While "psychotherapy" has been busily dividing into hundreds of different models, research shows that it doesn't really matter which approach you use, which guru you follow, or which fancy techniques you adopt. Yet there are some factors, across models, that do matter. The authors want readers to shake their allegiance to masters and models and focus on these basics, from which emerges a unifying language for psychotherapy practice.

So what does matter? First, respect for the client's point of view, understanding of the problem, ideas about its solution, and interaction with chance events that affect its course. The client is here seen as the unsung hero of psychotherapy. Second, the authors focus on the therapeutic relationship, which research shows matters more than therapeutic orientation or technique. Third, successful clients have hope and a plan for the future, which can be nurtured in the therapeutic relationship.

Finally, there is a place for techniques and models to provide structure and introduce novelty in therapy. This is a simple but effective approach, illustrated here in short vignettes and two extended cases.