“Be Kind, for Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Great Battle”

Abstract

The longer I have lived and worked, the more complicated my view is of human suffering, of what causes psychological problems, and of what is needed to help people heal. Psychotherapists have less autonomy now than we did 25 years ago because mental health services are more regulated by managed care. Although the increased accountability is a crucial benefit for client care, the emphasis on symptom relief can be a disservice. Certainly there are some identifiable symptoms that can be extinguished, but often the wounds of life include grief, loss, relationship traumas, and other kinds of pain. Sometimes the limits of change and the pain that is part of life must be accepted. I have been influenced by experiences in rural Africa and in underserved communities in the United States about the value of social and cultural factors in psychotherapy relationships as well.

KEYWORDS:

• compassion
• emotion-focused
• psychotherapy relationships
• public health
• women