[ECHOES]

the least they could do is put out something besides the last 14 issues of Parenting, Highlights, and the Show Biz mags. lol
Tonight I took a Reader's Digest in to leave in the waiting room.
Really I don't mind waiting. It's good thinking time. Still...

[mixedup_emotions]

LOL....I usually get to my sessions way early and sit in my car, far from the parking lot. And then I walk in the door a couple minutes before my session time. I don't like sitting in the waiting room for more than a few minutes because then I start to get anxious.

[polarsmom]

Yeah, the office I go to has crappy reading material too. You'd think they'd have better magazines considering most of the time businesses get discounts and an expense right off. But noooo..... I have started keeping a few magazines/catalogs in my car to bring in with me. When I've finished reading it I'll leave it for someone else to look at. I love bringing catalogs in too. Skymall and Avon are my favorites!

[gravyyy]

Yeah, I get really anxious in the waiting room as well... I would typically get to my appt about 5 minutes early. I would thumb through whatever magazine I grabbed off the rack. Sometimes I had no clue what magazine I was even looking at... kinda crazy, just seems like the right thing to do in a waiting room! The new place I'm going for therapy has a TV in the waiting room but no magazines... not sure what to do about that yet!

[sunrise]

I think my T must have some special subscription where he gets sent a variety of magazines that appeal to different demographics. I can't believe he would have subscriptions to all of these. There is National Geographic, Men's Health, Outside, Oprah, Sunset, and a few more. He also has about 15-20 books for browsing. Some are picture books with gorgeous photos, some are humor, some have wise sayings, etc. I think it's a really good selection. I think some of them are gifts from former clients. A couple of times we have talked in therapy about something I looked at in one of his books. Once there was a poem in one of the photo books, and I really identified with it, so we talked about that. It was the perfect words to communicate how I was feeling, and he "got it" immediately when I read the poem to him.

My family T, who shared his waiting room with a few other therapists, had about 50 magazines or more to choose from. The ones I remember were Psychology Today, Rolling Stone, the Economist, the Utne Reader, and one of those city magazines with local stories.

My daughter's T has new agey, alternative mags.

It's interesting to think: if I was a T and had a waiting room, what reading material would I provide? I do like the picture/photography books because they are "easy" to look at, so I would probably provide those for sure.

[Kiya]

Originally Posted by sunrise

It's interesting to think: if I was a T and had a waiting room, what reading material would I provide? I do like the picture/photography books because they are "easy" to look at, so I would probably provide those for sure.

I'd also provide photo books - when I'm in waiting rooms i can't think or "see" words; i'm too nervous. So i see pics. I like Nat. Geo for those reasons. But for me that is mostly medical buildings.

In my current T/Dr/Case worker/everybody; it varies. In summer, alone in the evenings waiting for T (because she's ALWAYS 15-30 min late), i bring a book and read happily. In winter (aka NOW) I don't like all the windows at my back, knowing that's all that's between the world and I - one locked glass door, and several panes of glass. Tonight, I was so irritable on top of all this, that I hid in another room off the side. T walked right past me with her client- and nearly went back to call me LOL. I had to tell her I was there.

I don't touch the mags on the chairs unless i brought nothing to occupy myself with and it's like torture to sit there and stair at other ppl (to see other dr's). One former clinic had a "Ripley's Believe it or Not" photo book on the table. Trust me - that is something you DON'T want to see when waitng to see your GP.

[ECHOES]

One former clinic had a "Ripley's Believe it or Not" photo book on the table. Trust me - that is something you DON'T want to see when waitng to see your GP.

Well.....as long as I'm not IN there... lol

What would I provide for reading if I was a T? (Thank you Sunny for this idea! )

I would provide some craft books, to tap the creative part of the mind. Some fine art picture books. A great photography picture book. Some local one-tank-trip kind of books.

The place that my T relocated to has nothing to read. A completely naked table (why is is even there I wonder ???)!! I don't think a lot of people actually go there for one-one on an ongoing basis though. Good thing I have an MP3 player, although, to her credit, I don't think my T has ever been late starting a session with me.

[deliquesce]

i tend to sit and zone out, so i dont think i've ever noticed what is on the table, or even if there is anything there. how bizarre.

[pachyderm]

I used to drop off my copy of The Onion , but the Onion kiosks disappeared from around there, so I stopped doing that.

[deliquesce]

i could drop off my psych textbooks but i dont think anyone would appreciate that.

old-T used to have one of those "mindful meditation" books sitting on the coffee table. you know, those huge books with just one line printed on each page: "seize the day", "be the calm in the storm" and blaaaah. i never looked at them but he always made a point of opening it up and reading one out and giving me his thoughts on what was said. he took that stuff seriously, i tried not to roll my eyes.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by deliquesce

i could drop off my psych textbooks but i dont think anyone would appreciate that.

I would!

although T probably wouldn't - by the time my appt rolls around I would have already DXd myself with something exotic

and she'd have to spend her time untying the new knots I'd gotten myself into

[WePow]

Originally Posted by sittingatwatersedge

I would!

although T probably wouldn't - by the time my appt rolls around I would have already DXd myself with something exotic

and she'd have to spend her time untying the new knots I'd gotten myself into

LOL hee hee hee! You sound like me!! T told me I was doing his job for him! :-) I thought it was a compliment! LOL - Think I miss social ques!

[polarsmom]

LOL..... This is a fun topic. I would have some of the celebrity gossip magazines. Just some mindless reading. And then the usual stuff you'd see. Parenting, Golf, Time and then throw in a few daily newspapers. Just so there is a variety of things.

My T's waiting room has New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, and I'm not sure what else - that's all I've ever noticed. I usually bring my own reading material or play a game on my phone if someone else is also waiting. If it's just me waiting, I'll sometimes sit and close my eyes and focus on the classical music playing and the air freshener smell that is unique to that waiting room. I don't like to put in my headphones because I like to hear when my T is getting ready to open her door and have me come in.

If I were a T, I'd definitely have some photography magazine with beautiful pictures. I love Entertainment Weekly, and it's a quick read with something for everyone, so I'd have that available. And then probably a general magazine, like Time.

My T has these magazines I hate, like "Coastal Living". He also has Psychology Today, which I like. That's pretty much it, actually. And there's always a copy of the local (small town) newspaper. I usually read that.

[sittingatwatersedge]

My T's waiting room is not a room, but a short, wide,bare hallway that connects 6 doors. Couple three straightback chairs only, no other furniture of any kind.

I usually spend my wait time staring at the ceramic tiles on the floor, I can often tell how I am doing by how sad, or even ominous, the faces or pictures I see in the patterns are. hmmm