Our view of the therapist is that he is similar to what the chemist calls a catalyst, an ingredient which precipitates a reaction which might not otherwise occur. It does not prescribe the form of the reaction, which depends upon the intrinsic reactive properties of the materials present, nor does it enter as a part into whatever compound it helps to form.
What is essential is not that the therapist learn something about the patient and then teach it to him, but that the therapist teach the patient how to learn about himself.
