On "Puppet's Prognosis" by Schuyler Dickson (1881 words) ***

I've long wondered a bit of analysts--psychologists, really. I've had a few friends that visited such professionals regularly. But I've wondered when is therapy over? The thinking on this varies. I've read that really all people need is someone--anyone--to talk with, and that's what analysts allow for. I've read that a person only needs analysis as long as he or she thinks analysis is needed (this from books on Eastern philosophy). And then there's the idea that analysis somehow cures something--but what exactly?

Dickson's story is about a man who doesn't quite know how to let go of his analyst. This itself creates the amusing central motif--a grown man visiting a child psychologist, asking to talk with the puppet assistant. You can read the nondiagnosis here at Bartleby Snopes.