The Versatile Master Artist

Dr. Jin Anqing said gently, ”If I truly mastered the mind reading technique and my mind was strong enough to be indestructible, then I wouldn’t occasionally feel tortured by my ex-wife to the point of wanting to find a seaside cliff to jump off. Oh heavens, she was such a gentle and lovely girl before we got married.”

Gu Weijing looked at the helpless smile on the screen of the psychologist.

He didn’t know why Dr. Jin was saying these things to him, yet he vaguely felt like he had grasped something he couldn’t quite put into words.

”You mean to say... the real change comes from within the patients themselves, not from you as the doctor.” Mr. Tree Sloth quietly spoke for him.

”Perfect!”

Dr. Jin praised as he snapped his fingers, lightly patting the table twice with his hand.

”You’re really a perceptive and clever person. This isn’t flattery; among all the various visitors I’ve encountered, those who can instantly realize what I’m saying are very few.”

”At the end of the day, psychotherapy is merely about letting the patient’s inner emotions come out.”

”Moderate ultraviolet light is beneficial to health, and psychological issues are similar.”

”If everyone could periodically expose their inner selves to the sun, they would surely absorb positive energy from it. What we psychologists do is just facilitate this communication process,” the doctor said.

”Although I spent seven years in medical school to get my PhD, although obtaining a psychologist’s license in New Zealand requires hundreds of hours of specialized training to accumulate the necessary hours for practicing, although I’m an industry expert charging thousands of US Dollars per hour... but all of these are not necessary conditions for effective psychological consultation.”

”Sometimes the effect of a patient hysterically crying to their parents, partners, or even the church priest or friends is better than any thousand-page medical case I write. And they might not even have heard of the concept of psychology.”

Dr. Jin Anqing extended two index fingers, slowly moving them closer until the skin at the fingertips touched each other.

”I have always believed that it is the communication and mutual connection between the patient and the external world that causes the transformation magic to happen, rather than the heavy knowledge from psychology textbooks.”

”And in this chat room, the person most likely to establish this connection is clearly not me. Autism patients have their special traits, and over the past decade I’ve tried various methods, but none have been able to unlock Tony’s inner world.” He said slowly.

”That’s why I suggested Jean Arnou invite you. Lady Cat, you are a magical person.”

”I’ve learned about some cases and research progress through private channels. I have to admit, works like ’Little Prince’ that can permeate the closed minds of autism syndrome patients, in all my years in the field, I’ve seen such an impact for the first time—truly astonishing. If Tony were 5 years old, the golden age for treating autism, perhaps a single ’Little Prince’ could unlock his heart.”

The psychology expert shook his head and said, ”But he is already 41 years old, and the mental state of an autism patient at this age is already completely fixed.”

”To give a not very appropriate example, the keyhole to this big child’s heart has rusted shut. What he needs is not a key, but a hammer that can smash open the door. I need you to create some artwork with more penetrating power for Tony personally.”

”Just like a minimally invasive appendectomy requires first drilling a small hole in the abdomen for a doctor like me to have the operable space to insert tools.”

Dr. Jin made a drilling movement with his hand.

”Do you need me to figure out what artwork to create?” Gu Weijing asked hesitantly.

”Yes, any work, any theme, any size, any quantity... I can’t tell you what you should paint because I don’t know what to paint either. My requirements would only form constraints.”

Dr. Jin shrugged, ”The only suggestion I can offer is to continue employing painting knife painting as the technique, because preliminary studies show this painting style is more favored by autism patients.”

”The rest requires your imaginative creativity, Lady Cat. Among us three, you as the artist have the power to make magic happen, not me the doctor. Tony’s past assessment cases you hold in your hand are the ’casting materials’ I prepared for you.”

Gu Weijing seemed to understand.

He flipped through the thick materials in his hand.

The ADOS Autism Diagnostic Tool for Children, the SCQ Behavior and Social Communication Problem Assessment, the Merkel Child Development Scale...

On the sheets of white printed paper, there was a clear profiling of this middle-aged man named Tony, and his life over many past years.

The content of the psychological assessment forms is not obscure.

Reading these documents, Gu Weijing could easily imagine what the other person’s life is like.

Often staring at his own arm in a daze, unwilling to speak, lacking in language skills, solitary with no friends.

Think about it.

Gu Weijing was not unfamiliar with such emotional states; he had similar familiar examples around him.

The life of the chubby child Bu Dao in the orphanage was similar.

Great artist Jean Arnou’s son was merely a version of Bu Dao magnified by thirty years.

Tony was both more fortunate and more unfortunate than Bu Dao.

His material conditions were infinitely better than Bu Dao’s, but his illness was also much more severe.

Bu Dao’s language barrier was not serious, and his autism was of a relatively mild type.