February 14, 2014
NEW YORK Magazine
They had come from across the tri-state area at the invitation of Comedy Central … Dr. Rachel Rosenbaum, (Simone Lazer) of New York & Los Angeles, strode up and introduced herself. Dressed in a fitted brocade pantsuit, with dark glasses and painted nails, she hardly seemed to belong to the same species as her tweedy, balding colleagues. She took me aside and told me confidentially that she’d just come from her grandma Sylvia’s funeral: I offered my condolences. Lowering the sunglasses, with a more conspiratorial tone, “I’ve just come from Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral,” she said. “I play a shrink. I do have a book; it’s called Get a Life … Yours. We’ll, it’s not a real book, but I suggest … it’s from HarperCollins.”
Despite the admission, it wasn’t altogether clear that Dr. Rosenbaum understood the difference between fantasy therapist and real therapist, a concern that only grew deeper as she began passing out business cards. Jonathan Katz, also a comedian and not a real therapist did not share her sense of self-confidence. “I feel so phony all of a sudden,” he said. – Ariel Kaminer