The story “Three Boxes” embodies a basic therapeutic principle, namely that problems must be separated and solutions must be linked. Whenever a client presents problems which appear to be linked, for example in the case of depression or psychosomatic involvement, it is recommended that the problems should be examined independently and separately as though they had nothing to do with each other in reality. In many cases the link (or interdependency) will vanish when it is challenged, even if it was plausible. Yet as soon as a solution is found for one or more of the problems, it is worth turning the question around and asking whether the solution could also be beneficial in another area and be transferred to another problem.

“You must be mistaken,” the man said to the other man. “You must keep your illness absolutely separate from your family problems and your family problems absolutely separate from your problems at work. These are two or rather three entirely different kettles of fish. Imagine putting these three things in three different boxes… Now close each of the three boxes and push them into three different corners of the room. Have you pushed them a long way apart? Good. Now we’ll look at each box individually…” And they discussed each problem separately. Whenever they found a solution, however, the first man said, “Might that also work for the other problem…?”