Coping with conflict in the practice 1. Why are some people so difficult?

HOW do you cope 'when the fur flies' in your practice? Dealing with difficult people poses a challenging and often frustrating problem. Those involved may be clients, colleagues or employees and the event itself a one‐off or regular occurrence. In the first of a series of three articles on coping with conflict in the practice, Charlotte Dale focuses on deteriorating working relationships, exploring why some people may be 'difficult', and suggests ways in which a confrontational situation may be handled.