Whatever happened, apparently nobody thought of talking to young Picard or giving him the counseling he would need. I don't think the 24th century is perfect, but I'd expect it to be a bit more progressive than ours, and even we know kids need support after such a drastic experience and change.
Question: Was the counselling supposed to really have taken place at some time in Picard's life? I mean, what's with the phrase "Even your close friends call you Captain"? Raffi's called him JL for ages, and didn't Beverly call him Jean-Luc? Troi even?
I mean, in TNG we saw very young children being left to live completely alone in their quarters on the Enterprise while their parents were either off-ship on missions, missing in action, or laid up in sickbay for an extended period of time, so I'm less convinced than you are of the 24th century's understanding of the kind of support traumatised children need!
As for the line 'even your close friends call you captain,' that happened inside Picard's head. It doesn't have to be literally true to be how he sees himself.
Maurice said she was refusing treatment, and it is also implied that these were only temporary episodes.
This show keeps implying that you can’t be forced to be helped.
That's a fairly consistent theme for Star Trek. Raffi's S1 story revolved around that theme - she continued to struggle with alcoholism because she chose not to accept treatment, not because she couldn't have been treated. And there was an episode of TNG, as I recall, about Worf being paralysed and wanting to be allowed to die rather than accept treatment - in the end he changed his mind for Alexander's sake, but there was still a whole thing about his right to choose.
I find it hard to believe that this is the same Rios we saw in Season 1 who literally first appeared shirtless and musclebound with a blade in his arm. This guy's tripping over Teresa even clumsier than wimpy dateless me did over people in college. He had tons of time on La Sirena to himself to relieve hormones on his personal holodeck and even if he wanted a "real" relationship, I kind of think his very recent breakup with Agnes would've chilled him on that. As it is, he seems hardly bothered that she's obviously been assimilated.
Again, it wasn't a blade in his arm, it was a chunk of shrapnel, probably from some panel on the ship that had blown and was the reason for Enoch being deployed in that episode. That scene wasn't about showing us how tough and hard the character was, as so many seem to think, it was showing us how isolated and cynical he was, and how badly he wanted to convince Picard that he no longer cared about anything. He'd spent 10 years living pretty much as a recluse and was no longer used to having people around, found it difficult to adjust once the ship started filling up in S1. His attempts at flirting with Agnes were awkward too, whether because he was so out of practice or because despite the looks he's never been good at that kind of thing. Getting flustered around Theresa is consistent characterisation. And he doesn't know that Agnes has been assimilated (plus, he still seems a bit aggrieved about the forced kiss). As far as he knows, she simply wandered off at the gala and lost contact with the others (he knows she's turned her comm off once already); retrieving her is Seven and Raffi's mission. His was to watch over Picard and Tallinn and try to deflect any awkward questions, which he did - by the unorthodox method of telling the truth, but he was backed into a corner at that point.
Bashir said that Schizophrenia was licked in Past Tense
But the individual still has to accept treatment, and as mentioned above, Star Trek is consistent about the individual having the right to choose.
Why does Guinan have the super special truce bottle? And why would she bring it to Earth? 'That belongs in a museum!'
I thought that. But maybe all El-Aurians carry around a version of it, somehow?
