The problem with that is it makes it difficult to do something about it.”īut times and definitions of resistance have changed, he says, removing the blame for resistance from the client and putting the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of counselors. Those definitions have existed for years in the mental health literature. In other words, says Mitchell, “If you’re not buying what I’m selling, you’re resistant. “Although most therapists have been trained extensively in theoretical approaches, few have had extensive training in dealing with resistance,” he says.Ĭonventional thought defines resistance as something that comes from within the client. For 10 years, the American Counseling Association member has studied and presented seminars on dealing with resistance in therapy.
The concept of counselors focusing exclusively on their interactions with clients and letting change happen on its own is key to the successful management of resistance and the pivotal point of effective therapy, says Mitchell. You can only change how you interact with your clients and hope that change results. “I teach, ’You can’t change your clients. This is hypocritical,” says Mitchell, the author of Effective Techniques for Dealing With Highly Resistant Clients, which is in its second edition. “We tell our clients things like, ’You can’t change other people you can only change yourself.’ Then we go into a session trying to change our clients. Many counselors have used this common bit of wisdom to help clients overcome problems, but it’s crucial that counselors internalize that idea themselves, says Clifton Mitchell, a professor and coordinator of the community agency concentration in the counseling program at East Tennessee State University. You can’t change anyone else you can only change yourself.
0 kommentar(er)
