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Growth is rarely comfortable, and sometimes, the role of a Client Centred practitioner is to help people face what they would rather avoid. During the Client Centred programme, you explored how confrontation, when done with care, can be a powerful catalyst for change.
Confrontational Style is used to directly surface discrepancies, contradictions, or blind spots in a client’s narrative or behaviour. It assumes that, at times, growth demands facing uncomfortable truths that the client may prefer to avoid.
The theory draws on cognitive dissonance, which is the psychological tension that arises when beliefs and behaviours clash. Confrontation aims to create constructive dissonance that motivates reflection and action, rather than defensiveness.
Effective confrontation is:
- never aggressive;
- delivered with empathy and a firm, respectful tone
Techniques include:
- gentle hypothesis-testing (“I notice a difference between…”)
- holding up a mirror to inconsistencies.
Risks of confrontation include rupturing trust, triggering defensiveness, or being perceived as punitive. Success hinges on timing, relational depth, and the consultant’s ability to stay Client Centred — the confrontation must serve the client’s agenda, not the consultant’s frustration or bias.
Use Confrontational Style when the client is stuck in avoidance, rationalisation, or self-deception and when sufficient trust has been built through Acceptance and Catalytic interventions. Always be prepared to cycle back to Acceptance to support emotional processing afterwards.
If you enjoyed the Client Centred programme and are still finding it valuable, why not tell a friend or colleague about it? You can check when the next programme is available and help others experience the same development.
