I Like Quotes, Week One of The No-Longer-New-Abnormal

“Just do what works for you, because there will always be someone who thinks differently.” Michelle Obama

I love quotes. When I first started my psychotherapy private practice in the mid-90s before there were iPhones and Facebook, I had an answering machine, and the recording included quotes on there. I changed them monthly or so, and it felt nice. But I was a new therapist and I wanted to do things right. It felt right to me. Nonetheless, I was told by a senior therapist, one who I respected, that I might want to rethink having something so personal on my outgoing message. The common practice was to be as neutral as possible. Her thinking was that a chosen quote could possibly be sharing unnecessary private information about me or, it might be misconceived.

I regretfully took it off my machine. I wanted to do the right thing, and as someone new to the field I thought a more seasoned therapist would know better. Over the subsequent years I have come to believe that I can share quotes should I choose. If a potential client feels uncomfortable with that, or they are not fond of the quote, then they are given important information and can move on to find the right…