"What Brand is Your Therapist?"

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi everybody,

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times (written by a therapist) on the shift occurring in the business world of psychotherapy:

"What Brand is Your Therapist?" by Lori Gottlieb (11/23/2012)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/magazine/psychotherapys-image-problem-pushes-some-therapists-to-become-brands.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I've been spending the last 24 hours trying to think of my "brand".  So far, no luck.  I thought of "Kleenex Dispenser"--that happens a lot, and I think it's kind of unique to have a brand within a brand.  But then I figured that didn't do my work justice.  Can anyone help?  Otherwise, I may have to hire a "branding consultant."  

Richard

[BonesMS]

Hi, Richard.

This has started me thinking about the rest of us on this Board finding "brands" for ourselves....."Solution Seekers"?  "Path Finders"?  

From my perspective....it's not a situation where a client walks into a therapist's office and the therapist hands out answers to problems like lollypops.  Both are pioneers exploring unknown territories in search for that elusive goal of finding.........peace?  Tranquility?  Re-integration?  Wholeness?  Inner Child Healing?  The possibilities are as infinite as the Universe itself.

Bones

[sKePTiKal]

OK, I'll play since I need to think about something other than my own current mess right now.

In an ideal world, a T is like a guide who helps people walk the path of self-knowledge, self-reflection and personal relationship with one's self. T is like a Lewis & Clark type expedition through one's personal and emotional history... and sometimes, because of the time that's elapsed between an original wound and the present... it's possible to then treat the scar-tissue... plastic surgery for the heart/brain.

Sometimes, there's some remodeling work that gets done to the self; sometimes simply learning to accept that self - warts & all - and learning (finally) that it's OK to be "you"...

But I like the brand image of a professional early american explorer (star trek might fit here too though)... who, along with the person who contracted their guide and survival skills... undertake a journey through uncharted territory together. There's risk, there are discoveries, a lot of long schlogs through the muck, and some easy downhill meadows filled with gentle sweet breezes and wildflowers. Some dangers lurking... but survivable dangers. Adventure, even treasure!

But the T is the mountain man who knows which berries to eat, which plants to leave alone, and where to find water... build shelter... and survive the unpredictability of life.

Guess I need a weekend treat of back to back westerns, huh? 

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Great idea, Bones and Amber!  “Explorer of Uncharted Territory”  I really like that!  (Now all I have to do is find two therapists by the names of Lewis and Clark to go into practice with, and we’ll be set for life…)

Lewis and Clark......................................................................................and Grossman
Explorers of Uncharted Territory


Thinking of you, Amber…

Richard

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Nice, tt!

Does this look about right?

Dr. Ricardo Grossmano

Presto Chango Psychotherapy

“Happiness in a blinko!”

I’m ready to print my business cards.

Ricardo

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Actually, I am the least likely therapist of all that I know to be successfully “branded”.  For amusement’s sake, I just calculated the mean and median number of years my current patients have been coming to see me.  (Understand that not all see me every week.)  The median number of years is 11, and the mean is 14.  I may begin seeing one or two new patients per year if that.  I’m afraid it typically takes persistence and a moving story (or some other connection) to get in my door—and I throw up every barrier I can .  Other therapists laugh at me—I mean, I’m not a psychoanalyst, and I don’t believe in or do psychoanalytic psychotherapy (therapies that typically take a long time), although that was my training decades ago.  The “problem” is that my relationship with every one of the people I see is very special—to them and to me (even though we each have our “roles”).  So, it’s very hard for my patients and for me if/when they leave.  I suppose then, one might brand me an “Addiction Specialist”  !

Richard

[teartracks]

 

Ricardo

[sKePTiKal]

Ah the irony...

isn't a weird thing, that to be taken seriously as a valid, professional, therapist.... that you'd need to artificially invent an image to sell? That's a reflection of the society we live in, I think.

My T's card just had her name on it, contact info, the letters after her name. But, her directions to her office was "look for the front porch covered in blooming wisteria". The wisteria is so famous, I've seen it in the local paper down here in NC. In full bloom, you dodge the bees to get to the door... and each time I did I had a more or less intense perception that I was entering a very special, spiritual place... if only one had the frequency tuned in. Like the train station in Harry Potter. Other than that, it was just another house on that street. I even intentionally tried to experience it like that a few times. Didn't work, tho! LOL.... by that time, we were in deep and there was an agenda to work on! LOL... exercise, practice, new perspectives and skills... kind of like an emotional personal trainer with the ability to see exactly what I was thinking and feeling... but that I didn't know I knew.

I have such a sensory connection to spaces and appreciation for architecture, and the interplay of light, volume, warmth and coziness, and honest strength of wood, metals, etc that her office itself was therapeutic to me. Add in the odd cat or dog that she was fostering, too... and I think it was just such a natural match that it reaffirms a persons belief in fate, god, something moving us intentionally beyond our awareness.

If she'd had a professional office, in a professional office building I think I would've been wary, on edge, and not nearly so relaxed or trusting. By filling the space with things that mattered to her... I could get a sense of who she was... form some emotional "common ground"... from the pictures, knick-knacks, the authors of various books on her shelves. Of course, that's exactly what I'd done with my professional concrete block basement (no windows) office. I even kept the flourescent lighting off most of the time and used several lamps instead. It was a good space for dealing with 1s and 0s... and overcoming resistance to technology.

[BonesMS]

Great idea, Bones and Amber!  “Explorer of Uncharted Territory”  I really like that!  (Now all I have to do is find two therapists by the names of Lewis and Clark to go into practice with, and we’ll be set for life…)

Lewis and Clark......................................................................................and Grossman
Explorers of Uncharted Territory


Thinking of you, Amber…

Richard

Or Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy......."Space, the Final Frontier......to Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before!"   

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Amber)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Bones

[SilverLining]

Hey PR,

In the 20th century thinking of Lewis & Clark's expedition as a model might have been appropriate.  But we're postmodern now. advancing with the times demands instant, quick and easy results.  Marketing is another issue which has to be considered.  It needs to be quick and clever as well.  ?  

tt

It has to be quick, easy, and thinking of the future it should appeal to the twilight generation.  Lewis and Clark were from the old school of real world physical trials.   That's for old fogies who grew up with dial phones and only saw movies a few times a year. 

 The kids now like fantasy and magical thinking.  So how about something along the lines of "psychological demon slayer".   

[BonesMS]

Hey PR,

In the 20th century thinking of Lewis & Clark's expedition as a model might have been appropriate.  But we're postmodern now. advancing with the times demands instant, quick and easy results.  Marketing is another issue which has to be considered.  It needs to be quick and clever as well.  ?  

tt

It has to be quick, easy, and thinking of the future it should appeal to the twilight generation.  Lewis and Clark were from the old school of real world physical trials.   That's for old fogies who grew up with dial phones and only saw movies a few times a year. 

 The kids now like fantasy and magical thinking.  So how about something along the lines of "psychological demon slayer".   

Maybe have a Bath'leth hanging on your office wall?

[Hopalong]

Richard, your clients are so lucky.
You are beyond brand.

Hops

[teartracks]

It's true!   ((((((((((((Dr. G & Hops))))))))))))

tt

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Ah the irony...

isn't a weird thing, that to be taken seriously as a valid, professional, therapist.... that you'd need to artificially invent an image to sell? That's a reflection of the society we live in, I think.

My T's card just had her name on it, contact info, the letters after her name. But, her directions to her office was "look for the front porch covered in blooming wisteria". The wisteria is so famous, I've seen it in the local paper down here in NC. In full bloom, you dodge the bees to get to the door... and each time I did I had a more or less intense perception that I was entering a very special, spiritual place... if only one had the frequency tuned in. Like the train station in Harry Potter. Other than that, it was just another house on that street. I even intentionally tried to experience it like that a few times. Didn't work, tho! LOL.... by that time, we were in deep and there was an agenda to work on! LOL... exercise, practice, new perspectives and skills... kind of like an emotional personal trainer with the ability to see exactly what I was thinking and feeling... but that I didn't know I knew.

I have such a sensory connection to spaces and appreciation for architecture, and the interplay of light, volume, warmth and coziness, and honest strength of wood, metals, etc that her office itself was therapeutic to me. Add in the odd cat or dog that she was fostering, too... and I think it was just such a natural match that it reaffirms a persons belief in fate, god, something moving us intentionally beyond our awareness.

If she'd had a professional office, in a professional office building I think I would've been wary, on edge, and not nearly so relaxed or trusting. By filling the space with things that mattered to her... I could get a sense of who she was... form some emotional "common ground"... from the pictures, knick-knacks, the authors of various books on her shelves. Of course, that's exactly what I'd done with my professional concrete block basement (no windows) office. I even kept the flourescent lighting off most of the time and used several lamps instead. It was a good space for dealing with 1s and 0s... and overcoming resistance to technology.

Amber, you had a wonderful therapist.  If only we could clone her thousands of times and spread the clones throughout the world! Maybe, at some point (if you haven't already), you could tell the Board what process you used to find her.  Was it really just luck, divine intervention, etc.?

Or Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy......."Space, the Final Frontier......to Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before!"  

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Amber)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Bones

Bones:  As long as I did it at "warp speed"   !

It has to be quick, easy, and thinking of the future it should appeal to the twilight generation.  Lewis and Clark were from the old school of real world physical trials.   That's for old fogies who grew up with dial phones and only saw movies a few times a year.  

 The kids now like fantasy and magical thinking.  So how about something along the lines of "psychological demon slayer".  

Maybe have a Bath'leth hanging on your office wall?

SilverLining and Bones:  Ah, yes, the Bat'leth!  "Come to me, and I will slay your inner Klingons!"  Love it!  Although, you're right, SilverLining, I'd have to find something newer, more modern.  Apparently (from what I gather), vampires and zombies are what need to be slain these days... 

Richard, your clients are so lucky.
You are beyond brand.

Hops

It's true!   ((((((((((((Dr. G & Hops))))))))))))

tt

Hops and tt:  Thank you!  I am very lucky to know each of my patients--and also my long-time Board members.  Both have been an incredibly important part of my life...

Appreciatively,

Richard  

[KayZee]

So glad there are therapists like you around, Dr. G...  Fashionable 'brands' come and go with the times.  Compassion and dedication like yours, on the other hand, never goes out of style. x