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>>BARRY LUBETKIN: I call the collection in my office "psychollectibles." There's nobody
else that I know, psychiatrist or psychologist, who has a collection of the breadth that I
have. Everything in the office is related, in one way or another, to psychology.
This came from the Freud house in London, and it's called "Shaky Relationship." Over
here, you can see a lot of games. Vintage comics from the '50s--there was only a run
of four of these, and I've got two of them. Dr. Id, the psychologist of the supernatural.
Over there, we have John Watson's autograph, and that's where he writes about how he doesn't
feel like he's very popular now that he's come out with an article on behaviorism.
Up top, B.F. Skinner signs one of his famous articles on conditioning of pigeons. The is
a psychedelic poster from the '60s, and notice the name of the group: Freudian Slips.
What I've done is gone to numerous flea markets, antiques shows, and various other venues for
the last 30 years and discovered that there is a whole world of objects that are related
to psychology.
I grew up in Greenwich Village, and my father had a store called the Ye Olde Treasure Shoppe,
located at 1 West Eighth Street. He sold various antiques. We had some luminary guests that
would always drop by the store: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Eleanor Roosevelt came in a
couple of times.
Well, I grew up in that environment, and so, as I got older, I had a real appreciation
for antiques of all kinds. And as I was making the rounds of various antiques shows throughout
my 20s and 30s, I realized that unless I had a specialty, something in particular that
I was looking for, I would be overwhelmed--millions and millions of items at every antiques show.
And as I looked around, I noticed that physicians had their own vintage groups, optometrists
had big eyes that would sit outside of optometrists' offices. But there was nothing that related
to psychology. Wouldn't it be interesting to match both my passion
for my profession with my passion for collecting?
One of the special pieces in the office is a five-and-a-half-foot sign, "Mind Healer."
It's made out of a metal--originally, it was sitting over a psychic's tent at Coney Island
in the '40s. When I saw it, I said, "I have to have that sign."
Right now, we are in my office at the Institute for Behavior Therapy, in New York City. Throughout
the office, I have many of these collectibles that relate to psychology.
They make me feel comfortable, because I grew up with antiques. Patients report to me that
they are delighted by the collection, that they are inspired to do some of their own
collecting. I've had more than one patient tell me that they've become a hobbyist in
one area or another because they felt so inspired by my collection.
I also use some of the material here to teach patients about how to stop catastrophizing,
how to stop blowing things up in their minds and making them far more important than they
need to be. That's why I love working here at the Institute for Behavior Therapy.