In Persuasion and Healing (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1961), psychiatrist Jerome Frank made the case that the most important characteristics of a psychotherapist are empathy, warmth and genuineness. Certainly these features are subject to opinion and perception, such that not every patient feels helped by every therapist. Similarly, in everyday life, people may find that one of their friends is the right person to listen to some of their problems, whereas another is better at listening to different problems.

1 Comments

1. 1. MichaelstJohn 05:28 PM 8/27/08

   This answer belongs more in a magazine like 'psychology today' -actually, maybe the Seattle times - than in S.A. It is wishy washy, and does not even begin to address the physiological changes that take place under these conditions!
   disappointed, MichaelstJohn

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