How to work with hostile clients

Perhaps somebody can give me some suggestion. I am working as a Gestalt therapist since some years and do have my ups and downs in this 'career'. In the last months I realized that I find it more and more difficult to work with clients who show more or less openly a critical or even hostile attitude towards me ("you don't work with me creatively like you should", "my former therapist was much more efficient", "I can't open up because I have the impression that you are looking down on me" ... and so on). I have to admit that I have my difficulties to handle these situations. Claus

• in response by Dale R. Smith, 4/25/99