I enjoyed revisiting this subject for my latest article for the therapy website welldoing.org , which can be found here!
https://welldoing.org/article/what-you-wear-therapy-communication-disguise-defence
I have continued to pay attention (both prospectively and retrospectively) to what I wear in therapy, and I still firmly believe in the revealing nature (excuse the pun!) of ‘ordinary’ details such as this, and the therapeutic benefit of discussing them. These days what I wear tends to be more consciously focused on communicating closeness (through choice of colours I associate with therapy, for example), or on self comforting (for example, by wearing an item of clothing that also acts as a transition object or a ‘stand in’ for therapy and my therapist). It is therefore much more about working with and for my therapy, than a defence against the process; and that is a reflection of where I am in my therapeutic journey, and how my relationship with my therapist has evolved over time. But it wasn’t always this way, as I’ve described in the article, and the way things have changed for me and the clothes I wear to therapy, tells a story in itself…..I hope you enjoy reading!
December 14, 2017 at 12:46 am
Interesting perspective, not something I have ever given much thought to, until now. I generally think I don’t give it much thought because I have sessions straight after work, so I just wear my work clothes and no make-up. But, I’m not sure I’m actually being honest with myself by embracing the belief that there isn’t some level of thought that goes into my clothing choices on therapy days. I need to ponder this further. 😊 I appreciate that you got my wheels turning. Haha
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December 14, 2017 at 3:39 am
I found your article really interesting and insightful!
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December 14, 2017 at 6:47 am
I definitely dress differently depending on how I’m feeling. There have been more than a few times I’ve actually changed clothes before I leave home for my session because I’ve had the thought “these clothes make me look too happy” or make me feel too exposed.
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December 17, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Wonderful post. I’ve thought and written about the way clients dress, even in my most recent post, Is Erotic Transference Ever the Thing We Call Love? Perhaps one of us should write about the way the therapist dresses and decorates his office.
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December 17, 2017 at 2:08 pm
Or we could do it together 🙂
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December 17, 2017 at 2:13 pm
Great idea!
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