ABSTRACT
Individuation is, by its very nature, a differentiating process. As a social and biological phenomenon, it stands in the center of the growth picture and constitutes its essence. The therapeutic process occurs as a unique growth experience, created by one person seeking and needing help from another who accepts the responsibility of offering it. This basic structure characterizes each potentially therapeutic setting irrespective of methods or techniques employed or of whether it is a child or adult who seeks assistance. In this chapter the nature of therapy in general will be discussed toward the end of gaining a clearer understanding of the therapeutic process in which a child is a direct participant. In everyday life we can observe what happens naturally to people as they grow and live together, and arrive at some perception of their own values (through living). The more intensified and consciously directed growth experience which is therapy can be understood by the same principles and seen as not essentially different from any other life experience in which two people participate.
