„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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CONTRACTING: A PROCESS AND A TOOL
Francis L. Ulschak
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on
where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where—so long as I get somewhere,”
Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long
enough.”
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Contracting may be used by a facilitator (therapist, consultant, leader, and so on) to
accomplish certain goals:
1. To clarify and define the relationship between the facilitator and the client (the
person or organization seeking the facilitator’s services); and/or
2. To clarify with a client where the client is presently, where he or she would like
to be (goals and objectives), and alternative ways (strategies) for getting there.
In the first case, contracting is used as a process to explore and define the
relationship between the facilitator and the client. The client’s wants and needs for
services are detailed along with the range of services that the facilitator is willing and
able to provide. This period is a time of deciding (1) what the various parties involved
want from each other, (2) whether they have the ability and resources to provide what is
wanted from the relationship, and (3) whether they are willing to enter into the
relationship.
In the second case, contracting is a specific tool that the facilitator can use with a
client to assist the client in evaluating the present situation (A), the desired position (B),
and how to get to the desired position. Holloway and Holloway’s (1973) contracting
model depicts the client’s present and desired positions and the decision that the client
needs to make in order to move from one to the other. The “decision” can be seen as the
choice of a strategy (strategies) that will accomplish the movement from A to B.
The facilitator can understand contracting both as a process and as a framework that
may be used (1) to establish a relationship with the client and to set mutual goals and
objectives and (2) as a specific technique to involve the client actively in detailing A and
B and the possible strategies for moving from A to B. This latter use encourages the
client to take active responsibility for his or her present condition and future state.
Originally published in The 1978 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators by J. William Pfeiffer and John E. Jones (Eds.), San Diego,
CA: Pfeiffer & Company. The author wishes to give a special note of thanks to Roland Weiss for his critique of an earlier draft of his paper.
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer