Overcoming Reluctance in Therapeutic Relationships: Creating Readiness for Change

For mental health professionals, building trusting relationships with clients and knowing which interventions will most benefit them are challenging enough. Helping clients who are also dealing at the same time with chronic conditions such
as poverty, violence, and addiction can seem overwhelming. That’s especially true for behavioral health service providers who have limited experience. That’s why we at OhioGuidestone have developed this series of clinical manuals to help professionals develop their skills while providing effective treatment. OhioGuidestone, the largest community behavioral health organization in Ohio, regularly trains new therapists and other behavioral health interventionists to work
with clients who face severe, therapy-interfering challenges. We’ve brought that experience to these manuals.
In this era of managed care oversight, tight funding, and pressure to deliver evidence-based or informed care, it is essential for new therapists to get up to speed on best practices quickly. It is also essential for experienced clinicians to be well provided with effective and varied treatment plans. The manuals in this series provide step-by-step guidance on evidence-based and informed treatment modalities and interventions that can be used by both licensed and unlicensed mental health professionals—as well as by their supervisors for training purposes. Seasoned mental health professionals will find the resources offered in these manuals useful for developing a renewed focus on evidence- and research-based
interventions. At OhioGuidestone, our interventions are grounded in cognitive behavioral science and also shaped by the relational and attachment scientific advances that continue to inform the behavioral health field (especially the interpersonal neurobiology work published by W. W. Norton & Company). We understand the demands of serving client populations experiencing trauma and toxic stress. Our interventions are designed not to address discrete diagnoses (clients often have more than one) but rather the symptoms that are related to them. The series addresses a
wide range of issues, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and even reluctance to engage in therapy, and it provides interventions for children and adults. We cannot “fix” our clients. But we can guide them along clear paths toward
developing the skills they need to navigate the challenges they face, in their thoughts and in their lives. It’s our sincere hope that the books in this series will help better prepare more mental health professionals to do just that.