Posted by pegasus on August 7, 2009, at 11:41:07
In reply to 'very' concerned about professionalism, posted by friesandcoke on August 7, 2009, at 0:21:48
Hi there friesandcoke,
I think I'm the one who observed that you seemed to be very concerned about professionalism. What I meant by "professionalism" in that context is only what you had been talking about in your posts: casual versus more formal attire and behavior. If I were to try to define what I generally mean when I say "professionalism", it would probably include other things. But I don't recall that I meant more than the type of attire and behavior that you had previously mentioned, in that context.
I hope you didn't think that I intended to point out a flaw, or imply that you seem obsessed about it, or anything like that. I meant it only as an observation, without judgement. As in "you seem to prefer to wear your hair long." Some of us have one preference, and some of us have another. It's all great. I only mentioned it, because sometimes I find that taking a look at those things, as you are doing, is helpful.
That said, I have had some experiences that lead me to have some negative assumptions (as you seem to have positive ones) regarding more "professional" behavior and dress, at least in the context of my own therapist. Some of those are:
- People who always dress more formally are likely to not be authentic with me.
- It's dangerous to be myself around people who have more formal behavior and dress.
. . . and more along those lines. As you can see, it's all my baggage, and clearly you interpret those same things differently. It's an interesting thing, isn't it? I'm getting a lot out of this discussion, especially as I consider my own interactions with clients as a "professional".
peg
poster:pegasus
thread:910712
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090730/msgs/910771.html