Satir believes that the therapist, by being caring and accepting, helps people to overcome their fear, open up their experience, and open up in their communication with each other. People are more open to change when they feel understood, accepted and experienced the difference in their thinking and inner feelings. She describes human feelings to be akeen to a 'human thermometer'; to understand one's feelings is to be familiar with it. The therapist's main task is to facilitate client's self-discovery. The therapist's 'use of self' is important in bringing about congruence in the therapy, and in their clients. Much of the learning and grounding of the therapy involves self-learning and self-rediscovery as the therapist journeys with the client.

Satir believes in 'change' and the human potential to be congruent within oneself. The meta-goals of the therapy is therefore to raise client's self-esteem, let them be their own choice-makers, be self-responsible and be congruent. All her therapeutic techniques centered on accomplishing these meta-goals. The therapy is mainly transformative in focus; the highest level of change is 'being', the essence or spiritual focus. In building the inner-self of the client, techniques encompassing the enhancement of self-awareness, self-acknowledgement, self-acceptance, self-appreciation and acting for oneself is essential in every session of the therapy. Satir's most famous works were in conjoint family therapy, family reconstruction, the therapeutic use of metaphors, analysis of one's coping stances and the iceberg illustration of one's inner-self. The award winning book,'The Satir Model: Family Therapy and Beyond', spells out the principles and techniques of this model of therapy.