KQED: Therapists Target Mental Health Stigma With ‘Sidewalk Talks’
Along Market Street in San Francisco Thursday, down the block from the people handing out brochures about Jesus and a man protesting the local bank, a bunch of therapists set some chairs on the sidewalk.
“Free listening!” therapist Traci Ruble called out to passersby. “Do you wanna be listened to?”
Most people rushed by, either saying a quick “No thank you,” flashing a bemused smile, or ignoring the offer altogether.
“I feel like a canvasser,” Ruble said, admitting she felt a bit rejected.
It was a tough and unusual sell: asking people to take 15 minutes out of their lunch break to sit on the street and talk with a therapist. But Ruble and her collaborator, therapist Lily Sloane, say they have a noble objective.
“The goal is really about de-stigmatizing mental health,” Ruble says, adding that they also want to combat the technology culture that has people walking down the street with their eyes glued to their cellphones. She says she misses random urban interactions.