Psych Ward: Noh-Varr

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By Tim Stevens

Noh-Varr appears to be a young adult male of above average physical fitness. While the client does appear humanoid, he is, in fact, an alien, a member of the Kree species, albeit from a different universe. This conclusion is based on both self-report and records provided by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Currently, the client is serving as a member of the government-sponsored super hero team the Avengers under the name Captain Marvel. He also been known to the public as Marvel Boy, although this is not a nickname that he reports any affinity to at all. In fact, he seems to resent the repeated attempts to label him as anything but hiss given name. He does admit that he has less of an issue with the Captain Marvel designation as he respects the original Kree hero to bear the name and is honored, in some way, to walk that path.

In session, Noh-Varr comes across as overtly hostile. Despite coming in on his own accord, he is consistently resistant to engaging in the therapeutic model. He fluctuates between answering questions with brief, one word statements to long, wide-ranging soliloquies in which he points out what he believes to be the problem with human-and particularly United States-culture. Other times, he will barely acknowledge the presence of the writer and largely ignore questions asked. Inevitably, at some point, the client will also make pointed insults remarks about the writer and, on occasion, the writer's family members.

Over time, however, Noh-Varr has seemed to soften, at least slightly. Although still wildly evasive, the client has come clean about feeling consistently misled and betrayed since his arrival on earth. He exhibits signs of paranoia and often appears to be pushing the writer to violate his trust. Given his history since arriving on our planet, this is not entirely without cause. He has been shut down, imprisoned, mind controlled, manipulated, and accused of being a terrorist. Nearly all of his interactions with others have been negative.

While attempting to provide counter evidence to the client's worldview, the writer was able to get him to confess that he enjoyed being part of the Avengers and felt well-treated, initially, upon his joining. He refused, however, to discuss the situation further, including why he no longer appeared in public with the team. It is the writer's hypothesis that this

disconnection from the group is what ultimately motivated the client to come in to therapy in the first place. Unfortunately, despite this, Noh-Varr seems to not yet trust the therapeutic relationship to explore this catalyst further.

Typically, clients who exhibit this level of hostility and resistance are not receptive to therapy to a point that it cannot provide them with any aid. In the case of this client, however, it appears that he wants to disclose further, but the nature of his trauma makes him very guarded. Given that there has been some recent disclosure, the writer expects the therapeutic relationship is evolving and that it is only a matter of time before the client begins to more fully trust the writer. Thus, the writer has continued to encourage Noh-Varr to return for further sessions.

Noh-Varr's next appointment on will be December 2 with Doctors Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo. For further details, please refer to file DARK AVENGERS ANNUAL #1.

Tim Stevens is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Consultant and Doctoral Intern at a college counseling center currently pursuing his Psy D. who

has experience with individuals struggling to overcome trauma and trust issues.

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