Santa Healing

A&P, COFFEE, SANTA CLAUS
Originally uploaded by George Eastman House

For the past 10 Christmas seasons, I have accompanied a client of mine, a woman in her late 40's now, to see Santa at a prominent mall downtown. This trip, once highly criticized by my colleagues, is now understood as an integral part of this woman's treatment plan.

"What is the allure of Santa for an African-American woman with Schizophrenia and a developmental disability?" , one might ask. And I've had many answers over the years. Today it became clear that it boils down to a few basic things: she can count on him being in the same spot every year. He won't judge her. He'll welcome her on his lap, offering a hearty smile and a few kind words. It's this kind of predictability and safety and comfort that is a rare find for someone who experiences false beliefs on a regular basis that people are out to hurt her or are talking about her or trying to take things from her.

The criticism about seeing Santa that arose from my colleagues 10 years ago was that it was "not age appropriate". When I surveyed the room to find out who still watched cartoons or built sand castles or played video games or enjoyed getting ice cream on their face, the argument started to lose its steam.

The origin of taking my client to see Santa stemmed from a tragic situation that arose right before her December birthday, 10 yrs ago; her sister died of cancer. My client slid into a significant depression and an intense relapse of Schizophrenia symptoms, refusing her medications, denouncing the existence of God, and refusing to see me for therapy appointments. As I waited for her one such time in the basement of her agency's office, she kept peeking down, then cursing me out, going outside and repeating the cycle. When she stuck her head far enough in to stay for awhile, I asked her: "What would your sister want you to do for Christmas?" She stopped on the stairs. Sat down. And she thought for awhile, mumbling under her breath. She finally replied: "I want to see Santa." And that is what broke the cycle, at least temporarily, of the downward spiral she was in.

The first time we went it was as if you were watching a child who had never experienced the magic of Santa before. Her eyes got big, she became giddy, she couldn't stop talking to him when we met him. She showed the picture taken with him to every person she encountered.

Every year, as the weather begins to cool and autumn approaches, my client begins to talk about seeing Santa. It is the highlight of her year. She tries hard to manage her symptoms as December approaches. She's more mindful of how she is interacting with others. Because, after all, "He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"

The healing in Santa for my client goes deeper than all of this. Santa brings out innocence and magical thinking and naivety. For a woman who became symptomatic in her early teens, removed from her home for aggressive behavior and bounced around boarding homes, institutions, psych wards for the majority of her life, Santa is as omnipotent as God. And, because she was the "runt" of her family's litter (the youngest of 10 children) living in the projects, she didn't get to experience what other kids did at Christmas time. She learned to survive and trust no one and be a fighter. There was no one dressing her up and walking with her to the mall to visit Santa and ask what she wanted to receive. She was lucky to get leftover scraps from the dining room table after wrestling her siblings. Santa offers her the chance to reclaim her childhood in a way that therapy can't even begin to touch. That much, I am very aware.

And so it is with great honor that I escort her on this annual healing trip to the man in the red jacket with the jolly laugh. Today was no exception. In fact, because we've been going to this same mall, we have interacted with the same Santa for at least the past 6-7 yrs! As we walked up, he knew her by name ! Even more special today, when she declared to him that she had hardly any money this year as they've cut her disability benefits, after the photo was taken he leaned over and said: "The pictures are on Santa. Merry Christmas." Her reaction was priceless. This small gesture was felt in enormous proportions. It was absolutely magical to watch her today. Particularly because she had spent the past 3 weeks in a psych ward, having had a serious relapse in symptoms, which included trying to mace her roommate and threatening to harm staff.
Santa was in the exact chair she has always known him to be in for the past 10 years. And he was there just for her. This was truly Santa healing.

Ho.Ho.Ho.