The Fat Lady Essay -- Character Analysis, Dr. Yalom, Betty

The Fat Lady Book Report In the third story of Loves Executioner: â€Å"The Fat lady† , Dr.Yalom decides to treat a twenty-seven year old overweight woman named, Betty. Though Dr. Yalom was reluctant to treat Betty at first due to her being obese, Dr. Yalom decides to put aside his counter-transference issues and views treating Betty as a way to improve his skills as a therapist. Not only does Dr.Yalom learn throughout treating Betty that there was more substance to her than he had initially anticipated, but he connects with betty while overcoming his counter-transference issues,helping Betty uncover the pathology of her depression and discovering her identity. First and foremost is Dr.Yaloms first meeting and reactions toward Betty. During first initial meeting, Dr. Yalom is taken back by Betties physical appearance as Dr.Yalom goes into explicit detail for his distaste for fat woman as he states, â€Å"I always been repelled by fat women. I find them disgusting: their absurd sidewise waddle, their absence of body contour,breasts,laps,buttock,shoulders,jawlines,cheekbones, everything I like to see in a woman obscured in an avalanche of flesh.† (Yalom, 2000 p. 94) Dr. Yalom proceeds asking the the typical questions what is troubling her as Betty tells Dr.Yalom that she is depressed and her eating has been out of control. Dr. Yalom, realizing his counter transference issues may make it hard for him to relate or even treat Betty, instead he views Betty as a challenge of being able to overcome his aversion toward fat women as a way of better helping future patients. In the next few sessions Dr.Yalom finds Betties endless chatter about her life extremely unmoving. Dr.Yalom describes their talks as, â€Å"cocktail chatter† with no real substa... ...Yalom, 2000) Betty then inquires about those changes as Dr.Yalom embarrassing admits he did not feel comfortable with obese people. Betty berates Dr.Yalom telling him that he never once touched her in the whole therapy session, let alone look at her directly for the first six months. Betty also tells Dr.Yalom, Ironically, Betty tells him how she cant stand fat people either and thats why she has a distaste for groups. Dr.Yalom then gives her a hug, surprised that he is able to put his arms around the once obese two hundred and fifty pound woman. Not only in the end did Dr.Yalom learn to move past his counter-transferense issues he had with fat women, but he grew with his patient as they both took something away from therapy, Dr.Yalom being empathetic and moving past Bettys intital obese appearance, and Betty appreciating life in the now and becoming a real identity.