Melissa came to see Dr. Feldman, a clinical psychologist, because of a growing sense of estrangement toward her husband and tension and anxiety at work. She described her upbringing in an extremely rigid, judgmental atmosphere in which her self-worth was implicitly tied to her parents' conditions of achievement. She was apparently encouraged by her parents, who realized Melissa was a bright child, to skip a grade and then to complete her undergraduate work in three years by attending summer school each summer. Her parents were very proud of her. She admitted to having had little fun and would turn a vacation into an opportunity for achievement. She frequently could not enjoy television or the movies "because it felt frivolous." She was free from self-doubts only when hard at work, so she worked virtually all the time. Her husband wanted a family, but Melissa believed that children would be an undesirable interruption and distraction. Melissa quickly lost her fear of the weekly meetings with Dr. Feldman. She was able to relax in his company. She felt that he cared about her as a person, whether she achieved or did not. He would not make active, directive suggestions, but rather listened {126} to her in a genuine, positive way. During one session, Melissa asked him if he would give her some "straight advice" about her relationship with her husband. Dr. Feldman declined. He felt that telling another person what to do did not show respect for that person's individuality. He could see that Melissa was intelligent. He believed that she could trust her own decision-making abilities, and he would encourage her to believe in herself. Over a period of a little more than a year, with weekly visits, Melissa's personality began to soften. She dressed more casually. She was more relaxed. She was beginning to enjoy herself more, although occasionally the old self-doubts would come back to assail her. But she usually was able to fend them off. Her marriage was improving, she looked forward to "a real vacation" in the near future, and she was not closed to discussing the possibility of children with her husband, although they had not yet made a decision on that issue. APPLICATIONS OF CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY Client-centered therapy focuses especially on difficulties that stem from a client's negative feelings of self-worth. Client-centered therapy may be the therapy of choice especially for individuals who feel anxiety, uncertainty, and pain because of a low sense of self-esteem. A client-centered therapist can be expected to value personal genuineness, integrity, and honesty. The approach can be helpful to persons who suffer from loneliness and isolation. Client-centered therapy is most effective for individuals with these characteristics: