Premium
Bearing bad news: Dealing with the mimics of denial
Author(s) -
Lubinsky Mark S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1007/bf01414602
Subject(s) - denial , dismissal , variety (cybernetics) , psychology , social psychology , deferral , internet privacy , medicine , psychotherapist , political science , business , computer science , law , artificial intelligence , accounting
Abstract Denial is a common label for certain reactions to bad news. However, true denial is rare, and most cases actually represent a variety of responses with very different causes and needs. Three of these, disbelief, deferral, and dismissal, are characterized according to origins and needs. Failure to differentiate between these seemingly similar behaviors can result in inappropriate counseling, and interfere with attempts to convey information and provide support during a time of crisis.