This week we’re talking about where you may see resistance come into play during your counseling sessions. The more we practice working through difficult conversations here, the easier they become to navigate when we’re stuck in the middle of one in real life.

There are a lot of reasons someone might become resistant to making changes that would otherwise benefit their health. There’s also a lot of ways resistance can crop up.

Some of people simply aren’t ready to make change and express clear resistance to being ready. They’ll dig in their heels and push back heavily from any suggestion that they need to make a lifestyle shift.

Other patients will move back and forth between stages of readiness. They know all the reasons why they should do things differently but can’t quite find the motivation to make the changes necessary to get them there.

If we’re not able to recognize resistance and reframe the conversation when resistance crops up, we may end up pushing information on someone who isn’t ready to receive it.

Our goal with our clients is to:

1. Get a sense of our client’s world, thoughts and values from their point of view
2. Explore all angles and options, when a client expresses resistance to change
3. Support client-led goal setting, even if that means setting no goals at all

As you go through this next set of lessons, think about these things as you’re talking to your clients:

• How well you’re able to back off when resistance presents itself?
• Do you notice any phrases you’ve said to a client that led to them digging in their heels?
• Are you listening to how your client talks about readiness and change?