A community mental health agency

Luke, age 37 is an African American male who has been referred to a community mental health agency by his primary care physician after Luke reported he was depressed and angry that his wife left him for another man. Luke, has never received any mental health services and is not keen on attending any type of counseling, but is willing to “give it a try”. When Luke arrives for his intake session he realizes he has been assigned to Susan, a young, Caucasian female counselor and is not happy about this. Luke reluctantly enters the counseling room, sits down in the chair as far away from Susan as possible, stating, “There is no way you can possibly understand what is going on with me. You are too young and no white person will ‘get’ where I am coming from as a black man

Because of the nature of our work, it is not surprising to have obstacles to work through with our clients. The question is, how can you keep the client coming back until you help him or her work through their resistance and barriers. I have found that explaining that therapy is a process and that sometimes problems feel worse before they feel better helps. What might you add to this conversation and why do you think this strategy might work?