There are some clients who yell at us, manipulate us, go broodingly silent on us, have uncontrollable emotional breakdowns in session, disappear for weeks at a time, ignore our advice, and later blame us when their lives don’t improve. The normal rules of genteel reciprocity, so willingly respected by our “nice” clients, are routinely trashed by these “tough customers.” What do we do?

With all the recent developments in research, theory, and practice, we have more treatment options to choose from than ever before. Why then do so many practitioners still find client “resistance” a regular companion in their consulting rooms?

Why do we get stuck in “Groundhog Day therapy”—cases in which we spin our wheels from session to session? Before lurching on to alternative treatment strategies, the key to progress is recognizing the need to shift the therapist–client relationship.

Inevitably, given their history of trauma, many borderline clients will trigger their therapists from time to time. But forgoing the urge to blame these clients and taking responsibility for what’s happening inside you can become a turning point in therapy.

When therapy goes wrong, it’s typically because we’ve entered our clients’ trance, joining them in their myopic misery. Once there, our job is to break the spell, broaden the vision, and open ourselves to possibilities outside the tunnel.

This year, 3,000 practitioners came to our annual Symposium to explore the fundamental question: are we any closer to unraveling the mysteries of psychotherapy than when Freud became the first therapist to complain about client “resistance”?

Peer consultation groups offer all kinds of rich possibilities for learning and collegial support---as long as you set them up properly.

Far from being evidence of marital bankruptcy, a woman’s affair can be a way of expressing a desire for a different self and an opportunity to breathe life into a suffocating relationship.

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Gary Small on what therapists should know about how technology is altering our brains, for both good and ill.

Jared Diamond’s new book explores the many lessons modern cultures can draw from the wisdom of small-scale, preindustrial societies.

With his son’s freedom hanging in the balance, a father must decide whether to give the gift of forgiveness one more time.