Having difficult conversations: How psychological flexibility can help
Skills and strategies to successfully have difficult conversations
Learn how psychological flexibility and ACT skills and strategies can help you when the need to have difficult conversations arises.
Because we are (mostly!) decent people, dealing with difficult conversations can make us uncomfortable, embarrassed, angry, anxious or overwhelmingly sad, and those feelings can get in the way of us handling these essential conversations well. We can also get distracted by troublesome thoughts & memories, our own inner critic and the worst case is that we avoid these situations altogether, sometimes with disastrous results. For many of us, these are some of the most challenging moments in our work. And while training in conflict resolution, management or communication skills may offer useful specific techniques, there is one common factor that applies across all of them that might make a bigger difference: ourselves.
About this workshop
As health and social care professionals we often have to participate in really difficult conversations with people:
- Breaking very bad news
- Dealing with angry people
- Explaining that someone -maybe you – has made a mistake
- Challenging a colleague about unacceptable behaviour
- Raising a performance issue with a junior member of staff
The psychological flexibility model (the basis of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is an evidence-based approach that can help us to stay focussed on what matters to us in having these difficult conversations, stay ‘in the moment’ rather than getting distracted by difficult thoughts and feelings and so handle these tricky situations the best we can.
What you will learn
This 2 hour workshop will cover:
- What the psychological flexibility model is, and why it applies in this situation
- What matters most to you as a professional having difficult conversations
- How we get ‘hooked’ by difficult thoughts and feelings, and how to unhook from them
- A simple procedure to make sure you arrive at the start of a difficult conversation in the best state to handle it well.
We’ll be looking at information and understanding, at practical skills and using some experiential exercises. These exercises will bring you into contact with strong emotions and thoughts about difficult conversations you have had in the past: please be aware of this in deciding whether to participate.
Who is this workshop for?
This session is aimed at therapists, practitioners and any professional who needs help to arrive at, and conduct, difficult conversations.
If you have disability and require adjustments or accommodation, please email us at admin@contextualconsulting.co.uk to discuss your needs and we will do our best to help you.
In this 2 hour workshop, you will learn:
- What the Psychological Flexibility model is, and why it applies in this situation
- What matters most to you as a professional having difficult conversations
- How we get ‘hooked’ by difficult thoughts and feelings, and how to unhook from them
- A simple procedure to make sure you arrive at the start of a difficult conversation in the best state to handle it well.
Contextual Consulting is committed to the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest in the planning, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of continuing education. Potential conflicts of interest occur when an individual assumes a professional role in the planning, promotion, delivery, or evaluation of continuing education where personal, professional, legal, financial, or other interests could reasonably be expected to impair their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.
There was no commercial support for this event. None of the planners or presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
APA psychologists: This program is sponsored by Contextual Consulting and is approved for 2 CE credits for psychologists.
Nationally certified counselors: This workshop is available for 2 credit hours. Contextual Consulting Ltd. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7578.
To find out more, including attendance requirements and how to access your certificate, go to our continuing education information page.