The ability to connect with your therapist can be essential for a positive treatment outcome. The therapeutic relationship fosters trust and safety allowing you to experience your unguarded emotions. Emotions are not the enemy, they are frequently our response to the relationship we have with the world around us. So often threatening emotions trigger anxiety. We then respond in ways that will allow us to avoid our negative feelings. We may judge ourselves harshly for having them or we attempt to avoid them completely. Disowning our feelings can lead to maladaptive behaviors that don’t serve us well. It’s important to understand your feelings, make “friends” with them and, with a focused therapeutic relationship, you may emerge with new meaning and the power to regulate and respond to those emotions, meeting your individual needs.