ABSTRACT
To emphasize the importance of an unspecialized approach can easily lead one into trouble over the question of 'common sense'. The common-sense man - the man-in-the-street - may react simply and straightforwardly to a person in trouble, and the result may be beneficial. But, on the other hand, his 'common sense' will be a product of the society in which he lives, and his response may well be influenced by the specialists of that society in a way that leads him to depart from a simple and straightforward action. The psychotherapist who tries to be natural with his patient needs therefore to free himself, as far as possible, not only from the sense of distance which his professional training may have given him but from the prejudices of the common sense of his culture.
