Case Study: Grace

Grace is a 21-year-old African American female referred for crack cocaine dependency. The client has maintained that she has been crack-free for the past several months, but a recent urine screening indicates otherwise.

When the clinician asks the client about this discrepancy, she seemed bewildered. Grace became very agitated when the clinician indicated that she was being untruthful. At this point, the client crossed her arms and would not speak for the remainder of the session.

Task: Explain the strategy you would use for dealing with this client's resistance using the motivational interviewing approach.