how to use a book meme to choose a therapist

the other day i chanced upon an old post by my blogger friend dave– he had followed one of the many book memes that abound on the web. this one is fun – here are the instructions:

1. grab the nearest book.
2. open it to page 161.
3. find the fifth sentence.
4. post the text of this sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the coolest book you can find. do what’s actually next to you.

the nearest book was the old webster’s dictionary that we always keep close by the dining room table in case something comes up at a dinner conversation. so what’s the 5th sentence in a dictionary? let’s make it the 5th entry:

cereus. n. a member of cereus, a genus of american cacti incl. c. giganteus, the largest cactus, growing to 70 ft high and 2 ft thick, with candelabra-like branching, and c. grandiflora, a night-blooming variety [L. fr. cera, wax]

a reader of mystery books from an early age (for the longest time i wanted to become a private detective), i’ve always been fascinated by how much insight one can glean from a little trivial information, like this here.

so if you were sherlock holmes, what would this little entry tell you about isabella the therapist? she

  • has online friends (let’s hope she also has real friends); maybe that means she’s likeable
  • likes to have fun. some people like that in a therapist, others don’t
  • doesn’t mind experimenting with something new, even if she doesn’t know where it’s going to lead her (do you prefer therapists who always know exactly where they’re going, or do you prefer those who like explore new avenues?)
  • has dinner conversations. she really does like to talk with people!
  • is a bit on the intellectual side, otherwise why would she keep a dictionary close at hand?
  • improvises; the instructions don’t to apply the book she finds so she reinterprets them in a way that fits (or would you rather have a therapist who makes sure that the rules are always followed?)
  • reads mystery books. let’s hope she also reads the occasional psychology text!
  • wanted to become a sleuth; if you a have problem that’s mysterious to you then maybe that’s a good thing. if you’re a little unnerved at the idea that a therapist will do too much rooting around in your deepest, darkest secrets … well, let’s talk about that (how therapists explore these dark places might be an interesting topic for another post)
  • gets insight from trivial information … does that mean you have to watch what you say? or maybe that when you see her, you can just sit there and grunt a few words?

so there you have it. next time you’re wondering about how to choose a therapist, just give her this book meme!

isabella mori
moritherapy
counselling in vancouver

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