In addition, they may have responsivity issues such as lack of motivation, mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, educational deficiencies, psychopathic personality features etc. The program design, although structured and goal oriented, is flexible enough to accommodate the heterogeneity of criminogenic needs and responsivity in this client group. Basic concern of VRP is to Change dynamic factors. While working in prison setting a therapist has to face following challenges:
1. Extremely difficult client group
2. Unwillingness
3. Lack of motivation
4. Lack of trust
5. Lack of rapport
6. No relationship skills/abilities

- Unwillingness: In forensic settings courts or other institutional pressures may require psychological treatment. Therapists typically have viewed unwillingness to enter treatment as a unitary concept, in which clients fall somewhere along a single dimension that ranges from highly willing and eager to highly unwilling to engage in treatment. Therapist tries to improve their willingness to participate in this healing process. Here again the concept of stages of change is important as client moves in the continuum of these stages. If the person is in pre-contemplation stage the therapist try to help him to move into contemplation, preparation and then into action and maintenance stage.
- Lack of motivation
- Clients often do not experience the problem for which they were referred as being a problem for them. They believe that the behavior that concerns others is quite reasonable and that the law has been unfair and punitive. An example is persons who use violence instrumentally to get what they want. Their violent behavior is not mediated by anger and is adaptive, in that it generally serves to get them what they want. The behavior may be normative in the environment in which they live (e.g., in prison) and within their subculture outside prison. Their problem is that they have been caught. Clients who become angry and then behave aggressively or violently may also enjoy their anger and the sense of energy and power that it gives them, and believe that it is a useful and legitimate way to manage their lives.
- Lack of trust: The therapeutic relationship in the forensic setting is typically not a dyad but a triad, involving the therapist, the client and criminal justice system or by the treating team. The goals of treatment may have been set by the court or releasing authorities rather than by the client and therapist is paid for services by court. Mistrust is found in clients as therapist is not working to help them rather working for the court.
Sometimes clients may fear that therapy will be controlling, and that the therapist will try to dominate them. As a consequence they often fight against what they perceive as an imposition on their freedom in a setting in which they have few other sources of self-efficacy and mastery than the maintenance of the private self.
- Lack of rapport
 Therapist has to work very extensively and hardly to build up a rapport with such clients.
- No relationship skills/abilities
 Another challenge is that such clients usually lack in relationship skills and abilities.
 To deal with all such challenges a therapist who enters or want to employ VRP must have clinical background with having grip over a wide range of psychotherapy.
 Therapist must have some experience of forensic setting along with sound experience in clinical training and experience.