Jeff Levy, LCSW
Mental Health, Relationships, Trauma, Identity
1/6/2019 0 Comments Why Are You Telling Me This?Jeff Levy, LCSW (originally posted on Branching Out: The Live Oak Blog, March 2014) I am a therapist. I am white. I am a man. I am a little beyond middle aged. I am in a relationship. I am organized. I like the color blue. I like plants. I like dogs. I like turning flea market finds into useful furniture. I have a bad back. I am Jewish. I am busy.
Knowing Without Telling Why am I telling you all of these things about me? Why would I begin with these statements about myself? I share these before you know anything else about this blog because these are self-disclosures—and my clients know many, if not all, of these things about me while making a first appointment and/or within a few minutes of sitting with me. In looking at me, my office, and through the process of scheduling a first appointment, I have “disclosed” an incredible amount of information about myself.
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Jeff Levy, LCSW (originally posted on Branching Out: The Live Oak Blog, February 2014) There are many times in therapy when I am told something by my client that few other people know. Sometimes, I am the only person who knows other than the person who has told me. It takes courage to open a secret, and takes careful listening to know when a secret has been shared. I try to be mindful during the time we are together to check in every so often when I am gathering information. “Who else knows what you’ve just told me?” I’ll ask. Holding the secret of another is a privilege and a great responsibility.
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February 2019
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