The Structure of Magic I by Richard Bandler and John Grinder is a delightful simplification of the infinite complexities of the language I use with patients. In reading this book, I learned a great deal about the things that I've done without knowing about them.
You don't take insults. You leave them with the insulter.
Allow yourself to see what you don’t allow yourself to see.
A goal without a date is just a dream.
Don't ask why the patient is the way he is, ask for what he would change.
Each person is a unique individual. Hence, psychotherapy should be formulated to meet the uniqueness of the individual's needs, rather than tailoring the person to fit the Procrustean bed of a hypothetical theory of human behavior.