I have a lot of MD friends and collaborators. They always always say the best way to tell if a patient is depressed is if they feel depressed around them.

And these are physicians who *maybe* had a psych rotation in med school.

The way a therapist feels around you or in response to you can be a powerful tool they can use to help you.

However, this techniques does need to be very judiciously applied, and perhaps the best approach is not always used.

I think, however, that there is nothing in therapy that can't be resolved if both parties are willing to talk about it. Usually that involves each party doing their best to take emotion out of it while simultaneously getting to the emotional heart of it.

Sounds contradictory I know, but when both parties engage in that dialogue, then I've certainly experienced a lot of good come can out of it.

The key, of course, is both parties.