ABSTRACT
Those new to TA therapy are often of the impression that all TA therapists manage to obtain a fully formed, behavioural outcome-focused contract within the ®rst session. This is an enormous misconception that can lead trainee therapists to feel bad (because they aren't getting the clear contracts with their clients they think they `should' be getting). It is my view that pursuing a `hard contract' (Stewart, 1996) too early in the therapy is a common cause of clients terminating therapy after one or two sessions. Clients can feel `bullied' or coerced into a contract that is clumsily approached, or one which is introduced prematurely in the therapy. This can be particularly traumatic for clients who have been on the receiving end of bullying in the past. Contracting in too hard a manner can result in clients experiencing the therapist as at best misattuned, and at worst, as punitive. Such heavy-handed contracting can result in some clients taking either an oppositional or a compliant stance (functional Adapted Child) in relation to the contract ± neither of which allows space for an Adult±Adult contractual process.
