On second view, I tend to agree with David that in helping one does'nt necessarily diminish the self esteem of the other nor is one's self esteem necessarily enhanced in the process if there is true empathy. There are cases where the person being helped can interpret it as a token of trust from the part of the helper. Trust ( in the sense of trusting the person's responsibleness), it seems to me, can be skillfully used as a lever by a therapist and may be the base of the therapeutic alliance. That is a therapist (fixer?), with a high moral sense, will not be satisfied with just fixing the person, but will help her unveil, behind her outward demand to feel better, her much deeper search for meaning. .
On Mar 17, 2013 Thierry wrote :