Hello world: What is 2510 and what is a collective?
TLDR: Summary
The 2510 Collective comes from a Bible verse that has inspired me for many years.
2510 speaks to my commitment to you to act with kindness, faithfulness, and truth – the essence of compassion.
Collective speaks to my commitment to learning with you and from you and my hope you encounter others from whom you can learn and grow.
Naming people and things is troublesome for me. My second son was going to be named Jeremiah by me. I liked the name for several reasons at the time and had quite an emotional attachment to it. My wife took one look at me and said, “had a bullfrog? Was he a good friend of yours?” No amount of pleading could purge my wife’s judgment. (Perhaps being a Chad desensitizes me to criticism of certain names). Needless to say, her paternal grandfather’s name was passed down to overwrite hapless Jeremiah.
So, when starting this practice the whole name thing had me stumped. Several decent ideas flamed out on the objection of family and friends. The Secretary of State was kind enough to let me know that many more were taken by others who perhaps thought themselves clever enough to catch it sooner than me.
So what’s a therapist to do?
In my case, I returned to one of the verses from the Bible that has inspired me for 20 years now. It’s Psalm 25:10. Depending on your English translation it reads something like, “All the ways of God are kindness and truth.”
When this sentence first arrested my attention, the inclusive word “all” hooked me. Everything God does is done with kindness and truth. As a young (pastor at the time), I did my homework. Reading people much smarter than me and trained in Hebrew led me to the understanding that kindness and truth were interconnected in ways I did not expect and could not predict at the time.
The word translated as kindness turns out to be quite broad. It is the idea of loyal love. It includes the idea of mercy (the sort that triumphs over judgment). This sort of kindness is steadfast. It is the rock in the storm. It is the constant in the chaos. Kindness is gentle and strong.
The word translated as truth is equally broad. It is the idea of faithful. It is the unwavering spouse true to their love after decades of marriage. It acknowledges reality – the truth as we westerners see it. And it goes so much farther. Faithful to the relationship sometimes in the face of the pain reality sometimes brings.
More reading led me to understand that the two words define one another. Kindness without faithfulness is not kindness – but exploitation. Faithfulness without kindness is not faithfulness – it’s judgment. The two must interrelate or they cease to be what they are.
Thus these two words capture what I aspire to be as a therapist (and as a human). I want to be for you a helper who is kind and true. Because kind and true are the essences of compassion.
Kind and true means that when you enter the session with me you do not experience judgment. You can be your authentic self. You can ugly cry. You can sit with no emotional expression at all. You can finally put words to your most inutterable thoughts knowing that they will be safely contained. Kind and true means you can be and that is enough.
Kind and true also means that when you enter a session, you do not waste your time but have the opportunity to pursue real and lasting change. Kind and true means that you and I will agree to accept you just as you are with an open acknowledgment that you must change. Every living thing must change or it dies. Every cell in your body will be replaced in a matter of a few weeks. Kind and true in therapy means we will make changes at a pace you can tolerate, but we will together insist on change.
So Psalm 25:10 is a picture of the values I bring to therapy: kindness, faithfulness, and truth. I want to be kind, faithful, and truthful with you.
The word “Collective” indicates the kind of place I hope this will become. My desire is that this is a place where you learn from me (and potentially others in a group), and where I learn from you. For starters, you are the expert on yourself. A large part of what I do is learn you so that I can help you progress toward your goals. We heal, we learn, and we grow most when we do so with others. It’s a collective effort.
So there you have it: The 2510 Collective. I hope to have the honor of helping you in your journey sometime soon.
P.S. While I practice the Christian faith, I do help those who do not share my faith. Kind and true in therapy is about accepting you for who you are and where you are. If you want to include faith in therapy, I am happy to do so. If you do not want to include faith in therapy, you will feel no less at home.
