Elien Neimeijer

77 situation”. Well, that’s another thing. Better: I try to understand. But not: I understand, because you don’t understand!” (Charlie). “ Sociotherapists should notice when things are not going well, even if I do everything to put on my mask. It is not always easy to tell people everything when you don’t know them very well. I always take precaution first and then I talk to someone. (…) It is part of the knowledge of the sociotherapists that they know what someone needs (…) If I had talked earlier I could have prevented self-injury, that is not due to the sociotherapists because they couldn’t have seen it come” (Sophie). These quotations show that clients demonstrate internalizing and externalizing behaviour that has led to such a great risk or problem that 24-hour support and supervision is necessary. Participants expect sociotherapists to view their behaviour as a symptom of an underlying problem or need and that they are able to analyse and anticipate to this behaviour. Instead of responding to the externalizing behaviour of Charlie, the socio- therapist should pay attention to his underlying fear and uncertainty and anticipate to his need for affinity (see also Anglin, 2014). This is difficult because the observable be- haviour often deviates from the implicit and unspoken message and many clients try to mask their underlying problems (Charlie: “Back off means stay with me” ). Nevertheless, participants feel that sociotherapists should have the knowledge and skills to interpret their ambivalent signals properly because of their education and work experience. “Listen to you ... Don’t twist things and be open and honest. And they have to trust me, because otherwise it makes no sense... If people do not keep their promises, my confidence will drop again (..) the sociotherapists must keep their promises and I must be open and honest” (Jack). “The sociotherapists should ask more questions and assume less” (Thomas). “ The sociotherapist should be less often in the office, but be more involved with the group, such as a sociotherapist [who] comes to you on his own initiative [and has] a normal social conversation [with me]. If I just sit in my room all day, I don’t think they will come to my room. No, why is he sitting there in his room all day, is there something going on?” (James).