Resistance In Family Therapy

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It is important that resistance be addressed in order for treatment to have a significant impact. The process of family therapy can be directed in a variety of ways, however there are some characteristics that must be included. Proper planning is essential because if therapists do not plan properly, therapy will the unsuccessful. Employing effective interventions with couples and families can be extremely intricate given that family dynamics are interwoven with individual disposition. Resistance comes as clients attempt to control sessions or refuse to talk to each other in sessions, arrive late, insisting that one family member is the problem, or challenging the therapist’s competence (Gladding, 2011). Subsequently, if treatment is to be …show more content…

This is due to the fact that most families suspend judgment for a few sessions in order to give the treatment a chance to work and the therapist a chance to demonstrate their competency. Resistance can impact this stage if the therapist fail to establish a sense of trust between themselves and the members of the family (Gladding, 2011).Therefore, it is essentially that the therapist develop a therapeutic alliance with the family at the initial session of therapy. Additionally, therapist can avert resistance by making the family comfortable through social exchange with each member, establishing rapport and asking each member for his/her perception of the …show more content…

Resistance can impact this stage by not allowing the therapists push family members as a whole to make changes and breakthroughs. Therefore, one way to address this would be to invite the uninvolved family member to be an observer of the family (Gladding, 2011). This would allow them to participate by sharing feedback on what in their opinion has transpired in their personal interaction. In addition, another way to get a resistant family member would be to use a procedure called circular questioning (Gladding, 2011). In this procedure, the disconnected family member is asked to give their synopsis about the various exchanges of other family members. In this stage resistance may be alleviated by giving a verbally reassuring the disinclined member that his presence is valued in the session. In the last stage, Termination; is the conclusion of family therapy in hopes that goal were accomplished and therapy ends. Resistance can impact this stage if the therapist does not handle this stage in an organized manner. Therefore, it is imperative that the therapist plan with the

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