDN’T GET THIS
I have kind of been in both these positions with these approaches.
Betazoids can smell fear and see your next move.
troi wasnt useful as a "psychiatrist/psychologist consolar , guinan was better at it than she is.
I’m just imagining Worf taking on additional roles during a slow year in order to assist with the uptick in cabin fever.
