In Therapy With Difficult Clients, Fred J. Hanna offers an innovative approach to working with clients who simply do not seem to change. Therapeutic change, in his view, hinges on the presence of seven "precursors" of change: hope, awareness, a sense of the necessity of change, the willingness to experience anxiety or difficulty, confronting issues, the exertion of will or effort, and the presence of social support. The presence of these precursors bodes well for a client no matter what the therapist's theoretical orientation. Their absence creates roadblocks to therapeutic change no matter how skilled the therapist, how potent the theory, or how close the relationship.In this practical guide, Hanna offers a tool for assessing the readiness for change in clients and in therapists. He offers an abundance of strategies, examples, and insights for therapists who face seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the therapeutic relationship.