By Tim Stevens

Alison Blaire is an adult female who presents as in above average physical shape. Blaire is a self-identified mutant who has been active in the mutant rights movement both as a member of the X-Men and some of its sister groups, and as a spokesperson through her art and celebrity; that celebrity is derived from a singing career than has seen her bounce between and pioneer various subgenres of dance music as Dazzler. She also uses her stage identity as her X-Man “codename.”

When the client first spoke up for mutant rights and came out as a mutant herself, the effects were quick and devastating, derailing her career and causing an unraveling of a large portion of her social support network. Although she has experienced success since then, her career has, in her opinion, never fully recovered from that revelation. While the client does not regret her choice, she does sometimes wonder how different her reputation and place in popular music would be right now had she not made it. At the same time, she also wonders if mutants would be as publicly accepted in the field of entertainment had she not stepped forward.

The X-Men and its sister groups have given the client a wonderful community to call her own, but joining them has not shielded her from tragedy or pain. She has seen relationships destroyed by alternate worlds and amnesia, and has seen her inability to return affections push a teammate into villainy.

Currently, she finds herself somewhat rudderless. Beyond a job at a local piano bar in San Francisco, she has not worked as a singer in some time and her roles within the mutant community have felt somewhat unfulfilling. The focus of sessions has been on Blaire revisiting her past and sorting through those events to inform her present. This writer has predominantly been acting as a sounding board, facilitating the client’s exploration of her life and providing only non-directive support.

Alison Blaire will continue to explore this opportunity with Doctors Greg Pak and Stephen Segovia. Please review file X-TREME X-MEN #1 on July 25 for further information.

Psy D. Candidate Tim Stevens, MA is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Consultant and Practicum Trainee.