Bruce S. Gottlieb

Over the 43 years that I have been practicing psychotherapy I have found that the approach I have taken in helping patients has grown deeper and deeper. I was trained in providing techniques for people to cope with painful experiences so that they suffered less, but people were coping (getting through the moment) rather than truly resolving their deeper issues causing the suffering. Over time I discovered a more humanistic approach and found that in order to truly resolve the person's distress they had to deal with who they were at a deeper level and discover what about them was getting in the way of their experiencing their life more fully. Ironically the more they felt engaged with themselves, the world in general, in the connections that they had with others, the less distressed they felt...and not just for that moment but in the rest of their lives too. This approach is designed to get to the heart of the problem, not just to feel better for a while.To try to deal with the heart of our distress gets to who we are as the person, who we've become over time which means stirring up feelings that gives rise to our suffering. We have to be willing to deal with ourselves that thoroughly. Knowing how this is the difficult endeavor I am surprised how it seems as though virtually all the people you come to see me for treatment stay throughout the course of treatment. People come to see me because they're suffering but they continue to work with me to have a fuller, more meaningful life. Given that I appreciate how difficult it is i have tremendous respect and regard for those people. While there may be difficult moments, people are generally struck by how much they learn about themselves and how much easier and more meaningful life becomes.