The Assessment Result

I receive a phone call from my assessor at the beginning of the last week of September 2008. She tells me that my case has been successfully presented to the psychiatrist and the rest of the team and a decision on my treatment has been reached.
I am offered weekly treatment, lasting a year in the form of art therapy. I immediately accept as I am anxious for any sort of treatment to begin. The assessor then arranges to meet me a couple of days later so that she can introduce me to my therapist before my treatment starts.
I am filled with mixed emotions after this phone call. My very first thought is of ridicule and disappointment at the decision to give me art therapy. I wonder what use doing a load of silly drawings will do me. My next reaction is one of smugness as I tell myself that it must have been noticed how artistic I am to have been offered art therapy in the first place.
I talk it all over with my husband, who as always listens with care and attention. I realise that I feel afraid now, knowing that I am now in the “system” and knowing that it has been recognised that I am unwell and need treatment.
But my desire to claw my way out of the hell that is trichotillomania far outweighs my fear and gives me the strength to approach the treatment with an open mind.