Counseling and the counselor play a vital role. Rogers (1951) wrote: Resistance to counseling and to the counselor is not an inevitable part of psychotherapy, nor a desirable part, but it grows primarily out of poor techniques of handling the client’s expression of his problems and feelings.. out of unwise attempts on the part of the counselor to short-cut the therapeutic process by bringing into discussion emotionalized attitudes which the client is not yet ready to face (p. 151).
The effective strategies that can be practiced are as follows Rapport building For removing any threat, it is necessary to make the patient feel comfortable. This can only be done by building up a nice relationship with friendliness and a caring attitude. Diagnosis in a casual way Making the diagnosis in a casual manner makes the patient feel at ease. This can be achieved by peaceful interactions, avoiding note taking during interaction which may be disturbing, maintaining proper eye contact, attentive hearing etc..
Finding the root cause Finding out the reasons for the resistance is very important which may be due to the factors such as rigid personality, prolonged illness, lesser interest toward therapy, lower intelligence and any such similar conditions. Formulating ways to break the ice Taking notes at the end of session and making analysis of the patient to find out reasons for the resistance would make the further sitting more effective.
Therapist is one who evokes anxiety (Strupp and Binder, 1984, pp 191-192). It is in the hands of the therapist to evoke the optimum level (not more not less) of anxiety to handle the resistance, which would differ from patient to patient.
Reference
Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implementation and theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Strupp, H. H. , & Binder, J. L. (1984). Psychotherapy in a new key: A guide to time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. New York: Basis Books.