Ruth Klasen walks up the steps of the Toronto Annex brownstone where she shares an office with what used to be six other psychotherapists and is now a large collection of leasers and sub-leasers each offering some form of “healing” work: somatic bodywork, holistic nutrition, Ayurveda, psychotherapy, life coaching. So many practitioners yet none with a practice larger enough to require a full time office.
They no longer use the “who is in” board in the foyer because as the number of practitioners in the building increased, community norms became too difficult to reinforce and the number of practitioners to large and ever-changing to maintain the board.
She climbs the stairs to the second floor where her office is, passing the waiting room as she does. No more readers digests on the table. Phones do the trick nowadays. The room always feels like it’s wilting despite their collective nurturing of houseplants in each corner and regular wipe downs. It’s as if clients leave traces of their pre-session weight in the little alcove and it cna never quite shine.
Ruth unlocks her door stepping through the double sound proof doors. A wiff of her colleague’s Aveda shampoo remains in the room. They share Mondays - Claire in the morning, Ruth in the afternoon. Claire must have just left.
Ruth puts her purse and knapsack in the closet and switches slippers for her outdoor loafers slipping them on over her nylon socks. She pours water for herself and goes down the hall to fill up the pitcher for clients.
Returning to her room she settles into the arm chair, looking at her phone to review her schedule.
Ruth is 53 years old. Her heritage is German - British. She wears tan linen pants, a cream silk blouse and wraps a multicoloured scarf around hewr like a peacock. Or a priestess. The scarf is patchwork with a particularly vibrant shade of blue accented by gold thread and pink, beige and green pastels. The scarf makes her feel warm. And safe. Her thin grey/blond hair is a very messy bun that piles on the top of her head as if it was made that way. She goes wtihout makeup excep[t for a light pink frosty lipstick that will have worn off fifteen minutes into the first session.
Looking at her phone she smiles. It will be a busy afternoon and evening and she’s here for it.
The circumstances of her practice are rather unusual. She finds the work so absorbing that she rarely has time to consider this anymore. Let’s just say she has to work underground on this one. Many of the rules of her regulatory body must be actively ignored. A chance she’s willing to take.
Because Ruth - Ruth is the therapist of the world.
She throws a handful of almonds into her mouth. Chewing as she moves she leaves her office for the waiting room to greet her first client.
From Ruth’s website:
I was trained at The Centre For Intersubjective & Jungian Studies in Toronto and have been in private practice since 2005.
More than any one modality what is important to me is listening carefully to each client and meeting them in the unique circumstances of their life. By talking and inquiring together we can come to identify the unconscious thoughts and feelings beneath the words and experiences of the client’s life. Connecting to these repressed thoughts and feleings gives the client a sense of agency and relief.
The approaches I most align with are relational, Jungian, humanist, and psychoanalystic and I spend a lot of time working with people on grief and trauma.
In therapy we focus on a client’s goals and I support them in becoming the fullest versions of themselves. I am concerned about systemic injustice and oppression particularly as they impact mental health and am committed to ongoing learning in these areas.
I believe dreams, metaphor, language, and fantasy contain meaningful information about our lives.
I also work with the collective unconscious and am informed by studies in shamic traditions that view nature and interconnection as intrinsic to our way of life.
I work with a broad range of people including many professionals and creatives trying to make sense of our complex world and their place in it.
To receive Ruth’s daily session notes by email:
From your laptop go to. your profile. Visit the Eros for Life Page and activate Eros for Life (Daily Version). See photos below.
You can also follow along on The Aliveness Podcast.
Intriguing. Can’t wait to see what happens next!