Clinic offers free psychoanalysis to vandal who stole sign

A Dublin psychotherapy clinic is taking a generous approach to a vandal who damaged its property.

Psychotherapy Dublin had its glass nameplate broken off its premises last weekend and the clinic is offering four free sessions to the person who stole the plaque.

“It’s quite unlikely the person will take up our offer,” Colin McDonnell, director of Psychotherapy Dublin, told the IrishExaminer.

“The main purpose of the message is that when someone acts aggressively, the act speaks of something. It’s important to listen to that person.”

Mr McDonnell posted about the act of vandalism on the clinic’s social media platforms, saying: “We’d love to talk to this person and offer them four free psychoanalytic sessions. No catches.”

He said that a great deal of effort must have been needed to take the nameplate as it was not smashed in order to remove it — instead, it was “yanked off” the wall.

He referred to the intolerant rhetoric used by people such as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and said the public need to respond to this type of discourse differently.

“More aggression doesn’t lead anywhere, only more aggression,” said the psychoanalyst.

The staff at the clinic noticed last Tuesday that the €300 sign was missing.

Ranelagh, where the clinic is located, has seen very few incidences of vandalism in the last number of months.

“We think it was a vandal but we’re in the dark about it,” Mr McDonnell said.

“Someone else had a sign smashed about six months ago in the village, and another sign had writing on it.

“Other than that, we haven’t noticed any other vandalism in the village. We’re here almost two years.”