ABSTRACT
Establishing the rules and expectations of treatment is very important to give structure, clarify expectations and ‘set the scene’. Although this might sound quite authoritarian, the therapist’s confidence in the treatment approach will serve to instil hope, provide reassurance in the face of the patient’s fearfulness of change, and ensure that there is a high expectation of change (and that it is ultimately the child herself who is responsible for bringing about change). In general, it is important to start as you mean to go on – clear, confident and optimistic.
