1. Chapter 9
Skills of Confrontation:
Supporting while Challenging

2. Hierarchy of Skills Confrontation
The Five Stages of Interview Structure
Reflection of Feeling
Encouraging, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
Client Observation Skills
Open and Closed Questions
Attending Behavior
Ethics & Multicultural Competence

3. Knowledge & Skill in Confrontation
Identify incongruity, discrepancies, or mixed messages in behavior, thought, feelings, or meanings.
Increase client talk with a view toward resolution of conflict and discrepancies.
Identify client change processes occurring during the interview.

4. Helping Clients Move from Inaction to Action
Assume Clients are “Stuck” (Perls)
Immobility
Repeating thoughts or behavior that are not “working” (Glasser/Reality therapy)
Lack of understanding (Cognitive therapy)
Limited behavioral repertoire (Behavioral)
Limited life script (Narrative therapy)

5. Challenging Client in a Supportive Fashion
Involves listening to the client carefully and respectfully,
Then seeking to help the client examine self or situation more fully.
Seeking clarification as a supportive challenge, which seeks the resolution of difficulties.
Seeking a change which comes from the client.

6. Process of confrontation
Step 1: Identify the conflict; note mixed messages, and incongruity.
Step 2: Point out issues of incongruity and work to resolve them.
Step 3: Evaluate the change.

7. Identifying Discrepancies
Discrepancies to the self
Saying one thing and doing another.
Using two concepts that are not logical together.
Discrepancies between client and the external world.
Discrepancies between you and the client.
Specific strengths.
Identify strengths that can help you resolve internal and external differences.

8. Discrepancies Generalities like “always” and “never” and “everybody”
Cognitive Distortions:
Always needing to be “right,” or that everyone must agree with you.
“Black” or “white” thinking, all or nothing….
The myth of “Heaven’s Reward”

9. Step 2: Point out issues of incongruity and work to resolve them.
I’m confused…(eliciting client’s help with your confusion)
On one hand, I hear you saying….
And on the other hand, I hear you saying….
Could you help me understand how those two thoughts go together?

10. Evaluating the Change (The Confrontation Impact Scale)
1. Denial
2. Partial examination
3. Acceptance and recognition
4. Generation of a new solution
5. Development of new, larger, and more inclusive constructs, patterns, behavior – transcendence.

11. Practice Confronting Carefully