Michael Karson Ph.D., J.D, ‘Emotions: ‘What Are They? – Operant conditioning depends on emotional behavior’, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/feeling-our-way/201606/emotions-what-are-they, Psychology Today (Jun 22, 2016).
Fearful or avoidant reactions
The reason clinical psychology is so concerned with emotional behavior is because other people’s emotional behavior is often aversive to us and is therefore punished. That means that almost all of us have fearful or avoidant reactions to many of our own feelings. (…) The central function of a therapist, then, is to provide a place where emotional behavior is evoked and not punished. The most important trait of a therapist is the ability to take strong emotions in stride.