She Could Handle Money

It had been a routine email, the kind I ask my husband (total personal assistant) to arrange on my letterhead.

Although this young woman had been a psychiatric hospital inpatient for suicidality a few years ago, she was doing fairly well. We spent most of the time talking about her future education, and choice of profession.

She could handle money. I had put her through my routine test for determination of same. She could do all sorts of mathematics with two digits to the right of the decimal point. She had a very good idea of what sorts of things she needed in life, and pretty much how much they cost That is about all it takes to know how to handle money.

She came to see me with her mother (to whom she had signed a release) and I was surprised, because she and her mother did not approve of daughter’s lifestyle choices and the two didn’t exactly get on famously.

Social security had bounced my statement saying she was capable of handling her own funds.

I asked the young lady and her mother what they wanted from me.

They wanted absolutely nothing.

This basically meant that they wanted to complain to me.

They felt helplessly discriminated against, and they probably were, but they thought of Social Security as somebody whom you do not fight.

First, my job was to convince them that Social Security IS someone you fight. I said this girl could handle her own money — and she could.

I dismissed mother’s claims that she didn’t always know where her 26 year old daughter was. What if mom had reason to worry about where her daughter was? I told them I thought there was some way to follow her by her cell phone, (which neither they nor I was capable of understanding) and since I couldn’t get them to agree on anything, I suggested they consult separate lawyers. Daughter could find one at the local social program center she frequented and mother at the (very Catholic) law school at Fordham University in LA county.

I asked the daughter if she was depressed. She thought she was a little, but she did not want any medicine which makes about as much sense as most of my patients make, so it really is not that strange.

I reminded her mother that since she has a signed release, she has open access to me.

I told the daughter that we ought to visit once weekly so we could figure out how to improve her life, for we certainly had not gotten very far yet.

Within a few session, the two started getting along better and trusting each other. Social security agreed to send the money directly to daughter instead of mom, and as far as I know, they are living happily (but separately) ever after.

I wish they all turned out this happy.