IN MIDWINTER JULIA shuffled into my office and slowly lowered herself into the chair beside my desk. It was a cold, wet Melbourne morning and patients were starting to pile into the clinic, sheltering from the wind. The clock on the wall showed fifteen past nine and I knew I was in for a busy day.

In the waiting room people had peeled off their coats and scarves. Dripping umbrellas huddled in the corner stand. Everyone sat flipping through old magazines or chatting quietly on mobile phones. A small child at the play table was building a tower of blocks, his construction demolished every so often by an angry coughing fit.