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I offer this story in addition to the story I shared in class about the schizophrenic and the tea kettle. A woman is experiencing a period of intense grieving after the loss of her husband.  She sets a tea kettle on the stove and sinks into a series of sad memories about her loved one.   In a distracted daze, she decides to take a bath to sooth herself, forgetting about the tea kettle…  This was an isolated incident. 

A last statement about the logistics of the tea kettle problem, it is only after frequently repeated activations of a smoke detector that the fire department will fine and further more jail an offender.  A little sensitivity to accidents, behavior modification, and story revision here?

I wouldn’t argue that an aim of any mental illness treatment must involve teaching  the patient tea making techniques.  In fact, I have been pondering ways of separating the tea kettle problem from the concept of being out of touch with reality.  What I would like to say is that maybe the therapist can help the patient reflect on their behaviors and the underlying story.  Therapy should be about creating a coherent story oneself, including interpersonal and environmental interaction.  If one has the intention to make a cup of tea, some part of the mind should track the progress toward realization of that goal.  The person should at some point realize that they have not completed the task. 

Memory plays an important role here.  I am uncertain about whether this is the responsibility of the storyteller or the unconscious.  Certainly, the unconscious is capable of performing actions without storyteller involvement, like sleepwalking.  So maybe the storyteller was never involved?  Does the storyteller ever participate in tea making?  The role of the storyteller is to integrate unconscious activity into a coherent story.  So there is some minimal requirement for storyteller involvement here.