My thoughts and beliefs: people see what they want to see, people made mistakes and hopefully they learn from their mistakes instead of disregarding them, the change process is cyclical, people have to want to change their thought processes, problems come from obstacles in the road and must behavior change can help them get around these obstacles. People are born with personalities and genetic predisposition, however, environmental factors (family etc,) have a lot to do with people''s dispositions. Experiences, perceptions and beliefs make up a person also. I believe people are basically self-motivated, jealous and selfish. I do not believe people are very self-aware. We create many of our problems by the choices we make. If a therapist doesn''t have hope they can''t hand it to the client. I think empathy, genuiness and presence are a must for a therapist. As a therapist I can offer support, substitute behaviors, point out choices and commitments, recognizing and avoiding triggers and helping them to gain insight so they can become self- aware. People are the architects of their own lives I am only here to assist them in finding their own way.