Table Of ContentHealth Care Communication
Using Personality Type
The importance of effective communication in health care, both with
patients and with other professionals, has long been acknowledged.
However, most models assume that the people with whom we communicate
will react in the same way – what works for one person will be equally
good for another.
In Health Care Communication Using Personality Type, Judy Allen and
Susan A. Brock challenge this assumption. This ground-breaking book
draws upon research data and examples from everyday health care situations
to demonstrate that the behavior differences we all experience in others
actually fit within a readily understandable framework (based on the Myers-
Briggs Type Indicator®). Using this knowledge, health professionals can
learn to vary the way in which they approach patients and colleagues, to
break bad news more effectively and to encourage clients to follow clinical
advice.
Judy Allen MA RGN is a researcher and consultant working with the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in health care, with a special interest in
oncology and palliative care. Susan A. Brock Ph.D. is an organizational
consultant and licensed psychologist. She has researched, designed and
written programs based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, entitled
FLEX Selling®, FLEX Talk® and FLEX Care®.
Health Care Communication
Using Personality Type
Patients are different!
Judy Allen and Susan A. Brock
London and Philadelphia
First published 2000
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc.
325 Chestnut Street, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
© 2000 Judy Allen and Susan A. Brock
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Allen, Judy, 1947–
Health Care communication using personality type: patients are different!/Judy
Allen and Susan A. Brock.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–21373–8 (hb)—ISBN 0–415–21374–6 (pbk.)
1. Medical personnel and patient. 2. Patients—Psychology. 3. Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator. I. Brock, Susan A., 1947– II. Title.
R727.3.A44 2000
610.69´6—dc21 99–055354
ISBN 0–415–21373–8 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–21374–6 (pbk)
ISBN 0-203-13024-3 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-21928-7 (Glassbook Format)
Contents
List of illustrations vi
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Communication, health care and the
perspective of type: introducing the theory 1
2 Introducing FLEX Care 29
3 Seeing type preference in action: how can I
use this framework as I work in my setting? 48
4 Using a knowledge of psychological type
when breaking bad news 77
5 Adherence – encouraging patients to follow
clinical advice 100
6 Working together 110
7 Type – a tool for personal and professional
development 146
8 Creating committed action 181
9 Next steps 197
Appendix 204
Bibliography 207
Index 209
Illustrations
Tables
1.1 The Four-Part Framework 10
1.2 The Myers-Briggs type table 24
1.3 Characteristics frequently associated with each type 26
2.1 Effects of combinations of Perception and Judgment 34
2.2 The cognitive core 37
2.3 “To dos” for type modes in health care settings 46
3.1 Identifying behavior cues – what will I see? 51
7.1 Hierarchy of functions for each MBTI type 164
7.2 Behaviors typically expressed in “grip” situations 175
Figures
2.1 Type and the stages of creating commitment 31
8.1 The Möbius strip 182
8.2 The Mobius Model: creating committed action 183
Preface
We see this work as an opportunity to break new ground. In Health Care
Communication Using Personality Type we combine a well-researched and
respected framework for understanding normal differences in people with
the practical need for interacting success-fully with patients and others in
a health care setting.
Our backgrounds and interests dovetail in this practical collaboration.
Brock’s background is as an organizational psychologist, bringing applied
psychology and its tools to management and organizational development.
Her work over the past twenty-five years has focused on taking the
knowledge of psychology and applying it to how people can successfully
lead businesses, interact in teams, structure their organizations and teach
others. She has worked in corporate settings and in higher education,
including medical education, and has consulted internationally over the past
fifteen years. Introduced to type preference and the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator® in 1979, she developed applications of the framework to
practical influencing and sales. It was the training materials of FLEX Talk®
and FLEX Selling® and the booklet Using Type in Selling that drew Allen
to propose the current work.
Allen’s background of thirty years in public and private health care gives
her a well-rounded view of what practitioners face. In addition to early years
as a practitioner working in both hospitals and the community, she has
served as a nurse educator on a regional and national level. During that
time, she has developed a particular interest in working with those
professionals who provide specialist services in the fields of oncology and
palliative care. She has also worked extensively in medically-based
research. As a Myers-Briggs practitioner she has worked extensively in the
area of communication training and has published a number of relevant
papers reflecting this experience. Against this background, Allen recognized
that a major contribution could be made by applying the framework of type
viii Preface
preference, and Brock’s prior work in particular, to health care
communication. In addition to this book this recognition led to the
development of FLEX Care®. Over the last ten years, models of patient
listening and communication have proliferated. They have raised
consciousness about the importance and difficulty of communicating not
only with patients but also within the health care team. However, these
models appear to assume that all recipients are “the same” – what will work
for one person will work for another. As practitioners, we know that this
is not the case. Successful practitioners naturally vary their approach.
As health care continues to increase in complexity, patients gain in
sophistication and effective cross-discipline interaction becomes even more
demanding, a straightforward, reliable framework for understanding
differences with patients, families and co-workers is indispensable. This
book is written to answer that need.
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our thanks to:
The individuals who filled out the questionnaires and those who were
interviewed or involved in pilot FLEX Care® workshops.
We would also like to extend a special acknowledgement to Angela Nelson
for her assistance in translating from one computer system to another, her
complementary type perspective, and her support throughout the preparation
of the manuscript.
