Ideas for Enabling Involuntary Clients to Engage Voluntarily in Therapy

Abstract

This article presents a set of ideas for how to work with persons who have not come to therapy of their own accord but have been pressured or compelled to do so. The ideas are designed to enable these individuals to become voluntary clients, that is, to get to a place where they can voluntarily commit themselves to work in collaborative alliance with us on their problems. In part one of the article, some common views of their coerced situation held by many involuntary clients are described, as well as the reasons that these views make them reluctant to participate in therapy. In part two, several broad recommendations for engaging these individuals are offered that transcend every aspect of our work with them. In part three, a set of more specific, narrowly defined recommendations are presented.