“The duty we owe to ourselves is
greater than than what we owe to others.”
– Louisa May Alcott

Nathaniel Branden clearly explains what it means to be assertive in our interactions with family, friends and in the workplace and educational settings.

The practice of assertiveness:

• being authentic in our dealings with others
• treating our values an persons with decent respect in social contexts; – refusing to fake the reality of who we are or what we esteem in order to avoid disapproval
• the will willingness to stand up for ourselves and our ideas in appropriate ways in appropriate contexts.

If you struggle with assertiveness, counseling lends a great opportunity to process how to begin growing with assertiveness in your regular interactions. Some clients find role-playing in counseling to be incredibly helpful as they begin practicing assertiveness in their daily lives.