Week after week, a client’s sessions focus on her issues with her partner. Her therapist thinks couples therapy would be tremendously helpful, but the partner refuses to attend. The therapist worries her client is just spinning her wheels in individual therapy, since all she talks about are the changes she wants to see in her relationship, and isn't sure how to help her. Five therapists share how they'd proceed.

A therapist finds her client attractive and says their conversations sometimes border on flirtatious. She says she'd never act on these feelings, but worries about how it might affect their work together. She's also not sure whether to bring this up, how she might do so, and whether to refer him out. Five clinicians share how they'd handle the situation.

Mark has anger issues, and his therapist finds herself getting extremely reactive when he loses his temper in therapy. Recently, he called her “a joke” and stormed out of the room. She wants to stand up for herself, but doesn't want to derail their work. Five clinicians share how they'd proceed.

By Martha Straus - My young client, Brian, can reduce even confident mid-life adults to an infantile puddle, one provocative comment at a time. He's a therapist's nightmare. But he’s also the universe's gift to me. He measures my commitment to the work, to him, to my ideas about therapy, to my best self.

By Chris Lyford - A client sees his perfectionism as an advantage, even though it ramps up his anxiety, exacerbates his sense of shame, and keeps him living a very rigid life. He brushes off his therapist every time she brings it up. Five therapists weigh in with how they'd respond.

Let's say your client lets a microaggression slip during a session. Do you bring it up? Therapist and author Anatasia Kim shares her eight-step process for having a conversation with clients when this happens.

Sandra has been struggling with depression for many years. A psychiatrist has prescribed her an antidepressant, but she’s told her therapist she doesn’t like the “idea” of meds and doesn’t take them regularly. He's not sure how best to explore the issue with her. Five clinicians share how they'd proceed.

Many people wonder how therapists manage to do the work they do. Of the thousands of meaningful sessions that take place in a therapist’s office, certain ones stand out. Here, therapist Courtney Armstrong shares the story of working with her most memorable client.

A new clinician is working with a client who’s expressed some suicidality at times. She's worried about him and thinks it might be a good idea to have him sign a no-suicide contract, but she's heard mixed things about them and isn't sure what to do. Here, four therapists offer their advice.

A therapist recommends exercises like journaling prompts and guided mediations that she feels would benefit her clients between sessions. Although they seem interested when she introduces the idea, they always “forget” or can’t find the time to follow through. She's unsure how to proceed. Here, five therapists share what they'd do.