Clinical wisdom is indirectly or directly conveyed from psychotherapist to patient in therapy.

Clinical wisdom contains practical information about living meaningfully, productively, and creatively.

Conveying clinical wisdom is not the same as providing advice.

In Part 2 of this series, I defined the term "clinical wisdom" and how it can be employed in psychotherapy, as, for example, to begin with, in the management of expectations about treatment on the parts of both therapist and patient or client. Here, in Part 5, I discuss some other examples of what I mean by "clinical wisdom" in terms of what it is—and what it is not.

Conveying Clinical Wisdom Is Not Giving Advice

Here is a little secret that some patients (and psychotherapists) might find surprising: Clinical wisdom is not about advice-giving. It is, for the most part, never conveyed or communicated by telling patients what not to do, what to do, or how to do it. Psychotherapists seldom (if ever) proffer such direct advice per se to patients regarding how they should live their lives or what major decisions to make. It would be presumptuous, counterproductive, grandiose, and, arguably, unethical to do so. This is always the patient's responsibility, and theirs alone, which is one example of the clinical wisdom existential therapists consistently try to encourage, communicate, and convey to them in therapy.

Most people enter therapy with the conscious or unconscious expectation or wish that the therapist will, like a parent, teacher, priest, rabbi, etc., or, for that matter, close friend or confidante, counsel or concretely advise them, if not overtly tell them what to do with their lives, believing that this is our professional role. But this is clearly one of the major misconceptions people (and some therapists or counselors) bring to therapy. Yes, it is true that, as Rollo May (1991) observes, "therapists belong to a strange........

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