Brooklyn Tattoo Artists and Therapists: are there really THAT many?

A tattoo shop in Brooklyn is about as easy to find as a cup or coffee or a beer.  In our building alone, I think there are four. Therapists… I got to 23 pages in our zip code before I gave up on reaching the end of the list.  How do you figure out who is right for you? I think the process for both is strangely similar.  First we’ve gotta start with logistics, such as cost, location, and scheduling.  That seems pretty straight forward. The next two things that I think are important are skills and relationship.  

Tattoo Artist Skills

For the skills of a tattoo artist check their social media and look for work that’s healed not just fresh work.  If you’re not sure, ask them if they have any images of healed work because this is where you will see how well the lines and color hold up over time.  In the healed work, are the lines consistent?  Is the color solid or blotchy? 

Therapist Skils

Skills of a therapist can be harder to assess because everyone needs something a little different from therapy.  So maybe the best place to start would be to think about what you want to get out of therapy and to find the approach that’s right for you. Do you want to build skills or do you want to process/explore something?  Do you want to focus on the here and now, be future oriented or are you open to exploring your past?  A quick google search of your answers to these questions will give you a range of different therapeutic approaches that can help refine your search for a therapist.  Once you’ve found a therapist, a way to assess the skills of your therapist is to simply ask yourself- is this person asking questions that my friend would ask or are their questions encouraging me to explore a little deeper?  Do I feel like they’re supporting me in learning something new about myself? Are they focused on me or are they talking about themself?

Relationship

Tattoo Artists and Therapists are both relationships.  You don’t want to sit for a four hour tattoo with an arrogant dick and you don’t want to waste an hour each week with someone who seems nice enough, but doesn’t really get you.  Trust your gut, don’t work with a tattoo artist or a therapist who just doesn’t feel right. Relationship building starts from the get go.  Does this person listen to me? Are they helping me clarify my needs or are they telling me what to do?  Do I feel like I can trust this person? Do they seem to care about the work that they do?  Are they able to answer my questions with patience and openness?  Do they feel collaborative? 

Hope this helps in narrowing the search.