When Jamie Maserow was 27 years old, the psychologist reached a point in her life when she needed to speak to someone. And there was only one psychologist in Melbourne who she wanted – Moshe Lang, an 85-year-old renowned as one of Australia’s leading family therapists.
“His name had come up in a session with one of my own clients so, somewhere he was in the back of my mind,” Maserow told The AJN. “I kept calling his office, and no one answered, and so I then went there one day. The door to his building was open, but no one was at reception so knowing his age, I left a note on the reception desk. He called me back later that day, had an appointment the following day at 2 pm and said he loved my chutzpah. In the fifty years of working at Williams Road, no one had ever left him a note like that.”
“He said many psychologists write about how they help others, but not how they get help themselves…”
Maserow has been working in schools and private practice for the past nine years. While she wanted to be a fashion designer, she ended up studying arts at university and fell in love with psychology. Recently, she released her book, The Therapist in Therapy, which gives readers a look into two and a half years of therapy sessions. The memoir explores the dynamic between Maserow and Lang, and shows how Maserow navigates life’s challenges with Lang’s help.
Originally, Maserow wanted to write a book with Lang but he thought it would be a better idea for Maserow to share her own experiences.
“He said many psychologists write about how they help others, but not how they get help themselves,” Maserow recalled. “I then began writing and my book was written six weeks later. The words spilled out of me and it was so healing to write.”
Although, she said, it was never written to be published.
“I think if I knew it was going to be published, I would have been much more conservative with it and not written it as raw and vulnerably as I did.”
In an Instagram post shared in February, Maserow also spoke about the life-changing impact of writing her story down.
“I can definitely attest that vulnerably writing my own story, The Therapist In Therapy is the most life changing and rewarding thing I have done and would personally recommend writing to ANYONE and EVERYONE,” she wrote.
Noting that the book is very Jewish, Maserow explained that Lang is Israeli, so a lot of what she learnt from him – and continues to learn – is about resilience and strength from stories of the Holocaust and Lang’s time in the IDF. She said she’s hoping that the book can be used to stand up for the Jewish community.
“Moshe is Israeli and he talks about his time in the IDF, about Holocaust survivors and about coming out the other side – that after darkness always comes light,” she explained, sharing what she said at her recent book launch.
“Every human crisis is also an opportunity. When we see the challenges that we go through, either individually or collectively, not only as obstacles, but as opportunities for growth and insight,t I think we do better. My writing shares many stories and anecdotes from different individuals who have suffered greatly in one way or another and come out the other side. As we stand here today, we have gone through a period of time, where our whole world has faced an insurmountable amount of darkness. My own community, the Jewish community, is currently in the midst of a crisis, of facing unimaginable pain, suffering, and trauma on levels that are hard to put into words. What I have learnt is that even in the immense darkness, there are sparkles of light, which may be hard to find but keep us going. We will come out the other side, and we will dance again.”
Throughout her writing experience, Maserow said she was surprised to learn how much she loved the written word and how healing it was. But she said ultimately, her aim is to help make the world a better place and ensure people can find a way through their darkest times.
“My wider aim is to help make the world a better place with happier, more resilient individuals. That is the driving force behind everything I am doing,” she explained.
Already, the book has been widely praised, especially by fellow psychologists, who said they will be using the tips in the book in their own sessions.
One review said she felt like she was sitting in the room with “Jamie and Moshe and loved seeing the warmth, humour and wisdom they shared”.
It’s all that Maserow wants from the publication of the book.
“What I am hoping is that other people will resonate with it and enjoy it and learn something too.”
The Therapist in Therapy is published by The Kind Press, $36.99 rrp
comments