It makes sense that an empathic confrontation of naming some of the underlying feelings to the attack would be very helpful in deescalating the situation as well as in maintaining/strengthening the therapeutic connection. In an article published in Counselor – The Magazine for Addiction Professionals, titled “Confrontation in Addiction Treatment,” the authors indicate that harsh confrontation techniques have been considerably softened. As always your concrete explanation is so very helpful. Theresa. 1. They will be similar but not the same. Confrontation skills did not come naturally to me. There are three steps to confrontation in counselling. I had to learn how to make incisive confrontations or watch couples repeat the same negative patterns over and over. It’s also nice to know that it is a “good” thing to apply confrontation at various times in the session. He or she should consult the Holy Spirit or make. The five tools and techniques below are common practice for many types of psychodynamic therapy. I often do soft and empathic confrontation. I am currently working with a couple who seems constantly engaged in a negative cycle of anger and communication. "Caring confrontation" sides with the inner growing child-person, when needed, and tries to give this part of the client the help needed to come forward. Ellyn’s first book, "In Quest of the Mythical Mate," won the Clark Vincent Award by the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists for its outstanding contribution to the field of marital therapy and is now in its 18th printing. Dr. Polster used confrontation with empathy, as well as firmness. Thank you Ellyn. to one of responsible action and control. Confrontation Ruptures Sometimes when clients are not making progress in therapy it becomes obvious that there is a problem in the therapeutic alliance. I think there were a few things that could help me stick with what I want to express. I appreciate that. Hi Ellyn, Thank you for your accessibility both in video form and note form as well as personally. Thank you for sharing this information, as a beginning practitioner being able to find useful and easy to understand information from experienced practitioners is very useful in helping me increase my skills. The Avoiding style of conflict is useful when confrontation may be dangerous or damaging, when an issue is unimportant, or when a situation needs to cool down, or when you need more time to prepare. Thanks — looking forward to the live calls. I am doing the training so this is a very useful addition to my learning and I’m really pleased because the live call is at a time I can listen from Melbourne Australia! The levels of congregation is something I struggle with identifying, so this has been a helpful lesson to me. They will be somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes depending on how many questions we get from participants. You can start by saying, “I want to talk to you about X subject, and the reason I am doing this now is ______. The second step requires the counsellor to bring about awareness of these incongruities and assist the client to work through these. It give the therapist the courage to do name the elephant or the grasshopper in the room . SCM is influenced by James's work(1890) and Merleau-Pony (1945,1962), as well … I have been perplexed in sessions when one partner verbally attacks the other and when I intervene, I have gotten accused of having no empathy for the attacking partner. It can be used to highlight discrepancies that clients have previously been unaware of. I found this clear and and highly useful and very interesting. A Colleague’s Comment on Training with Ellyn Bader, “Ellyn’s online clinical training has enabled me to be even more confident in my couples work. 11. peak experience in which the Thank you Ellyn. Today, confrontation is still highly used among interventionists, but it handled with more care. I liked it. • Confrontation: We do not mean the client confronting the therapist, or vice versa. Thank you for your insights and skill. I believe it will be less daunting for me to start with a gentle confrontation and, as my skills develop, work my way up to a bombshell if, and when, appropriate. I have recommended this mini-workshop to several other therapists I also loved the feedback you offered to Ellen – suggesting it can be helpful to open a confrontational dialogue with … “the reason I am doing this is …..”- it seems to give the possibility of presenting the ‘event’ with an uplifting purpose and proposing that there can/will be positive outcomes embedded in what looks like difficulties. Hope that helps you a little bit. Helpfull to be aware of different tecniques for skillful communication. The Use of Confrontation in Addiction Treatment . I too would vote to not have the music playing in the background going forward. Instead of saying, "You didn't do what I told you to do, and you made me upset," try, "I feel frustrated when my directions aren't well received." Discuss appropriate ways to use Scripture in counseling. describes itself in this manner, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” 2, Timothy 3:16. This is a big shift from the dread I usually feel at the mere mention of word ‘confrontation’. It gives ways to do this as a response to the existing situation and communications at the moment. It is so helpful and as you say, it is absolutely necessary to learn to do in order to an effective couples therapist. Thank you for your information-rich presentation…. Confrontation Confrontation is a skill that can assist clients to increase their self-awareness. We can only approach the scripures as fallible human. Experience helps in learning to discern. Directive Counselling: There are three types of transference: Positive; Negative; Sexualized; While transference is typically a term for the mental health field, it can manifest in your daily life when your brain tries to comprehend a current experience by examining the present through the past and, to your detriment, limiting the input of new information. They allow people to work through their problems and lead a happier and healthier life. Confrontation is often used when the counsellor observes mixed messages or incongruities in the client’s words, behaviours, feelings or thoughts. Empathic Confrontation. The first step involves the identification of mixed or incongruent messages (expressed through the client’s words or non-verbals). I like the way you divided out the levels of congregation we can use to agitate our couples toward healthy growth. Adlerian therapy is a short-term, goal-oriented, and positive psychodynamic therapy based on the theories of Alfred Adler—a one-time colleague of Sigmund Freud. Ellyn is widely recognized as an expert in couples therapy, and since 2006 she has led innovative online training programs for therapists. I just watched your video on 6 types of confrontation. Find answers and explanations to over 1.2 million textbook exercises. The idea is to help the client explore their own conflict more deeply, with the goal being the formulation of a new idea or plan that will benefit the client. Reframing is a technique used in therapy to help create a different way of looking at a situation, person, or relationship by changing its meaning. The confrontation that should happen here is within the client. Types of Counseling 7. The self-confrontation method is a specific evaluation and intervention tool guided by the theory which focuses on the special attention to the individual's feelings and motivation with self-exploration. The educational part will be the same. This can help the counselor guide and direct their counseling accordingly. Ellyn, Thanks as always for sharing your expertise. Very clear explanation on confrontation and its types. Confrontation is one of the basic counseling interventions counselors use to promote the wellness of the client. So, as we begin our mini-workshop on confrontation, let’s define confrontation. I have participated in various trainings focused on couples therapy, but I have found her developmental framework and training to be exceptional.”   I’m in Scotland and trying to work out which session would be best, and if I have to do both of them? Many thanks, Ellyn, for this video and your very succinct description of the types of confrontation. I’d also love a bit more discussion between you and Pete on the testing phase of the sessions. Although I am not a Couples Therapist, The way you described the different types of Confrontation and the Confrontation Cycle is very interesting and helpful. Having tools to access what type of confrontation and when it would be most effective to utilize one of them gives me a frame so that I feel more of a sense of effacy. Thanks everyone-I love reading your reactions. I’m looking forward to attending your life session on Thursday. Excellent video. It really helps to be able to identify the different types. According to MacCluskie (2010), effective confrontation promotes insight and awareness, reduces resistance, increases congruence between the client’s goals and their behaviors, promotes open communication, and leads Types of Counselling: The following are the types of counseling: 1. William L. White, MA, and William R. Miller, PhD . I no longer have to question if it is helpful to do so. expect to get out of counseling. Thank you Ellyn (and everyone else who has commented) for the wonderful learning opportunity. The use of confrontational strategies in individual, group and family substance abuse counseling emerged through a confluence of cultural factors in There is no shame in taking counselling sessions as it only helps in the growth of an individual. I would like to echo Glynis’ comment about the background music. And I have two questions. I found the descriptions of the six types of confrontations clarifying. .I regret that at this Moment I am not working with any couples and hope to be soon. thank you. I appreciate your support in helping us in our skills as therapists. It is important to reflect on the intervention and to maintain a dialogue with the client about its accuracy, being open to clarification and corrections. I always learn lots, and the role playing helps. A counselor might confront a client who is chronically late to session or who repeatedly violates the counselor's boundaries. I appreciate you languaging the distinctions among the various styles of confrontation. Again thank you for providing this workshop. An effective technique for peaceful confrontation is using "I" phrases to talk about the situation. I appreciated getting the sense of a landscape of ways that confrontation can be worked – and experienced. Luckily, therapeutic confrontation can be incorporated into counseling strategy to identify behaviors or trends, talk through an issue, and bring about a realistic solution. As an executive coach I will definitely be able to apply these types of confrontation in my practice. Also referred to as cognitive reframing, it's a strategy therapists often use to help clients look at situations from a slightly different perspective. A major help lies in pointing out to this inner person these outer, learned behavior patterns. Confrontation is a skill that can assist clients to increase their self-awareness. sure that there is a comfortability involved with client. Pondering disarms the … Without fully understanding the nature of confrontation and ways of confrontation, the effectiveness of a therapist helping couples navigate difficult problems is greatly lessened. When I was growing up, if I had issues with my sister or my mother, my father sent me to my room  saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”. h 5 types of confrontation in counseling They consist of silence pondering, 3 out of 3 people found this document helpful, questioning, direct censure and not confronting. Very useful and practical information. I think it is important to confront when necessary and find it rather challenging to do so with male client (Asian). Indirect confrontation. This, of course, is not the goal of counseling. I found naming these types of confrontation immensely helpful. Going, to the scriptures for guidance, we must cultivate and maintain respect for the Bible as, God's authoritative revelation, and we should assume an attitude of humility regarding, our interpretation of Scripture. For example clients may explicitly express concerns about not making progress or complain about the treatment approach. h. 5 types of confrontation in counseling- They consist of: silence, pondering, questioning, direct censure and not confronting. . Dr.Charles Hershkowitz, Brussels, Belgium, presently in sunny Nice, France on vacation. As a therapist, it took concerted effort for me to learn how to be nice and make effective confrontations at the same time. Click for Day 2: Confrontation Transcript: Indecision after Infidelity, Click for Day 3: Confrontation Video: Challenging Hypocrisy, Click for Day 4: Confrontation Options: Financial Irresponsibility, Click for Day 5: Confrontation Transcript: Disrupting Hidden Symbiosis. I was relieved to hear you say that over time these types of confrontation become internalized and flow within us as therapists more fluidly. Confrontation in counseling is neither an Attack nor a chal­ lenge to fight it out.