I eyed the clock with a slight feeling of impatience. 9.54am. Turning to my computer, I opened the file of the patient I was due to see in six minutes. Slipping on my thin rimmed glasses, I scanned through the information. Rebecca Harper, 17 years old. Depression. Four suicide attempts. History of self harm. Excellent, I thought. Nothing quite like a bit of teenage angst to work up an appetite for lunch time.

The girl who entered my office after a quick knock at the door was obviously there against her will.  Her dirty-fair hair was braided in a poor attempt at imitating the style seen in the Caribbean, and fell to around halfway down her back. She wore a loose grey t-shirt with the faded logo of some band embroidered onto the front. Her light blue jeans were muddy at the bottom and torn across the knees. Her face was scrunched into the deep frown I had seen on the faces of so many patients who were determined to keep people at a distance. As she sat down in front of me, I noticed that she had made no attempt to conceal the scars on her arms.

I tidied a stack of papers lying on my desk before meeting her eye. “Good morning, Miss Harper. Or may I call you Rebecca?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “If you want.”

I forced a small smile and returned my attention to the information on my computer.

“I see you recently attempted suicide for the fourth time. I assume, then, that this isn’t your first time in therapy?”

She gave a short laugh. “Nope. Been there, done that. I’m prepared for any of the crap you might try and hit me with.”

At that moment, what I wanted to hit her with most was the back of my hand. Composure, I thought to myself. Screwed up little girls like this one help to keep you in the lifestyle you enjoy.

“Well Rebecca, I assure you, I just want to try and get to the root of your problem.”

She gave a quick roll of her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“So, how did all this start?”

“I dunno. Life sucks, that’s all.”

I smiled at her, the corners of my mouth feeling like weights that I had to push up. “Come on, now. Everything you say stays between us. There’s nothing you can tell me that I won’t have heard before. I’m not here to judge you.”