It is generally accepted that the best predictor of the outcome of therapy is the therapeutic alliance.  The major principles of building a therapeutic relationship are safety, empathy, open-mindedness, and unconditional positive regard for the client.  It is my belief, that the client and I have far more in common that we do differences.  I believe the therapeutic process is a mutual cooperation where the client is the expert of his or her story.  My job is much like that of a cave explorer.  As there are no two caves alike, it is the job of the therapist to take a flashlight and begin exploring the inner recesses of the client’s story.  Some boulders may need to be removed and others may be left for a later time.

“The author strongly believes that the ultimate goal of psychotherapy is to help people to achieve an ongoing state of vulnerability in which they are fully in touch with their feelings and respond appropriately to both positive and negative events in their lives.  They would approach life in a realistic manner, one which is neither idealistic as in fantasy nor cynical and denigrating.  The healthy individual would still have to contend with painful issues in life.  In the vulnerable state, he or she would be better adapted to pursue real goals and more likely therefore to effect positive outcomes.” - R. Firestone

Carl Jung and Donald Winnicott thought the goal of analysis is to strip away the client’s mask leading to a more authentic real-self to emerge.  The real-self replaces the false-self, which is based on the demands and expectations that the client has been living with to this point in life.  This authentic self has the strength make choices and experience freedom.  It is common for the authentic-self to form defenses early in life that help maintain the status quo.  These defenses, while useful earlier in life, become the protector of the client’s symptoms in need of a cure.  The client and I explore these resistances and find goals and strategies to bypass the defenses.