According to “common factors theory,” the essence of successful therapy lies in shared core elements, and the differences between therapeutic approaches are often less important than fulfilling these fundamental criteria….
While “being yourself” has real costs – you risk being judged and ostracized by others – ultimately, the reward for being true to yourself is worth it in the long-term….
We often have an extreme fear of disapproval from others. This can often be driven by our evolutionary history (in the past, we depended on social approval from members of our tribe in order to survive), as well as social conditioning at a young age (from our parents and schools). Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” defines...