There’s a mystique surrounding therapists that is hard to appreciate until you become one. Here, for the record, is my account of what clients desire, that therapists cannot provide.

What does ‘change’ really mean? What does it take to bring about real change? How can we recognize when change is really taking place?

All too many people continue to stay with a character disturbed partner because they themselves have character issues that are dysfunctional. Here is an example of a woman who justifies her staying with her boyfriend by finding excuses for his cheating and manipulation — maybe it’s “just midlife crisis.”

Among the long list of behavioral quirks ascribed to therapists is the tendency to answer a client’s question with a question or to duck the query by other means. Understanding the reasons why therapists avoid answering questions can make this tendency less galling and shed some light on the therapeutic process.

Ultimately, people have power only over one thing: the execution of their free will.