Difficult Conversations with Families
Driving Questions
- What are some of the reasons that conversations with families feel difficult?
- What are some of the reasons that professionals struggle with difficult conversations with families?
- What communication strategies have evidence of their effectiveness?
The scenarios that follow provide opportunities to explore these questions. As you read, we encourage you to explore your emotional responses to the stories. Beginning with your own responses, consider the questions above. This section will provide evidence-based strategies to preemptively avoid, and respond to, difficult conversations. Let’s begin.
Select one of the two scenarios below. If you work in school-based settings, we recommend choosing the first scenario. If you work in clinical settings, we recommend the second scenario.
