Think About This

November 20, 1992

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 23

by Mike Radice

Avoiding disaster: Renting a psychological Mercedes

Psychological damage is almost as likely to be a byproduct of counseling as improved mental health. Many of you know people who ended up in worse shape after counseling. There have also been plenty of people who have made little-to-no progress after spending thousands of dollars on years of therapy.

If you, or a friend of yours, is considering engaging in counseling, be sure that the search is as intensive as one for a car or a lover. Everyone who provides counseling isn't equally fabulous. Some "helping professionals" come from the same gene pool as Pat Robertson. Others resemble Mother Theresa at her kindest. There are as many ideas on how to counsel lesbian and gay people as there are investigators on Ross Perot's payroll, so you'll need to be careful to find someone who uses methods that suit you. To help ensure your psychological safety, I'm offering a few pieces of advice.

First, select at least three professionals who advertise in the Chronicle and call them. Ask them if they use “gay affirma-

In Business

Affordable Treasures

16806 Madison Ave. Lakewood

by Truzi

Are you looking for a unique gift, furnishings for your new home or apartment, or maybe a piece of a childhood memory? There is a little shop on Madison Avenue in Lakewood where you can find almost anything imaginable.

At Affordable Treasures you can find everything from antique furniture to traffic lights to help personalize your home. In the small collectable shop you can find tables to put in your living room. You can also find an assortment of brass or porcelain figures and other decorations to put on the tables, paintings to hang on the walls and brass lamps to illuminate your newly furnished room.

Gary Burton and Rusty Allen started Affordable Treasures eight years ago. What started as a part time job selling collectibles has grown full time and taken over the 16806 Madison Avenue store, basement and all.

"We have a little bit of everything," Burton says, "Except clothing or books. A lot of our items are very old and some were made yesterday." He says pottery from the Depression era is a hot item now, as well as Fifties memorabilia. Of the finer items they carry, you can find gold and silver jewelry as well as the costume type, and they have a good deal of crystal in stock.

"We have Nippon, Beleck, Waterford and other top-quality crystal," Burton says. Another notable treasure is a Rosenthal. dinner set, which Burton says is about onethird the price if you bought it new. They accept credit cards and you can even put your purchase on layaway.

IG LA

tive" counseling methods. If they say no, or if they seem confused or try to avoid a direct answer, say "thank you" and hang up. There are plenty of nuts and homophobes out there whose idea of counseling gays and lesbians is to try to make us into "straights," which, of course, is both undesirable and impossible. If they answer "yes," ask the following questions:

"Are you licensed?" Psychologists, counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists must be licensed in order to accept money for counseling services.

"Do you accept health insurance?" Be sure that the professionals you question are set up to accept money from your insurance carrier. Some carriers won't pay licensed counselors. Others won't pay licensed social workers.

"Will the first appointment be free?" Most offer a free 20-to-30 minute initial consultation.

"How much do you charge per hour?” Expect to pay $130 to $175 per hour for a psychiatrist, about $80 for a psychologist,

and $60 to $80 for a social worker or counselor. No relationship exists between their skill level and how much is charged per hour.

And what about the prices?

"We don't try to get rich off of each piece," Burton says, "we like to sell a lot." Because their prices are low they are popular with out-of-town dealers as well as the both the gay and straight communities. He says the reason they can offer low prices is because they can lease the store reasonably. He feels this is why Affordable Treasures is the best shop around, and why customers keep coming back.

Most of the items he buys outright, but some things are sold on consignment. "People just bring things down. If it's a nice piece I think I can use or they need money right away I'll buy it," Burton says, "If it's iffy, we'll do it on consignment."

They can also help you get as much as you can for your treasures. Being in the business for eight years both Gary and Rusty have studied hard to learn what current market value of any item is and they deal with flea markets and other dealers often.

"Customers give me an idea of what they'd like to make and I tell them if they're asking too much or too little." He says a nice piece reasonably prices will move quickly.

Nice pieces are all you'll find at Affordable Treasures. "None of it is garbage," Burton says, "Even the 'junk' items have to be in great shape or I won't buy them." He says he won't accept damaged or even chipped items regardless of what it cost. While normally expensive items can be had at low prices, inexpensive items are equally reasonable.

So if you want antique furniture, crystal or brass candle sticks, jewelry or even a toy train like the one you had when you were a kid, you can find it at Affordable Treasures.

INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN AQUATICS

ATTENTION CLEVELAND

IGLA, a group of officiallysanctioned swimming, water

polo, SCUBA, and diving clubs is looking for aquatic enthusiasts to help form a Cleveland Swim Club. IGLA actively promotes aquatics among lesbians, gay men and friends of our community and ensures the highest standards for aquatic competitions and international standards for future gay games.

For more information call Dan Reichert at 721-1420

Next, make an appointment for an initial consultation with those who answered your questions satisfactorily. The purpose of the appointment will be to assess your comfort level with the person. To help determine if you can work with her or him, ask the following questions:

■"What types of counseling techniques will you use?" If the person suggests techniques that make you feel uncomfortable, ask if they are required. If the person says "yes," politely dismiss yourself. Only enter into counseling relationships where you can make choices.

"How often will we be getting together?" Usually you'll meet once per week, until you begin to make progress toward your goals. At that point, you'll meet at less frequent intervals until your goals are reached.

If you're satisfied with the answers to your questions, then go ahead and schedule your first appointment for counseling. If, at some later point, your counseling experience goes sour, or if you don't make any progress toward your goals after six weeks, search for counseling elsewhere. A counseling relationship shouldn't last forever, and it isn't supposed to be a friendship, so don't feel bad if you need to move on to someone new. Your "helping professional" will get over it, and you'll be better off for it... trust me.

The topic originally planned for this month's column remains in the research stages and will be presented at a later date. Next issue: Gay and lesbian people as parents--are they better than straights?

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