A depressed patient is talking to his therapist who practices active listening:

Patient: "I'm depressed"

Therapist: "You're depressed"

Patient: "No. I mean it! I'm really depressed"

Therapist: "You're really depressed"


Patient: "No. I mean it! I'm really depressed"

Therapist: "You're really depressed"

Now, exasperated , the patient shares : "I'm so depressed that I feel like killing myself"


to which the Therapist responds: " You feel like killing yourself"

"I'LL SHOW YOU!" the patient says. And then gets up, walks over to the window and jumps out.

The therapist goes to the window, looks out, and after a pause says "Plop"




Obviously, this is a parody of how paraphrasing can be a mechanical operation. The important thing isn't to summarize what someone says but to understand what he or she is feeling. So , of course, the therapist SHOULD have said 'Ouch."



disclaimer: this was merely a short story joke, no resemblance to any actual person was intended and no offense is meant

Or, AAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.