ABSTRACT
Eugene Gendlin became interested in what makes some clients—and some sessions—especially effective in therapy. After reviewing hundreds of hours of psychotherapy tapes, he noticed that the clients who made the most gains were able to tune inside and notice their felt experience, then put words to it. Gendlin developed a method of becoming aware of one’s felt experience, even when it was vague and amorphous, then allowing that feeling to inform what is currently important. Enjoying story is ultimately about gaining empathy, and about understanding the archetypal stories that the clients will live and present in variation. In a beautiful and sensitively written book called Listening with the Third Ear, Theodor Reik, an early analyst laments that every time he learned something significant about therapy, it cost him a patient.
