The Withdrawn or Recalcitrant Client

Abstract

This chapter focuses on clients who present as withdrawn or recalcitrant. It is acknowledged that providing psychiatric/mental health (P/MH) nursing care to clients whom are difficult to engage with can be challenging. Understanding the nature and origin of resistance, it is argued, can help inform the individualised care offered; thus the chapter looks at the origins and background of different forms of resistance. Neurological, psychiatric, psychological and, importantly, trauma (and learned helplessness) as origins of resistance are discussed. Following this, the chapter explores how the withdrawn client might be helped or moved towards being motivated and ready for change. Possible useful and/effective interventions are discussed, and the chapter discusses the principles upon which such practice might be based. The chapter then concentrates on examining and discussing how P/MH nurses might respond to resistant and recalcitrant behaviour, such as build an alliance, be motivational, be ecological/solution focused, clarify and set meaningful goals and engage allies.

Keywords

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