Clients' and therapist's joint construction of the clients' problems

Then I proposed another construct, building further on the notion of complementarity. I did this by describing/transforming what they (the clients) defined as a conflict into a mechanism that served to balance their relationship. This description not only legitimized each of their personal styles; it also defined the reaction of each to the other's style as only natural . . . By means of these rather practical recommendations, I reinforced my proposal of an alternative description of their predicament [italics added].