ABSTRACT
By setting the scene, we mean not plunging straight into therapy in order to ‘get the client better’ as quickly as possible but, instead, preparing the ground before the commencement of formal therapy. This involves welcoming the client in a courteous manner and engaging in a little chit-chat to break the ice (e.g. ‘How was your journey?’). Clients can be asked if there are any initial questions they want to ask before the therapist starts to elicit their reasons for seeking counselling at the present time (e.g. ‘I’ve had enough. I’ll do whatever it takes to sort my life out’, ‘I want to see what therapy can offer’, ‘I do want to move forward but it’s going to mean a lot of upheaval which I’m not sure about’, or ‘My wife’s putting pressure on me to seek help. I don’t think there’s a problem’). Such reasons can help the therapist to assess each client’s level of motivation to change (e.g., respectively, committed, curious, ambivalent and reluctant) and tailor the discussion to reflect it – for example, outlining a treatment plan for the committed, talking about the process and effectiveness of CT for the curious, looking at the pros and cons of change for the ambivalent, and examining whether a ‘non-problem’ (e.g. heavy alcohol use) might have some problematic features (e.g. deteriorating marital relationship) for the reluctant.
