ABSTRACT
Most major contributions in the literature of psychotherapy and counseling have focused their attention on the dynamics of the emotional disturbance operating within the patient. The client, in coming to see the professional psychotherapist, the vocational counselor, the personal counselor, or the rehabilitation counselor, can indeed be viewed as a person with emotional disturbance. The kind of therapist who enters the therapeutic transaction can be changed, through both training and selection, to maximize patient benefit. The kind of client who enters into the therapeutic equation, however, is always a given: he exists and needs help. In some ways it would seem that the energy invested in studies attempting to identify the kinds of clients who show the greatest therapeutic gains has been misdirected. Beyond personal prejudices, however, there are general prejudices operative throughout the professions of counseling and psychotherapy.
