Book excerpt: Treating emptiness is one of the most neglected areas of mental health therapy. Developmental and Systems Approach (DSA) is a treatment model to consider for therapists working in the private sector; public health and social services; hospital care; as well as anyone seeking better understanding of the human condition. Approached from a developmental perspective, it is a unique model of treatment that brings together many of the conventional modalities of therapy schools. The reader will learn to integrate the best practices available today into an effective method of engaging, motivating and teaching the patient effective coping, and most of all, healing through the development of trust and security. Initially developed for rapid stabilization on the psychiatric inpatient unit, DSA is distinctive in style, structure, time frame and interpersonal aspects from conventional methods.