How to build rapport with skeptical clients

1. Building Rapport
with Involuntary or Skeptical Clients

2. Why they are Involuntary or skeptical
 Our clients have been encouraged or ordered to attend
 the Placement Diversion Program/ Family Reunification
 Program and this makes them somewhat involuntary
 and sometimes skeptical.

3. Why they are involuntary of skeptical
 This type of client may be difficult to deal with in the
early stages of the relationship. Normally, they will be
skeptical or resentful about the program, and may not
acknowledge any need to participate.
 It is important for the treatment specialist to gain
rapport with the client. Then use that rapport to
establish trust. Once rapport and trust have been
established it is easier to move forward with a plan of
action.

4. Common strategies to gain respect and
have good engagement from the client
 Outline the process of the program: what is
required of them (what happens next or
over the next few months)
 Explain the structure of the relationship
with the treatment specialist (I am an
advocate and am here to help)
 Describe the expected positive outcomes
(remember they are evaluation us and they
totally know if we are genuine)

5. Common strategies to gain respect and
have good engagement from the client
 Establish the type of parenting style they have
(over order of operation over time frame)
 Distinguish between effective and ineffective
VS good and bad parenting (release them from
judgment here…this is huge)
 Solution-focused strategies are a good way to
create a sense of accountability and need for
change (what do they want to accomplish)

6. Rapport Strategies with the parent
 1. Listening first to the client‟s story
 2. Use (not too much) self-disclosure to
relate to the client's situation
 3. Creating goals and accountability in
order to encourage action from the client
 4. Providing transparency and positivity
through communication (communication
is key…ask them how they communicate
when they are angry and follow up with “is
that effective”)

7. Building rapport with the adolescent
 1. Establish rapport through genuine
interest and concern (it is a given that we
have a generation gap so just focus on being
genuine)
 2. Engaging in activities such as games (I
use worksheets too)
 3. Using self-disclosure (tell stories they
can relate to, i.e. DR. JOE)
 4. Role-playing (this is especially good to
use to teach them appropriate behavior
toward PO‟s, teachers, judges and anyone
in authority)

8. Summery
 Build rapport,
 Encouraging accountability
 Managing expectations and establishing well-planned goals
with the client.
 Both the parent and adolescent should be encouraged to
realize change can only occur from within (continually using
“catch them doing something right”)
 Be eclectic in your approach, role-playing, narrative therapy
(story telling), solution-focused (make a plan), cognative-
behavoral (change your thinking) (Match your approach to
your client)
 The goal is to empower and encourage the client show them
you believe in them and support the plan they create to get
the results they choose

9. Summery
 Sometimes uncommitted clients can be a challenging problem.
Normally, a client with little or no commitment has a specific
agenda, which justifies their attendance or reason for compliance
at a session (just get through it and get the kid off probation).
 Sometime we need to re-model the way the client perceives the
relationship: shifting from the „helping' mode to the collaborative
approach. When the client feels they are creating the goals and
structuring the plan they will be more motivated to go through the
necessary stages for change. Hopefully, seeing the reward as an
improved family structure and a youth who can follow the rules of
home school and community.

10. SUMMERY
Hopefully, the above strategies
assist with providing a firm
foundation to establish the client-
treatment specialist relationship.