1. V. DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGING FAMILY:
A. INTRODUCTION

2. OVERVIEW OF CONFLICTS IN NURSE-CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
In every relationship there are times when the participants experience negative feelings about a situation or about each other

3. GOALS FOR NURSE It is important for the nurse:
To develop an awareness of the dynamics associated with conflicts in nurse-client relationships
To develop the skills needed for successful resolution

4. CHALLENGE DURING EMOTIONALLY CHARGED ENCOUNTERS
In the midst of emotionally charged encounters it is a challenge for the nurse to listen and to respond creatively to intense emotion when the nurse’s first impulse is to withdraw and retaliate

5. TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS
In order to achieve success the nurse must have a high degree of:
Self-knowledge
Self-control
Empathy for what the client may be experiencing

6. NATURE OF CONFLICT
Conflict DEFINED: mental struggle, resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes or internal demands
All conflict have two things in common:
A concrete content issue
Presence of passionate feelings about the issue

7. TACTFUL GUIDELINES FOR PROVIDING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
T = Think before you speak
A = Apologize quickly if you’ve made a mistake
C = Converse, don’t be patronizing or sarcastic
T = Time your comments carefully
F= Focus on behavior/not on personality
U= Uncover hidden feelings
L = Listen for feedback
When you give negative feedback, allow time for the individual to express feelings and for problem solving to find ways to improve a situation. This is particularly important if the problem has been ignored long enough to become serious