Case Files: Therapist puts patient in double bind, then tries to weasel his way out of his mistake

Scenario: it is the beginning of a therapy session, and the patient "John" walks into the therapist's office and sits down.

Therapist: "Hello, John, how's everything going?"

John (the patient): "Well... basically okay...

Therapist: "I perceive that you are a little excited...what's that about?"

John: "When I was driving through the McDonalds just a short while ago, the girl at the window really pissed me off! She messed up my order - she didn't know what she was doing!!"

Therapist: "Well...it's dinner hour, maybe she was too busy and got confused. Isn't it being kind of hard on her to hold her to blame?"

John: "Okay, if you say so. I acknowledge to your royal jackass-ed-ness that I am a terrible monster."

Therapist: "Good. Now, how did things go at work today?"

John: "Could have been better. I made a mistake and the boss got mad at me, he kind of shouted at me...he made me feel bad...”

Therapist: "Let's talk about your sensitivity to criticism, and let's also discuss how you can avoid making mistakes at work."

John: "But, shouldn't you now be suggesting that maybe my boss was out of line, and also be telling me that perhaps I am not to blame for my mistake? In other words, why do you not now apply the same type reasoning toward me, that you did to the McDonalds worker? Aren't you kind of putting me in what you guys call a 'double bind'? "

Therapist (while trying to pull his pants up): "Uh...hmm...wait a minute - well, you're being too philosphical. Er, I mean...you can only control your own behaviour...wait! I mean, can you pretend for a moment, that I'm not a complete loser?"

John: "Sorry, I've tried to do that before but realized I was acting in bad faith. You have been debunked. Dee-bunked. Hah! You're fired!! You are free to seek a new patient!!!"