Understanding client resistance in psychotherapy treatment

Psychotherapy

Resistance to therapy is said to occur when clients consistently have difficulty participating in treatment. Since resistance varies in form or strategies (depending on the individual), the author identifies instances in which resistance is most likely to occur or have occurred: (1) client misses an appointment or comes in late; (2) client reschedules appointments frequently; (3) client has very limited hours available for therapy; and/or (4) client cannot make a firm commitment to attend the next session.

It is difficult for therapists to approach their client's resistance because: (1) client may arouse feelings of humiliation; (2) feelings of sadness may be evoked when client feels that the need for caring is unfulfilled; and (3) client may feel guilty over the therapist not having a right to one's own feelings.

In order to effectively deal with client resistance, therapists may adopt three strategies, questions that seek to address this problem. The first strategy is permission-giving and educative response, which asks the question, "Can we talk about how you feel about coming to see me?" The second strategy is by exploring the danger or identifying the threat that leads to resistance, which asks the client, "Would you be able to tell me if something about our relationship or work together was troubling you?" Lastly, a tentative interpretation of the reason for defense of the client is important to address, which asks, " ... I'm wondering if there is something about ... therapy ... that just doesn't feel safe to you ... What do you think is going on here?"