Aiden

You know, Aiden, I appreciate that you gave me a chance

and I appreciate that you saw the good in me

and you never underestimated me.

Because many people, they saw only the bad.

And I'm really grateful for that chance

to spend the rest of my life with you.

But you know.

You'll never disappoint me, right?

If you ever do something like that,

my mood can change quickly.

You don't wanna see me like that.

You don't wanna see me like that.

You're a good little girl.

Yeah. You're a good little girl, aren't you?

You are, you're beautiful, aren't you?

You're okay with the dogs, I'm glad to see.

They'll be running in and out

as we go through the session.

Yeah.

There's Mini and Maxi.

What are they, therapy dogs?

Yeah. They're therapy dogs.

Oh, beautiful.

Fiercely loyal, aren't they?

Yes.

You wouldn't hurt anyone, would you? No.

Beautiful.

So, Aiden, I've got a rough idea of your history.

Before I can continue,

I do need you to sign the disclaimer for me.

If you could just read that through and.

Here's a pen.

So what is this?

That's an agreement to our conditions.

And it says here

that I can't leave for the whole week.

That's right.

So I can't even go for a walk into town

and maybe get a pint if I'm feeling a little bit frustrated?

No, no.

It says I'm not allowed to disclose the techniques

and practices and treatments with anyone.

That's right, no.

Hm.

Um.

I do need that commitment from you, that you will.

Well, I'm committed, I'm here.

And we've got a cabin for you, it's down the field

and it's used for situations like yours.

And it does take a week for you to commit to.

Well, I'm here, I'm committed.

Look, you got my commitment

and I've heard that your methods

are somewhat unorthodox and unconventional.

And I like that.

- Good. - Oh, let's sign this thing,

let's do it.

Well done.

Thank you.

So where do we go from here?

I'd like to hear from you,

maybe what you hope to achieve.

I guess I just wanna feel like my old self.

I just wanna get myself back. My independence.

I used to be the life and soul of the party.

All my friends used to say I bought such joy into a room.

Never short of a party invite.

Since Ivan came into my life,

that's when it all changed.

You know, when I first met him, he was like,

I thought I was punching above my weight.

My friends were quick enough to tell me so.

I mean, he's gorgeous.

He was so charming,

and he sort of engaged with them

as if it was his own friends and family

and I started to get a bit jealous,

like they liked him more than me sometimes.

Well, he started off with love bombing me

and I was the center of his universe

and he was the center of my universe.

But then over time, he changed.

He made me feel like I was the problem.

He paraded himself to my friends and family

like such the nice guy, such the good guy,

such the hero, like I was the problem.

Even my friends and family started looking at me

like I was a problem.

They believed him over me.

Well, I was not the problem, it was Ivan,

it was always Ivan.

He was just so goddamn clever at just putting on this mask,

at being such a good guy, the hero.

And he took such praise from that.

It made him validate who he was.

Basically, some people say that's how a narcissist acts.

They love bomb you

and then they just start manipulating you.

They get jealous and he seemed so confident

when I met him and then suddenly I saw his insecurities.

I saw the inner child in him.

He was weak, yet he was cruel at the same time.

I started to fear being alone with him.

Fear?

Yeah, fear.

Tell me more about the fear.

See, Ivan's a strong man.

Masculine, and that's what I was attracted to.

The power he has over me is what I'm afraid of.

Tell me more about the power

that you feel that he's got.

He just asserts this masculinity, this danger,

this threat that if I just step out of place

just one little bit, that's it, smashes up my computer.

I didn't know if I was coming home to a smile

or a slap or a punch.

But when he's pinning you up against a wall,

spitting in your face,

and then punching the living daylights out of you,

that's not who I fell in love with

and I am not gonna put up with that anymore.

I just wanna take the power away from him

and I wanna give the power back to myself.

But I need the safe zone to do that.

If he knew I was here, I know what would happen,

it wouldn't be pleasant

'cause he'd see you as a problem as well.

He's very clever at covering his tracks.

And I do worry that if I left him

and he couldn't find me,

he would harm those around me,

my friends and my family.

And I think I need this time out,

he doesn't even know I'm here.

Okay, I understand.

Well, do you?

I mean, what good is it really gonna do me

being here for a week?

I mean, what are you gonna teach me?

Or what insights can you provide

that's gonna provide me and those I care for safety?

What I want to do is understand your emotions.

I wanna know everything about you.

I wanna know every detail.

Emotions, I mean, right now

I feel like I'm just numb to my emotions.

I've had to protect my emotions

and build a wall so high to protect myself,

some of my friends just say

I'm like emotionally void, emotionally dead.

It's like I've got no human aspect anymore.

It's just sucked out of me.

I don't feel, I don't feel emotional, I don't feel myself,

I don't feel like I'm Aiden anymore.

I fear for my life

and I fear for those around me.

Why haven't you been to the police about it?

I mean, not being funny, they don't make it easy

going to the police, reporting abuse,

and certainly male abuse from a male abuser.

I've got pride.

Aiden, we're going to the cabin in a minute.

You're gonna think of it as a retreat.

It's a place where you can reflect

on your innermost emotions

and I want you isolated from the outside world.

I don't want you to interact with the outside world.

I want you to make a video diary on your phone

and send them to me

each time that you go through a process of discovery

and we can use that video

over the course of treatment for you further.

I guess the only obstacle that I've got

is leaving him.

Thank you, Dr. Williams.

You're welcome.

Here we go. - Wow.

You've got so much land.

And it's a gorgeous day as well.

I want you to come along this way, and

I think this fresh air

is gonna do me the world of good.

Oh wow.

Is this my cabin?

No, this isn't yours,

but we don't want you to know anything about

Well, can I at least meet them?

No, you're not to meet anyone on this experiment.

I mean, project.

I don't want you to know anything about anyone else.

Your curiosity is gonna get the better of you.

The only thing I want you to be curious about

is your video messaging.

Oh, this is gorgeous.

So how many cabins do you have?

More than enough.

Is there any food in the cabin?

No.

So.

It makes me feel