Working with Reluctant, Resistant, and Culturally Different Clients
Imagine yourself in the role of a professional helper. In your mind, what type of service does the imagined organization you are working for provide?
In this activity, you will create a scenario where you are the helper working with a client who is resistant, reluctant, or culturally different.
Your story can be based on a real-life experience of your own or someone you know, or it can come from your imagination.
Imagine the special issues that challenged the Case Manager when a client was reluctant, resistant, or culturally different. One particularly difficult client arrived feeling bitter and frustrated. He had lost his job, a middle-management position in a company that he had worked for since he graduated from high school. He was 57 years old—too young to retire. He had a wife and two children in high school who were hoping to attend college in a couple years. He was feeling a sense of desperation—how was he going to take care of his family? He needed a job, and he needed one “right now.” And yet, he was reluctant to take the necessary steps to prepare himself for re-employment because he had no confidence in his ability to be successful in another job—especially if it meant having to find and prepare for a different kind of work.
Use this Discussion to complete the activity regarding the challenges of working with clients who are reluctant, resistant, or culturally different.
Think about the grant-funded program in the Bureau of Aging as you create your own scenario (in any type of agency or circumstance) with a client who is reluctant, resistant, or culturally different.
What problem or problems-in-living has your client presented to you?
Explain how you will use the stages of the helping process to connect with your client and try to move him/her forward.
Identify the special issues you must consider as you work with your client who is reluctant, resistant, or culturally different.
Identify three (or more) skills and strategies you will use to gain trust and cooperation with your client who is resistant, reluctant, or culturally different.
