For myself I am an optimist, it does not seem to be much use being anything else
One of the most important characteristics needed in a psychotherapist as well as a client is a sense of optimism. When all about you seems bleakest and that one cannot move from where one is to where one wants to be, it is optimism which acts as the fuel to get from one to the other.
it can be difficult for therapists as well as clients to be stuck in the quagmire of emotional, psychological or behavioural issues. It is for the therapist to model by example the traits of optimism. For only through optimism can we see that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. And no, that light is not the approach of an on coming train.
I accept the Ericksonian view that people have all the resources they need to be happy healthy and well. If that is indeed a truism, one can only be optimistic. For all that is required for a person to change is to tap into that innate pool of resources and a person will get and be well. That is something to truly be optimistic about.
