Client Resistance in Counseling: Its Theoretical Rationale and Taxonomic Classification

Client resistance is a familiar and consequential phenomenon to professional counselors. This article reviews three theoretical models of resistance in counseling: anxiety control, noncompliance, and negative social influence. Twenty-two commonly observed client resistance behaviors are described in four separate categories. The four categories are (a) response quantity resistance, (b) response content resistance, (c) response style resistance, and (d) logistic management resistance. The list is an initial attempt to classify client resistance according to the verbal and behavioral attributes.