October 9, 2026
Love
The Essential Ingredient to Successful Therapy
This week, I want to highlight a classic book I am reading called The Road Less Traveled, a New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck, M.D. I previously wrote on the theme of love when celebrating being “uniquely human” and the importance of walking with and celebrating the families I work with.
I chose to write the word “Love” on my hand for my High 5 Grant application last year. Love is the thread in my work that allows me to build strong therapeutic relationships. I think Scott Peck states the role of love in therapy so clearly: “We are now able to see the essential ingredient that makes psychotherapy effective and successful. It is not “unconditional positive reward”, nor is it magical words, techniques or postures, it is human involvement and struggle…In short, the essential ingredient of successful, deep and meaningful psychotherapy is love.”(p.173)
As therapists, we can struggle when we don’t know how to help, or when we don’t see the progress we are hoping for. The longer I do this work, the more I remind myself that when I am feeling this way, Love is the starting place. Love is where I return to when therapy is hard.
As the famous band The Beatles said, “All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.”