ABSTRACT

Some clients come to us for help with situational troubles in their lives. Others come suffering from what’s often called emotional disturbance, psychological dysfunction, or mental illness. But such words say nothing about the essence of their more pervasive, persistent trouble. As these clients try to tell us what’s wrong, they search for more meaningful words, words they think we’ll understand: “I’m depressed. I feel anxious all the time. I have low self-esteem.” Or else they just tell us how they feel-all strung out, dreading another day, lousy, rotten, utterly worthless. These are the sorts of “feeling bad” this chapter explores.