Tweed, Talmud, and Therapy
Some Talmud today:
“A tailor must not go out [on the Sabbath] with his needle pinned to his coat, nor a carpenter with his ruler behind his ear, nor a fuller with his cord behind his ear, nor a weaver with his stopper behind his ear, nor a dyer with his color swatch on his shoulder, nor a money-changer with a coin behind his ear”. - Tractate Shabbos, page 11b
All these professionals mentioned would literally wear and display a tool of their trade to advertise and attract customers.
That got me thinking. What would a psychotherapist wear (if, of course, they had such a thing in those days)? Would he wear his heart on his sleeve? Would she wear a Freudian slip?
I asked a couple of friends what they thought. A couch, one said. A tweed blazer with leather elbow accents, said another. Or a legal pad filled with indecipherable scribbling.
But then, do we even want to be recognized on the street? Psychotherapy is not often practiced on sidewalks and in shops.
More than once, when I’m asked what I “do” and I casually respond “I’m a psychotherapist”, I get something like “Oh, I better be careful what I say around you”. Sometimes it’s better not to be noticed.
Other times, though, I find myself in a longer conversation with someone I just met. And they’ll say: “I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this. Maybe it’s because you’re a psychotherapist and I know you’ll understand”.
At times like these I think it’s helpful to recall why we chose this profession in the first place. For me, it’s the reward of being helpful on a deep, meaningful level. Most of the time, that is done in my office or group room, or on the phone. But sometimes, it can be on the street, with someone I just met.
God has put us all in a unique position to be helpful, to do His work as few can. So wear your profession on the leather-accented sleeve of your tweed blazer. Unless you want to shlep around a couch.