James: I'm not sure if it's one individual or the band collectively, but maybe. . .uh, it's their footwear that really bothers me. I'm not sure if it's just any one shoe, but maybe just the thought of it, the thought of what's on their feet at any given moment. . .distracts me.

Therapist: Tell me if there's any way that you can see of having an effect on the situation so that you feel able to get close to them.

James: Well, I have given thought to this, and I suppose in a practical. . .practical sense I could maybe ask for different shoes or socks on their rider. And a rider's something we have at every show. And, uh. . .you know, they'll give us a deli tray. . .uh, you know, candy, and we can put any sort of footwear we want on it. Maybe if I were have those different exposed elements to them, maybe they would lighten up a little.

Therapist: You really lost me there.

D'arcy: I. . .I'm sorry if. . .I don't mean to. . .to be insulting at all, I just don't think that any amount of therapy is ever going to help this band. Jimmy is incredibly paranoid all of the time, and James, it's different thing with him every week. It's, you know. . .one week he thought that his dog was possessed, and. . .and Billy flew off the handle and just couldn't take it anymore, so he said, you know, "Well fine, let's get a witch doctor, then." So we went to this witch doctor. And then the next month it was the tarot card reader, you know. . .

Jimmy: [pause] ...Umm...

[Therapist places a picture of a cat and two small duck figurines on a chair in front of Jimmy.]

Therapist: I'll put them here. [points to cat picture] That's D'Arcy, and the other two men. And I'd like to get you to get across to these people how you feel when you get mocked, knowing that there are no consequences except you feeling better about yourself, 'cause they're not in the room.

Jimmy [holding and talking to one of the ducks]: Um, Billy, um, sometimes when you tell me that my clothes are funny and my hair is too long it makes me feel really bad.

Therapist: You're getting into blaming and criticizing him for how he is, and maybe he is that way. What I want you to do is tell him...

Jimmy: He's a duck. [laughs]

Therapist: ...Tell him how you want...no, but, he is a duck, but the person that is using him for a symbol is another duck, right?

Jimmy: [laughs] Right.

Therapist: You can just pretend he's in the chair, and take that away if you like...

Jimmy: No, I like him. I like the duck.

Therapist: OK. Jimmy [to cat picture]: D'arcy, I, uh...I really think you're a really cool person, and it would really make me happy if you would just try to appreciate me for who I am, because I, you know, I really go out of my way to try and be nice to you.

Jimmy [to other duck]: James, um...[sniffs] I...it made me feel really bad that you cut all of your hair off, right … right as mine was getting long. I felt that it was kind of a....another ploy of yours to make me feel, like, distanced from the band.

Jimmy [standing]: I deserve to be respected by you and everyone else.

Billy: Just let me make this analogy. You wanna go to the circus, and to get into the circus it costs you five. . .pence.

Therapist: Yeah.

Billy: So, you stand in line, you don't have five pence, but you really wanna go to the circus. So someone comes along and says, "Well, I'll take you in the circus and I'll pay the five pence, but you gotta pay me back later." So, you go in the circus, they take you out. "Oh, OK, well, when you gonna pay me back?" "I don't know. I'll get around to it sooner or later." That's the story of the band.

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