Free Lost at School by Ross W. Greene Page A

“Joey probably won’t talk to you,” she said.
    “I guess I can’t fault him for that,” said Dr. Bridgman. “But maybe you’ll talk to me.”
    “You don’t have to worry about that.”
    Ms. Lowell was already apprehensive as she knocked on the door to Dr. Bridgman’s office several days later, with a reluctant Joey by her side. Her anxiety spiked when he opened the door. Dr. Bridgman was a large man, his clothes didn’t quite fit, his shirt was partially untucked, his tie hung loosely around his neck, and his thick-rimmed glasses slid down his nose. His office was extraordinarily unkempt.
    “Hi, Carl Bridgman,” he said, shaking her hand. Then he turned his attention to Joey. “You’re Joey, yes?”
    Joey nodded.
    “Come in, let’s talk a little.” Dr. Bridgman guided Joey and his mother into his office and removed stacks of files from two chairs so his guests could sit. “This office is already a mess, and I’ve only been here a month,” he said to no one in particular.
    “Where exactly did you come from?” asked Ms. Lowell, scanning the office.
    “Oh, I’ve worked in a few different states over the years,” Dr. Bridgman replied. “But my office has always been a complete mess no matter what state I’ve been in.”
    Joey chuckled.
    “And you say you’re a psychologist?” asked Ms. Lowell.
    “School psychologist,” said Dr. Bridgman. “At least that’s what my degree says I am.”
    “What do you say you are?” asked Ms. Lowell.
    “At the moment, I’m the guy who’d like to help things go better at school for you and Joey,” Dr. Bridgman responded. “It would be nice if what happened the other day didn’t happen again.”
    “That would be nice,” said Ms. Lowell, still skeptical.
    “Joey,” said Dr. Bridgman, “can you tell me what happened the other day?”
    Joey was silent.
    “Joey, he can’t help us if you don’t talk,” said Ms. Lowell.
    “I don’t want to do this,” mumbled Joey, looking at his mother.
    “I don’t blame you,” said Dr. Bridgman. “The thing is, if I don’t hear your ideas about what happened, then I’ll have to rely on everyone else’s ideas, and I’m not sure you want me relying on what everyone else is saying about what happened.”
    Joey considered his options.
    “Joey, please,” said Ms. Lowell.
    Dr. Bridgman looked carefully at Joey. “You’ve talked to a lot of doctors, Joey. And I’m betting you don’t think they’ve done you much good. I mean, all those doctors, and you’re still suspended for five days. So I can’t say that I blame you for not wanting to talk to a perfect stranger.”
    Joey was still silent.
    Dr. Bridgman continued. “Now, I don’t know what all those other doctors did. I’m sorry they didn’t help you very much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you or not. But I know I can’t help unless I hear what you have to say.”
    Joey surprised his mother and started talking. “All the teachers hate me. They like embarrassing me … and getting me in trouble.”
    “The teachers like embarrassing you,” said Dr. Bridgman. “And you’re probably not too keen on being embarrassed … or getting into trouble.”
    “I don’t care about getting into trouble. I’m used to it.”
    “So what happened the other day that made you run out of the school?” asked Dr. Bridgman.
    “Um … I was sitting at my desk and I didn’t know what to do on the social studies project. And Mrs. Woods got a little mad at me because I didn’t know what to do. So she told me to come up to her desk, and I didn’t want all the kids looking at me. So I told her I didn’t want to go up to her desk. So she had Mr. Middleton come in the class and he wanted me to go to the office, and then everyone was looking at me. So I jumped out of myseat. I guess that’s when Mr. Middleton got hurt … but I didn’t mean for him to get hurt. That’s when I ran out of the classroom … and then they found me and grabbed my arms and Mrs.