Waiting for the anxious other

A mother brings her 12 y.o. boy to a therapist. He is a bad boy, lazy and stupid, and plays video games a lot. Teachers are not happy, no close friends in sight. The mother wants something to happen.

You're the therapist, by the way. You could agree that he is intellectually inhibited, but you don't feel like blaming him for laziness, cause you don't believe in laziness. Also his intellect is not the point here. You talk to the mother and think about the atmosphere they share. Talking to the mother and feeling what she brings to the field matters. That is the air the kid breathes.