Strategies for trying to understand patients’ emotions
| RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES | REASONS |
|---|---|
| Be calm and adopt a neutral stance | You will be in a more receptive mode |
| Avoid evaluating your patient’s behaviour | Your evaluation is not part of your patient’s viewpoint |
| Be aware that you always add something to or take something away from a patient’s message | No matter what you have understood, it is never precisely what your patient is thinking. Take such unintentional alterations into account by verifying your understanding with your patient |
| Try to have as much information as possible about your patient | What patients feel is connected with everything they are and with their past. The more you know about them, the better the chances that your construction of their emotions will come close to what they actually feel |