As a career counselor, you may encounter clients who resist your sessions, either by being passive, defensive, or hostile. This can be frustrating and challenging, but it doesn't mean you have to give up on them. In this article, you will learn some strategies to deal with client resistance and help them overcome their barriers to career development.
The first step is to understand why your clients are resisting your career counseling sessions. Resistance can stem from various factors, such as fear of change, lack of motivation, low self-esteem, unrealistic expectations, or negative emotions. By identifying the sources of resistance, you can tailor your interventions to address them and build rapport with your clients.
Often analysis paralysis can be a factor, in which case you can focus on just the next step, and leave the larger questions for later. What decisions do they need to make about their career right now?
Every choice we make has a cost/reward ratio. People are willing to make changes when the cost of status quo becomes unbearable(painful) or the reward is so attractive that it becomes worth the risk. Resistance is based on multiple psychological factors, these can include but not limited to the following; catastrophic thinking about making the wrong choice, habituation and familiarity with status quo as uncomfortable but bearable, lack of readiness to commit to the change, etc. I have always encouraged my clients to look at the cost/reward ratio given their risk tolerance levels, and a clarity on what loss will they grieve the most if they make the change. We use While/However cognitive coping strategies to help gain perspective.
This is a great step because it let's you figure out if you might or might not be the counselor for this client, and that is ok. We want to help but if you and your client aren't jelling together, dont wasn't your or their time.
I often practice cognitive behavioral therapy to identify an individual's self-perception and how it influences their behavior. This practice can help career coaching dissect the negative attitudes and behaviors that inhibit an individual's professional development. Discovering these hindrances allows for the devising of personal conclusions and solutions. CBC is time-limited, solution-focused, and present-based. The client aims to develop growth skills derived from logical, pragmatic, and evidence-based information. Two techniques include cost-benefit analysis and contingency planning.
Cada mentorado tem o seu tempo para colocar em prática os ensinamentos. O importante é se certificar que o que foi abordado fará diferen?a na sua trajetória. Alguns far?o imediatamente outros ter?o mais dificuldade, cabe ao mentor identificar e dar apoio e principalmente manter uma rela??o de confian?a mutua.
One of the most effective ways to reduce client resistance is to use empathy and validation. Empathy means putting yourself in your client's shoes and showing that you understand their feelings and perspectives. Validation means acknowledging and accepting your client's emotions and experiences, without judging or criticizing them. By using empathy and validation, you can create a safe and supportive environment for your client, where they feel heard and respected.
Empathy is probably the most important skill to have. Empathy builds trust. Trust allows someone to open up. If they open up, now we can access what is really driving them and how ww can best assits them.
Uma dica prática para aplicar a empatia no processo de mentoria é praticar a escuta ativa! Isso significa prestar aten??o genuína ao que a pessoa está dizendo, sem interrompê-lo, e demonstrar interesse pelas suas preocupa??es e ideias. Ao fazer isso, você mostra empatia e valida as emo??es dessa pessoa, construindo assim um relacionamento mais forte e confiável.
Empathy is super important especially if the client discloses something that stopping them currently. For example going through a divorce or death in the family. I have had clients who have been resistance because of circumstances. This is ok because it allows to not only build on rappore and trust but also to allow them to see that your focus will be on supporting them when they are ready.
Resistance is always an emergence of something deeper. Giving the person time, space and guidance to "understand" the existing resistance is key. Remember that only the person has the answers to her/his own resistances, given that only they have the response-ability or the ability to respond to the situation. Coaches are enablers and facilitators to the ability to respond, to act, to move forward in reaching their goals. In that sense, coaches work alongside people, with people, not doing the work for them, or putting some kind of obligation to do something.
Verdade. Por se tratar de uma tarefa cansativa ao mesmo tempo, é prazerosa .Se dedicar ao próximo com seu conhecimento, habilidade e o mais gratificante é o reconhecimento do seu trabalho. Isso n?o tem pre?o
Another way to deal with client resistance is to challenge and reframe their beliefs and assumptions. Challenge means asking questions that help your client examine their thoughts and behaviors, and how they affect their career goals. Reframe means offering alternative ways of looking at their situation, and highlighting their strengths and opportunities. By challenging and reframing, you can help your client gain new insights and perspectives, and foster a growth mindset.
This step requires emotional intelligence because you have to know HOW to challenge them. Too aggressive and you push them away, to passive and you set them up for failure.
Systems theory coaching (STC) helps reframe the resistance. STC is based on metaphysics and focuses on the whole process instead of individual parts. STC is focused on the individual, interpersonal and macrosystemic factors over time. It helps the student to see the complexity and contributing factors holistically. The ability to recognize reciprocity within systems is critical to analyzing complex problems. Techniques to assist in career coaching include reductionism and symbolic activity. Both of these activities help to challenge and reframe the situation.
I have spent many years counseling young adults through their "student to employee" transition. When a student is resistant to that change, I ask what their career goals are and why. Based on the answer, I highlight what students already have/can do (their interests, strengths, connections) and also offer alternative opportunities for reaching a career goal.
Com certeza. Explorar bem este cliente para entender o que ele está buscando. Dar alternativas de mudan?a também contribui para a forma??o profissional ou transcisao
A third way to cope with client resistance is to collaborate and empower them. Collaborate means working with your client as a partner, rather than as an expert or authority. Empower means helping your client discover and use their own resources and potential, rather than telling them what to do or giving them advice. By collaborating and empowering, you can increase your client's involvement and ownership of their career development process, and enhance their self-efficacy and confidence.
Empowerment is really the key. Sometimes a client appears "resistant" because they lack a sense of agency, especially when they feel frustrated about the uncertainties and setbacks most people experience at some point along their career development journey. Skillfully asking open-ended, compassionately-worded questions to explore a client's experience and perspective will help them to open up about what's going on for them and what kind of support they need from you, the career counselor. Digging into the "why" behind their frustration, and the "why" behind what they are looking for professionally, will strengthen the foundations of your coaching relationship and the client's own drive to progress in their journey.
You should always be working with your client aa your partner. How else are going to have them open up to you? This is a relationship and a relationship is based in the ability to be open any honest. This doesn't happen if there is no communication and doesn't happen of the power dynamic isn't balanced. They have the lock and you have the key, one without the other is useless.
A final way to handle client resistance is to adapt and adjust your approach and style. Adapt means being flexible and responsive to your client's needs and preferences, and using different techniques and methods that suit them. Adjust means being aware and respectful of your client's cultural and individual differences, and modifying your communication and interventions accordingly. By adapting and adjusting, you can improve your rapport and trust with your client, and avoid potential conflicts or misunderstandings.
Coaches should be wary of prescribing a specific path to follow without first checking whether that path is accessible to the coachee. I saw this firsthand when I was a new coach shadowing a more experienced mentor. He rattled off a list of things the coachee should do, but when I met with the coachee again a few months later, I learned that they had never followed through on any of the suggestions. It turned out that there were hidden mental obstacles that were preventing them from taking action, such as fear of failure or lack of confidence. The most important thing is to create a safe and supportive environment. When they feel heard and understood, they will be more likely work with you to find solutions.
In addition to coaches being wary, it’s important to allow the client to drive the agenda. What do l mean by this? What l mean is to let the client come up with their own strategies to help them achieve their desired outcome. The coach should ask powerful questions that will help the client think through while coming up with the very answers they need. And while asking these powerful questions, the coach should dance in the moment and be present for the client to be just be themselves.
In the many years I've spent counseling young adults through their "student to employee" transition, I've found the best approach for dealing with students' resistance to counseling is adapt my methods (including communication) to improve the rapport/trust with the students while focusing on the students' career preferences or goals so students can feel both heard and understood.
Escuta ativa. Sempre escutar o que ele está buscando, quais s?o suas limita??es e sugerir melhorias s?o fundamentais para esse processo ser eficaz
Career counseling and career coaching are often conflated. When counseling, you dive deeper into topics to discover underlying issues preventing the client from acting. Coaching differs from counseling in that it is not solely reflective with the main focus of moving clients forward in obtaining their goals. It is essential to know when you need to dive deeper through counseling or if the situation requires coaching.
Don't force them - if they're not ready for the conversation then that's ok, there might be something else they need to work through first. Give them time and space and room to come back when they are ready
The coach can also be a listening ear. This competency is magic. When a coach listens they are able to see how the client is sharing their story, they are also able to see what lights them up, the energy shifts. Therefore, to coach effectively, coaches must be present in the moment.
If a client resists, that is invaluable data! Immediately get to understanding what the underlying story is. What else is going on? People are different, and what works for Bob may not work for Alice. You need to experiment and try different things until you find a solution that works for the individual client. For example, some clients may respond well to praise and encouragement, while others may need more direct and honest feedback. Some clients may enjoy jokes and humor, while others may find them inappropriate or distracting. The key is to tailor your coaching style to the client's personality, preferences, goals and needs. That way, you can help them achieve their full potential and have fun along the way.
Showing consideration and understanding is key. Some clients know they need support but several factors need more attention in their life at that time. Like financial stability, mental health or general illness. Creating time and space for them to come up and gentle follow up can also remind them that you can support them when they want more sessions.