The goal of treatment is freedom, and good will is the means to that goal. The therapist is best able to reduce his aggressiveness toward the patient when able to identify himself with the patient, and such deliberate self-identification is a precursor to true empathy. It is through empathy that the therapist can cultivate in his patient 'the freedom to choose one way or the other' (Freud). The ethical implications of the concept of freedom and of the limiting of aggression are explored. Empathy is the common ground of ethics and theory of personality. Communication, the sine qua non of personality theory, can be fostered in the empathic process in which a person identifies himself with another while developing insight into himself. Control of patient by therapist is incompatible with the therapeutic goal of enabling the patient to be free, to stand on his own feet. It is necessary for this control to be self-control. Then personal freedom is enhanced for both individuals participating in the empathic process.