Overview
Most discussions of resistance are strongly linked to particular therapy approaches—yet clients in any kind of therapy can experience ambivalence that gets in the way of change. This lucidly written book reframes resistance as ambivalence and presents effective, practical ways to deal with it. Integrating humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic perspectives, the authors offer richly detailed descriptions of strategies for helping clients get "unstuck," with particular emphasis on motivational interviewing and the two-chair approach. Grounded in research, the volume includes helpful case examples that cut across different clinical problems and therapeutic models.Synopsis
Why is change often so hard to accomplish, even for people who spend considerable time, money, and effort in the attempt? How can therapy clients get unstuck and work steadily toward desired goals? This book presents an integrative model of ambivalence in psychotherapy and presents effective, practical ways to recognize and deal with it. Emphasis is given to two techniques with significant empirical support: motivational interviewing and the two-chair approach. Including in-depth case examples and transcripts, the book demonstrates how to use these interventions as stand-alone treatments or integrate them with other therapies for clients struggling with addictive behaviors, depression, anxiety, and other frequently encountered problems.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"The authors offer an integrative model drawing from the four main psychotherapeutic approaches: cognitive-behavioural, humanistic-experiential, psychodynamic, and systemic....The authors write in a lucid and engaging style, drawing on their own personal experience of ambivalence, in addition to that of their clients. Herein lies the strength of this book, they manage to write in a way that reflects the very clinical approaches they outline....The book is a practical resource for therapists and a refreshing change from the dogma that plagues other texts grounded in singular psychotherapeutic approaches. It would suit psychologists of all orientations and levels of experience. I wholeheartedly recommend it."--The Psychologist
"Engle and Arkowitz have done a first-rate job of reframing the long-problematic concept of resistance while attending thoroughly to the essential phenomena to which the term has referred. They offer, as well, an astute and comprehensive approach to dealing with these phenomena. I am not at all ambivalent about this book!"--Paul L. Wachtel, PhD, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, City College, City University of New York
"An outstanding contribution to integrative psychotherapy. The authors offer an exciting new approach to helping clients overcome ambivalence about change. The book is specific and detailed and captures the essence of the method, which combines two-chair dialogue and motivational interviewing to provide an excellent set of integrative therapeutic tools. Reading this book really will help you help your clients. This is an invaluable resource for therapists and students alike, regardless of orientation, who want to enhance their clinical effectiveness."--Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"Practicing therapists from all orientations have clearly been confronted with resistance as an obstacle to the change process. The question is: Are there ways of understanding resistance and dealing with it clinically? Conceptualizing resistance as involving a state of ambivalence, Engle and Arkowitz address this question in their groundbreaking volume. This conceptualization has important therapeutic implications, and the authors provide invaluable clinical guidelines--vividly illustrated with case descriptions and therapy transcripts--for dealing with resistance as ambivalence, so as to facilitate the therapeutic change process."--Marvin R. Goldfried, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University
"Engle and Arkowitz provide a thoughtful analysis of the enduring issue of resistance and noncompliance in psychotherapy. They survey theories and measures of resistance as well as various ways to respond to it, emerging with an integrative approach centered on the phenomenon of ambivalence. Special attention is devoted to two-chair methods and applications of motivational interviewing, with illustrative case examples of how to use these tools in helping clients get unstuck and move on with their lives."--William R. Miller, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico
"Ambivalence is one of the most challenging obstacles to change for client and therapist. Engle and Arkowitz offer a comprehensive exploration of ambivalence and propose an interesting, integrative model for accessing, exploring, understanding, and addressing ambivalence in psychotherapy. They offer innovative cognitive and emotion-enhancing techniques to reach the deep emotional underpinnings as well as the conflicting cognitive schemas that support patient ambivalence. Anyone who works with clients will benefit from the book's clinical wisdom, detailed strategies, and informative examples of ways to manage ambivalence and build people's motivation to change."--Carlo C. DiClemente, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County