Mistakes That Guarantee a Fight at the Next Family Dinner
Highlights conversational traps to avoid when navigating sensitive topics with extended family.
Solutions
What do I say when…
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What to Do When a Client Questions Your Competence or Methods
Provides therapists with strategies to respond non-defensively to direct challenges from a client.
Why You Feel More Invested in Your Client's Progress Than They Do
Examines the therapist's experience of frustration and potential burnout when a client seems unmotivated.
'I Was Just Joking!': What to Say When a Friend Downplays a Hurtful Comment
Offers clear and calm responses to shut down passive-aggressive humor at your expense.
'If You Don't Like It, You Can Leave': What to Say to Ultimatums in a Relationship
Deconstructs ultimatums as a conflict tactic and offers ways to respond that don't accept the premise.
From Theory to Feeling: Helping an Overly-Analytical Client Connect With Their Emotions
Presents therapeutic strategies for guiding a client who intellectualizes away from abstract analysis and toward felt experience.
How to 'Break Up' With a Friend Without Ghosting Them
Describes a kinder way to end a friendship that has run its course.
How to Give Feedback to a Colleague Who Is Also a Close Friend
Addresses the specific challenge of preserving the friendship while delivering necessary professional criticism.
How to Handle a Client Who Blames Everyone Else for Their Problems
Strategies for gently shifting a client's focus from external blame to internal agency.
How to Handle a Parent Who Doesn't Respect Your Parenting Rules
Offers strategies for setting and enforcing boundaries with grandparents who undermine your authority.
How to Handle the Customer Who Wants to Tell You Their Life Story, When There's a Long Line
Offers polite techniques to show empathy while gracefully ending the conversation and serving others.
How to Support a Grieving Friend When You're Afraid of Saying the Wrong Thing
Focuses on the power of presence and simple, supportive phrases over trying to find 'perfect' words.
Mistakes to Avoid When a Customer Threatens a Bad Online Review
Highlights what not to do when a customer uses the threat of a negative review as leverage.
My In-Laws Are Overstepping. How Do I Address It Without Upsetting My Partner?
Provides a strategy for getting on the same page with your partner before you talk to the in-laws.
What to Say to a Relative Who Posts Offensive Things on Social Media
Provides scripts for addressing problematic online behavior, whether publicly or in a private message.
What to Say When a Client Compares You to Their Previous (Perfect) Therapist
Provides language to use the comparison therapeutically, without becoming defensive.
What to Say When a Patient Refuses a Necessary Procedure Due to Fear
Provides a framework for acknowledging fear while clearly explaining medical risks and benefits.
When a Couple's Session Becomes a Battlefield: How to Mediate in Real Time
Gives therapists tools to interrupt destructive patterns and regain control of a high-conflict couples session.
Why It's So Draining When a Patient Rejects a Diagnosis They Don't Want to Hear
Explores the emotional fatigue of repeatedly presenting difficult facts to someone in a state of denial.
Why You and Your Partner Keep Having the Same Argument Over and Over
Reveals the underlying patterns and unmet needs that fuel recurring, circular fights.