This important and timely book gives a balanced synthesis, based on actual cases, evidence, practice, and experience, to describe the process of psychotherapy and identify the fundamental elements that lead to good outcome across all its schools. In the course of developing a consistently reliable, effective, practical psychotherapy, Digby Tantam pinpoints four essential principles to provide essential reading for psychiatrists or clinical psychologists looking for a straightforward framework for short-term psychotherapy and anyone working long-term with patients using a psychotherapy model.