How Clinicians Can Reduce "Bullied Acquiescence"

Clinicians and patients and their families may disagree about a course of treatment, and the ensuing conflict may seem intractable. The parties may request mediation, or use mediation-based approaches, to help resolve the conflict. In the process of mediation, and at other times, parties in conflict may feel so pressured to accept a resolution that they acquiesce unwillingly--and such resolutions often unravel. In this article I investigate how "bullied acquiescence" might happen, and how to avoid it.