Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility
Published on: May 30, 2025
Difficult conversations: anger in the clinician-patient/family relationship
1Department of Medicine, Mount Auburn Hospital, 300 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Abstract:
Anger is a "syndrome" of thoughts, feelings and physiologic reactions. Behavioral responses to anger are influenced by multiple contextual factors. Patients and family members may express anger in response to their own experiences of illness, the healthcare system, or the physician-patient/family relationship. Anger may evoke a variety of clinician responses that while understandable, inadvertently escalate patient and family anger. Clinicians who cultivate personal awareness, practice mindful self-monitoring during their interactions, explore the differential diagnosis of anger, demonstrate specific communication skills, set clear boundaries and seek personal support can overcome the challenges of these difficult conversations, and begin to restore trust in the physician-patient/ family relationship.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethical Dilemmas II
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Family Therapy
Strategic Family Therapy
Strategic family therapy emphasizes resolving communication barriers and improving problem-solving abilities...
Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
