Chapter 3 - WHY LUCY NEEDED A THERAPISTLucy started therapy after nightmares began.
She would wake screaming:
“Don’t lock it.”
I thought she was talking about a closet.
Melissa said preschool separation anxiety.
Our pediatrician recommended a therapist.
Melissa chose Dr. Vale.
That mattered.
I had never questioned why.
He had excellent credentials.
A clean office.
Soft voice.
Family photographs on the wall.
He told me:
“Children often create symbolic fears.”
I trusted him.
Now I wondered whether the nightmares began because of something Melissa was already doing.
Rosa answered that question.
Three months earlier, before therapy started, Melissa had begun putting Lucy in the laundry room as punishment.
Not for hours.
Ten minutes.
Sometimes fifteen.
Lights off.
Door closed.
Lucy hated darkness.
Rosa caught it once.
Melissa said:
“She needs to learn to self-soothe.”
Rosa objected.
Melissa threatened her job.
Then the nightmares began.
And Melissa hired Dr. Vale.
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The therapist was not treating the fear.
He was helping hide its cause.
