Feeling stuck. Some useful questions for a diabetes team?

Abstract

Abstract A psychotherapist, meeting regularly with a diabetes care team, helped them to devise a series of questions about feelings, control, and problems with diabetes. These questions were used when the team felt ‘stuck’ with patients or when reviewing their diabetes management. The questions were ones frequently used by counsellors and were adapted for use in a diabetes clinic. The team found that the use of the questions enlarged their clinical repertoire, increased their empathy with their patients, and at times yielded surprising information. The questions allowed for exploration of highly charged emotional issues in a neutral manner. They at times ascertained how knowledge of diabetes was actually put into practice by revealing hidden behaviours. Occasionally unforseen answers posed difficulties for the team and left them feeling out of their depth, and strategies needed to be devised to cope with such important contingencies.