ABSTRACT
Drawing on her practice with people experiencing depressed process, Rowland (in press) says it can be very hard to stay with a client in despair and extensive personal growth work on the part of the therapist in which their own deep fears have been confronted and addressed is likely to be bene®cial in this process. It is really important that the therapist is able to hear and receive even the most gloomy, self-abnegating, self-destructive words and feelings of the client with understanding and acceptance. Indeed, the therapist may be the only person in the client's circle who is able and prepared to do this. Others may reject or pull away from such painful feelings or attempt to jolly (or bully) the client into a more positive frame of mind.
