In forensic psychiatric treatment aimed at crime prevention, the first strike counts double.
This means that the client has to be committed to the therapeutic task as soon as possible. In order to accomplish that, the therapist has to become relevant to the client. Therefore, he needs a vast repertory of intervention techniques. However, at the base lies a client-centered approach with, besides classic attitudes as empathy, respect and genuineness, the ability of a respectful confrontation and a respectful limitation of the client's destructive behavior.
This will be illustrated by means of a couple of vignettes.
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.