Psych Ward: Nick Fury

The client, who goes by Nick Fury or Nick Fury Jr. in some circles and previously was known as Marcus Johnson, is an adult male in above average physical fitness. Although he lost one of his eyes in an incident of torture, he seems to have no long-term physical consequences from the incident beyond that loss. Additionally, he reports no further physical concerns stemming from it. The psychological toll of the incident and the series of events that have cascaded from that moment have not yet been properly accounted for, in the opinion of this writer.

In brief, as noted above, the client was known as Marcus Johnson. He, in fact, had identified as that for most of his life. However, it was revealed to him that he was actually born as Nicholas Fury Jr, the son of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director (amongst other accomplishments). He found this out while under attack by a series of super villains and various mercenary types and just after the death of his mother.

During this tightly packed series of episodes—each one being significant enough to change one’s perspective on their own life—Fury also met his biological father, a man he had no awareness of being related to. However, their meeting was short-lived, marked by violent confrontations with many who wished one or both of them dead, and Fury almost immediately went into hiding after and has been rumored to either have died, to be living in exile, or even, according to one particularly far-fetched sounding story, have taken up the role of some kind of cosmic nearly omniscient monitor.

Nonetheless, Fury felt motivated and/or inspired by his genetics to follow in his father’s footsteps and, alongside his best friend Phil Coulson, joined S.H.I.E.L.D. He seemed to be a natural for the work, using his military service, strong tactical mind, and natural charisma to adapt and excel despite a relative lack of training in spycraft.

Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly proved to be a disappointing experience as the client was betrayed and nearly killed while on a mission by his team, a group of HYDRA infiltrators masquerading as S.H.I.E.L.D.

Now the client is operating solo and underground, looking to do what he describes as “the work of S.H.I.E.L.D., the work they should do,” in a freelance capacity.

The client, in session, seems resistant to the idea of admitting to vulnerability, perhaps understandable given the norms of the spy community and the existing pressures of masculinity. However, the amount of upheaval he has experienced in his life over the past year or so is undeniably disruptive. Even if the client would not quality for a formal PTSD diagnosis, his life has been so altered that it seems impossible that he would not be experiencing any kind of ramifications from those experiences.

Additionally, he showed up in my office of his own accord as I have reminded him. While he might be strong, while he might be traumatized, he nonetheless felt the need to seek out psychological counseling and/or support which means that neither he nor I should simply hand wave at what he has experienced as of late.

Through contacts, I have been able to acquire his S.H.I.E.L.D. mental health records done by Doctors James Robinson and ACO. They can be found in his file here on August 2 in the file marked NICK FURY #5.

Psy D. Candidate Tim Stevens is a Staff Therapist who would never suggest he has experience in spycraft, but, you know…wink, wink, nudge, nudge.