The dialectical method as a way of delivering bad news

Delivering bad news (DBN) to a patient is an enormous challenge and a great mental burden for a doctor. Medical staff members often do not have sufficient skills in this field, or they develop their own techniques. At the same time, proper delivery of information minimises fear in patients and increases their therapeutic engagement and affects treatment results. Although they include protocols that are considered standard in difficult situations, their applicability is usually limited to the particular cultural model in which they were created. Is there any chance to find a relatively culturally stable method of DBN? It seems to be a particularly significant question if we realise the growing rate of social migrations that take place as a part of the globalisation processes. For this reason, we would like to perform and to emphasise the role of the dialectical model of delivering bad news. This method is based on both narrative psychology and the maieutic method, which gradually directs the patient’s awareness of the physical condition he or she is in. For a person who arrives at the truth this way, it is less overwhelming and less hurtful. Through this, our assumptions on the dialectical model of DBN may contribute to improving the quality of medical services and patient satisfaction.