ABSTRACT
Most clients pin their identity to high-level functions and traits. The intervention helps clients form an identity that is not at the mercy of arbitrary judgments. Sometimes clients will argue that these other traits—the traits that can not be evaluated—are unimportant or inferior. As all therapists know, clients often describe having an inner dialog that resembles a trial. The intervention can engender resistance and create anxiety, at least temporarily. It can even be taken to mean that the worst—the costs—will always happen. Many clients use "worth" and "value" to beat themselves up; their "objective" self-evaluation leads them to conclude they have neither. Affirmations can sometimes help if a client has actually experienced very little positive input over the course of his or her life. Affirmations will rarely enable clients to pin their self-concept in the high position. The people who promote positive self-talk are correct in one sense; positive self-talk feels better than negative self-talk.
