Timothy has seen a couple of psychologists and a psychiatrist over the past decade without success for his concerns. A friend told him about your counselling service and that talking things through with you may help him. Timothy decides to see you and explains that he has struggled over the past decade to handle his obsessions in his life. During the session, he mentions that his wife is always telling him he needs to "stop being so compulsive" with everything he does and getting so cranky with others who don't do things how he likes them done, particularly when out with friends. He mentions that his wife is also annoyed with his spending habits as he has splashed out on so many treats and toys for the children of late and even bought a new boat without telling her about it. "He excused it by saying "We can afford it all, it's not a problem money wise. I've made sure I've earned the big bucks by being the workaholic I am" and chuckles. You ask him if things have always been this way and Timothy tells you it started not long after an incident/accident with one of his mates around 10 years ago. Timothy says he recalls most of the event but not all of it. "For some reason I can't remember it all, but I know it happened, I was there". You ask him if he feels comfortable enough to tell you what he does remember and he says, "sure... well, a mate of mine drowned years ago when we were about 17 years of age, away at a friend's camping trip." He pauses, wipes his brow, and says, "I know we were all in the pool just having some fun and the next thing I knew, I was on the side of the pool performing resuscitation on my friend. I don't remember what went wrong or how he got out of the pool even, but I do know I was pumping his chest as hard as I could". Timothy goes on to tell you that a mate called an ambulance as he continued CPR, but it was too late, they just couldn't get a pulse going and he passed away. You share your condolences and gently ask him if he doesn't mind, you would like to explore this a little. He tells you he is more than happy to answer any questions as he wants your help to get through this but would also like to know why he can't remember what happened as to why no one noticed his friend sooner so that they might have saved him.

8) Explore a gap in your knowledge regarding Timothy's concerns.