Counselors will deal with resistant clients, so they need to learn to recognize when it happens and know what to do about it when it does.
Tag: resistant clients
The stigma attached to borderline personality disorder can make both clients and counselors resistant to treatment, but by working together, they can sort through these misconceptions and help clients rediscover themselves.
Rather than labeling hesitant clients as “resistant,” counselors should check their assumptions, work to better understand the underlying reasons and barriers these clients face, and double down on unconditional positive regard.
There are many reasons why our clients deceive us, but a common one is because they are testing our trustworthiness. How easy it is to test us with one story when there is a much more important story they really need to tell.
By using practical, attachment-informed approaches, counselors can build effective therapeutic alliances with youth frequently dismissed as being ‘resistant.’
“He had no reason to trust me. If I had been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have trusted me either.”
Antisocial personality disorder remains a misunderstood and arguably underdiagnosed issue that can manifest in a number of ways.
In the early days, Caroline, a 14-year-old girl, started each session with a chin thrust indignantly at her counselor. She wanted to be seen as a warrior, and she offered answers that were blunt as a sledgehammer. And why should she drop her defenses? She had seen too many adults
In the counseling profession, resistance is essentially considered a four-letter word. Actually, many counselors probably feel more comfortable using a four-letter word than they do talking about a client’s or supervisee’s resistance. There are good reasons for this aversion. Traditionally, resistance shown by clients or during supervision was considered a
“Erin” came to counseling with all the signs of depression. She was unhappy with her career, her health and her family. Her mother was distressed, her father was distant and her disabled brother was sick. Erin spent a lot of energy calming and directing her family, and she complained about