case study confrontation

The Skill of Challenge

The skill of challenge in counselling.

Challenge in counselling is the skill of highlighting incongruence and conflicts in the client’s process.

By the therapist gently confronting or challenging the client, it can open opportunity for therapeutic exploration.

Challenge should be offered thoughtfully , and not in a way which is likely to be perceived as judgmental or reprimanding.

How to Challenge Clients

We may wish to use challenge as an intervention for a number or reasons. These could include:

a. Highlighting inconsistencies in the client’s process

A client may have conflicting desires or feelings which are causing them discomfort at an unconscious level .

Noticing and verbalising conflicts in the client’s narrative can bring these conflicting elements of self into awareness , so they can be heard, explored, and potentially resolved as they are reflected upon in therapy and beyond.

b. Issues in the therapeutic relationship

A client may communicate with their therapist, not only through therapeutic conversations, but perhaps through their behaviour in the relationship too.

If a client is persistently late, for example, the therapist may want to raise this in the form of a gentle challenge.

The purpose of this intervention is not to scold the client, but rather to put words to what is happening in the relational dynamic, so that therapist and client can together explore whether there is deeper meaning to the behaviour which might relevant to the work.

c. An ethical concern

Occasionally, the client may say something which raises an ethical concern for the therapist.

Depending on the situation, the therapist may wish to challenge the client on the material they are discussing.

This must be done with care , and in line with the therapeutic contract, organisational policies and procedures, and the law.

Examples of When Challenge May Be Appropriate

• A client who is consistently late or regularly does not attend
• A client who appears to be under the influence of substances
• A client who does not wish to engage with therapy
• A client who is a danger to themselves or others
• A client who behaves in a way which seems incongruent with how they say they are thinking and feeling
• A client who needs a different form of support

The Relationship between Challenge and Support

For challenge to be effective, both support and challenge must be clearly offered by the therapist.

A high level of challenge with low support is likely to be received as hostile and scary, and the client is likely to withdraw.

A high level of support with low challenge can, for some clients, become too comfortable, and the work of therapy can stagnate.

A high level of challenge alongside a high level of support is most likely to offer the necessary level of safety and insight for growth and development.

Challenging Skills

• Should have a clear therapeutic purpose – not challenge for the sake of it.
• Should take place within an established therapeutic relationship. It is important that the therapist knows their client and has an idea of how they might respond to challenge.
• It is important that challenge is offered in an encouraging and nonjudgmental way, and that the therapist is empathic, acknowledging that seeking therapeutic change is likely to be difficult for the client.
• It is important to check in with the client and ensure they are happy for challenge to take place. It should not be imposed upon them.

"Challenge should be offered thoughtfully, and not in a way which is likely to be perceived as judgmental or reprimanding."

Empathic Confrontation

• Any challenge needs to be delivered thoughtfully and accurately. It is important to reflect on the intervention and to maintain a dialogue with the client about its accuracy, being open to clarification and corrections.
• Again, empathy, non-judgement and encouragement are vital ingredients needed to offer challenge in a supportive way.
• It is important to look at client movement from the client’s frame of reference – a small shift in the work may feel like a huge leap from the perspective of the client.

Challenge in Different Counselling Modalities

The use of challenge is likely to look different depending on the modality of the therapist.

In Behavioural Therapies

In behavioural therapies such as CBT , cognitive distortions are likely to be highlighted by the therapist.

The therapist may take a lead in looking at ways for the client to adapt their thought processes. This is among the more therapist-led forms of challenge.

In Transactional Analysis

A transactional analyst may highlight the client’s interactions in the relationship using the Parent-Adult-Child model, so that the client can identify where their ego state may be contributing to difficulties in their relationships, and to strengthen the adult ego state.

This form of challenge is psycho-educational and helps the client to identify and change the way they interact with others.

In Person-Centred Therapy

A challenge in Person Centred Therapy is likely to be more indirect, and to focus on highlighting incongruence in the client’s process.

This may help the client to identify where their conditions of worth or introjected values are in conflict with their authentic self, and make sense of their internal conflicts.

In person-centred therapy, challenge is offered tentatively, and is a non-directive intervention.

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When to Use Challenge in the Counselling Relationship

Challenging in person-centred counselling

Sometimes clients can send us mixed messages, which need a non- judgmental approach to clarify. Ivey et al. ( 2013) remind us that challenge is a form of confrontation, which requires thoughtfulness and consideration on behalf of the counsellor. If used correctly, the use of challenge allows both the client and the counsellor to talk in more detail, enhancing the therapeutic reationship.

One of the authors reminds us that-

"Confrontation is not a direct, harsh challenge. Think of it, rather, as a more gentle skill that involves listening to the client carefully and respectfully; and, then, seeking to help the client examine self or situation more fully. Confrontation is not "going against" the client; it is "going with" the client, seeking clarification and the possibility of a creative "New", which enables resolution of difficulties."

Ivey, A., Ivey, M. and Zalaquett, C. (2013). Intentional Interviewing and Counseling. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, p.241.

This article was written for Counselling Tutor by Erin Stevens.

Updated 2019 

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How to Navigate Conflict with a Coworker

Seven strategies to help you make progress with even the most difficult people

Interpersonal conflicts are common in the workplace, and it’s easy to get caught up in them. But that can lead to reduced creativity, slower and worse decision-making, and even fatal mistakes. So how can we return to our best selves? Having studied conflict management and resolution over the past several years, the author outlines seven principles to help you work more effectively with difficult colleagues: (1) Understand that your perspective is not the only one possible. (2) Be aware of and question any unconscious biases you may be harboring. (3) View the conflict not as me-versus-them but as a problem to be jointly solved. (4) Understand what outcome you’re aiming for. (5) Be very judicious in discussing the issue with others. (6) Experiment with behavior change to find out what will improve the situation. (7) Make sure to stay curious about the other person and how you can more effectively work together.

Early in my career I took a job reporting to someone who had a reputation for being difficult. I’ll call her Elise. Plenty of people warned me that she would be hard to work with, but I thought I could handle it. I prided myself on being able to get along with anyone. I didn’t let people get under my skin. I could see the best in everyone.

• Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work podcast , and the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict . She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and follow her on LinkedIn . amyegallo

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Counselling Microskills: Confrontation

Generally speaking the term confrontation means challenging another person over a discrepancy or disagreement. However, confrontation as a counselling skill is an attempt by the counsellor to gently bring about awareness in the client of something that they may have overlooked or avoided.

There are three steps to confrontation in counselling. The first step involves the identification of mixed or incongruent messages (expressed through the client’s words or non-verbals). The second step requires the counsellor to bring about awareness of these incongruities and assist the client to work through these. Finally, step three involves evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention evidenced by the client’s change and growth.

During the counselling process there are four (4) discrepancies which the client could display. The discrepancy can be between:

• Thoughts and feelings
• Thoughts and actions
• Feelings and actions or
• A combination of thoughts, feelings and actions.

Having identified a discrepancy, the counsellor highlights this to the client, using a confrontation statements.

Confrontation is a skill that can assist clients to increase their self-awareness. It can be used to highlight discrepancies that clients have previously been unaware of.

When is it Used?

Confrontation is often used when the counsellor observes mixed messages or incongruities in the client’s words, behaviours, feelings or thoughts. Confrontation should only be used after rapport has been developed between client and counsellor.

“You say you would like to do further study but you haven’t contacted the training institution.”

“Your words say you would like to spend more time with your sister, but your actions say that it’s not a priority for you.”

• November 10, 2009
• Communication , Confrontation , Counselling , Microskills
• Counselling Theory & Process

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I need to know what challenges do counsellor experience as they are providing counselling top a client

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The Case for Confrontation

Occasionally, a confrontation and refusal to back down is what's required..

Posted July 17, 2016

Irrelevant details about the client are changed to preserve anonymity.

Today, a client whom I'll call Mary, was late yet again for her appointment. In the past, I had gently asked if she wanted to discuss her tardiness and other unkept commitments, especially since she had mentioned that others had chastised her about it. She always declined and I let it go.

But today, she, a CPA, told me yet again that she felt she was getting treated unfairly by coworkers, bosses, and clients. This time, I made a conscious choice to be direct: "Mary, is it possible that people's unfair treatment of you is at least partly in response to your not keeping commitments, for example, often being late?"

She said no and went on to explain the most recent incident: "It was 7 PM, I was still in the office with my intern, and a coworker phoned me. I told her I'd call her back in ten minutes. Unfortunately, the talk with the intern took an hour and it was important So it wasn't until the next day that I called her back."

I said, "Why didn't you, after ten minutes, call her back and say the meeting was going to take longer, that it was important, that you're sorry, and ask whether could you call her back after the call or tomorrow?

Mary replied, "Because I knew her call wasn't an emergency. It wasn't even about work. She and I are sort of friends. So if the shoes were reversed and she didn't call me back until the next day, I'd understand."

If this had been a one-time thing and if Mary hadn't said her time issues hadn't often gotten her in trouble, I might, at that point, have let it drop, figuring I'd planted a seed and that maybe she'll be more careful in the future.

But I made a judgment call that that wouldn't be sufficient, that she had developed a mental schema that justified her chronically being late, not fulfilling commitments, etc. So I pressed on:

"Mary, just because you'd understand if someone broke their promise to call you in ten minutes, doesn't mean that most other people would. Often, they're waiting by the phone for you, maybe even rehearsing what they want to say. If you were an unskilled laborer, people might understand. But you're a partner in a major CPA firm. People may tell you that y our breaking your promise is okay but inside, it registers as a data point toward thinking they can't count on you to keep a commitment and that you don't care enough about them to do so. Of course, if it's a one-time thing, it's no big deal but if it's chronic, that spells trouble. If you were otherwise highly respected and liked at work, you would have built up a reservoir of good will so, as with Bill Clinton, people excuse his chronic tardiness. But by your own admission, you're only an average performer and you're high-maintenance. So when you're late or don't call back or don't produce work when you said you would, you're going to pay a price. So when you complain, as you often have to me, that it was unfair that your boss didn't give you the bonus you were hoping for, or it was unfair that the client fired you for some small error, you're right—The error you made on that tax return wasn't such a big deal but on top of your frequent not keeping commitments, you pay a bigger price than if someone else had made that mistake."

Mary responded, "But my brother and husband also don't always call when they said they would."

I would not relent. "That doesn't make it right. People sell heroin. That doesn't mean you should."

She responded, "You're overreacting. Time-consciousness is your issue."

Still I would not relent. "It is not just my issue. Most good people, the kind you want to work with and be personally involved with, expect you to keep your promises, explicit and implicit, for example, showing up for meetings on time. Of course, there are emergencies and, of course, there are times, we all screw up. But for you to broadly excuse yourself and continue being lax with time and promises is simply wrong. You've paid a big price for it professionally and personally., and you'll continue to unless you accept that you're wrong about this and need to change. Period.

She said, "I need to get off the phone. My boss just called me into a meeting. But this is important. Can we reschedule for later today?"

She called back right on time. I was scared she'd get angry with me and even discontinue sessions with me. Instead she said, "Clearly, I have to become much more cognizant of keeping my deadlines. It's at the core of all my problems, all the litany of complaints I have about everyone else really is, at least in part, under my control to fix. I've always assumed that because I'm flexible about such promises and deadlines, many other people are. So I need to give realistic, not aspirational estimates of how long something will take, adding some cushion to account both for the infinite number of things that can get in the way of getting it done without a hitch and to allow me a personal life. And I have to say no to some not-important things so I can get done what really needs to get done. Marty, you know, in that TV show, Hoarder s, the person changes only when they see, put out on their lawn, their 27 blenders and 36 wooden spoons? That's what just happened here. I think we've just had a breakthrough."

The takeaway

Think back to your teachers. When you were in school, you probably thought your favorite teachers were the nice ones. But with the benefit of hindsight, many people feel they were most benefited by a tough teacher.

And as I look back on my 5,000 clients, I realize that I've often made the biggest difference not by being a supportive listener but by being very direct and refusing to back down until the new concept penetrated the concrete wall they'd built around their way of being.

And in retrospect, that makes sense. By the time we've reached even teenagehood, many of our beliefs have become set in concrete. As a result, gently encouraging change may not be enough to break through. Of course, it's wise to first try gentle tact, but if that fails, especially if it has failed repeatedly, the issue is important, and we're confident we're correct, the wise counselor, family member, teacher, or friend should assess the risk-reward of a direct confrontation, including not backing down.

And for any of you who succumb to chronic lack of conscientiousness or such behavior, true, if you have a severe mental illness, direct confrontation will probably only make matters worse. But if you're the garden-variety, irresponsible, procrastinating, or slipshod person, instead of demanding a supportive response such as: "Gee, I understand how difficult it must be for you given your family of origin" or somesuch, I invite you to consider whether this more direct response would ultimately be more helpful: "Your chronic ( insert bad behavior ) has probably has cost you more than you realize. Do change or risk a far less successful professional and personal life. Think about it."

Marty Nemko's bio is in Wikipedia . His new book, his 8th, is The Best of Marty Nemko .

Marty Nemko, Ph.D ., is a career and personal coach based in Oakland, California, and the author of 10 books.

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Conflict and Confrontation

• First Online: 01 January 2011

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• Lois Edmund 2  

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Conflict is often experienced as a negative force in relationships. This chapter explores the definition and dynamics of both healthy and destructive conflict. In doing this, it seeks out ways in which healthy conflict can strengthen relationships and highlights how negative outcomes can be mitigated. Issues of motivation and communication are discussed exploring ways to reduce the potential for misunderstanding and maximize positive resolution of issues.

Lois Edmund is Assistant Professor, Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Book Reviews Editor of Peace Research Journal.

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Edmund, L. (2012). Conflict and Confrontation. In: Roffey, S. (eds) Positive Relationships. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2147-0_16

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Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People

Amy r. overton.

1 Division of Health Policy and Management, Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ann C. Lowry

2 Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota

Conflict occurs frequently in any workplace; health care is not an exception. The negative consequences include dysfunctional team work, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased employee turnover. Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed.

Objectives: Upon completion of the article, the reader will: (1) Understand the importance of conflict resolution and management. (2) Recognize skill sets applicable to conflict management. (3) Summarize the steps necessary involved in a successful confrontational conversation.

Conflicts of various magnitudes occur frequently. You share a workspace with a colleague who consistently leaves the space disorganized and messy, which seems unprofessional to you since patients are seen in that office. Or a senior colleague insists being the first author on a research paper when you did all the work. In the preoperative area, the anesthesiologist disagrees with your surgical plan in the presence of the patient. A more extreme example would be a disruptive physician who yells or throws charts or instruments.

The frequency of conflict has been measured in several settings. In an observational study of operating rooms, conflicts were described as “high tension events”; in all surgical cases observed there was at least one and up to four high tension events. 1 Another study found on average four conflicts per operation emerged among operating room team members. 2 In a survey of 5,000 full time employees in nine different countries, 85% of employees dealt with conflict at work to some degree and 29% dealt with conflict frequently or always. 3 Another viewpoint focuses upon “toxic personalities” defined as “anyone who demonstrates a pattern of counterproductive work behaviors that debilitate individuals, teams, and even organizations over the long term.” 4 Conflict occurs frequently when working with such people. In a survey, 64% of respondents experienced a toxic personality in their current work environment and 94% had worked with someone like that during their career. 4 In another study, 91% of nurses reported experiencing verbal abuse. 5 The impact of these interactions on mood is significant. In a real-time study, employees recorded interactions with a coworker or superior at four random intervals daily; the employees rated the interactions as positive or negative and recorded their mood. The negative interactions affected the employee's mood five times more strongly than positive encounters. 6

Some would argue that conflict may be beneficial in certain situations, but in others it has negative consequences. 7 The proposed benefits of conflict include improved understanding of the task, team development, and quality of group decision making. The other line of thought suggests that conflict distracts from the immediate tasks and wastes resources on conflict resolution. Whether or not it is occasionally helpful, it is clear that many instances of conflict are harmful.

Conflict is associated with significant cost to organizations. In the study of employees from nine countries, the average number of hours spent per week on workplace conflict varied from 0.9 to 3.3 hours. In the United States, the average was 2.8 hours. 3 The calculated expense based on average hourly earnings in 2008 was $359 billion in lost time. High rates of employee turnover and absenteeism are associated with environments where conflict is poorly managed.

Health care is a complex system that requires effective teamwork and cooperation to function well. Patient safety research reveals that patient outcomes are negatively impacted when conflict mismanagement and other dysfunctions occur. 8 9 10 Another consequence of poorly managed conflict is disruption of care. In a national survey of physicians, almost two-thirds of respondents reported seeing other physicians disrupt patient care at least once a month. 11 More than 10% of the respondents reported witnessing that behavior daily.

Frequent causes of conflict include lack of clarity with expectations or guidelines, poor communication, lack of clear jurisdiction, personality differences, conflicts of interest, and changes within the organization. 12 Behavior that results in conflict could include bullying, limited communication or not sharing important information, and verbal or physical violence. 13 Employees cite personality clashes, stress, heavy workloads, poor leadership at the senior and managerial levels, lack of honesty and openness, and lack of role clarity as the most frequent causes of conflict. 3

Although conflict cannot be avoided, it can be managed. Since conflict will always be present on an individual and organizational level, it is important to develop the skills to appropriately manage a difficult conversation or interaction. Experts agree that the skills necessary can be acquired; they believe that conflict competence can be defined and learned. One definition of conflict competence is “the ability to develop and use cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills that enhance productive outcomes of conflict while reducing the likelihood of escalation or harm.” 14 The goal is to be competent in having difficult conversations. One model uses the terminology “crucial conversations and “crucial confrontations.” A “crucial conversation” is defined as “a discussion between two or more people where (1) the stakes are high, (2) opinions vary, and (3) emotions run strong.” 15 Confrontations are those face-to-face conversations in which someone is held accountable. 16

Real life examples prove their statements and the benefits of improved conflict management. One group demonstrated that teaching the necessary communication skills resulted in 10% improvement in their habits of confronting difficult issues. 16 With that change, customer and employee satisfaction, productivity, and quality also improved. An information technology (IT) group found that improved communication practices resulted in 30% improvement in quality, almost 40% increase in productivity, and near 50% decrease in costs. 16 CPP Global report “Workplace Conflict and How Business Can Harness it to Thrive” study found “training does not reduce the occurrence of conflict, but it clearly has an impact on how conflict is perceived and can mitigate the negative outcomes associated with conflict.” 3

Various models of successful conflict management have been proposed. 14 16 The models typically include discussions of common responses to conflict and ways to effectively address conflict. These models will be combined and summarized in this article.

The common underlying principles of all the models are that

• Conflict is inevitable and that both positive and negative consequences may occur depending on how the conflict is managed.
• The results are likely to be better with active engagement rather than avoidance.
• People must be motivated to address conflict.
• Behavioral, cognitive, and emotional skills can be acquired.
• Emotional skills require self-awareness.
• The environment must be neutral and feel safe.

Response to Conflict

To begin this process, it is important to cultivate self-awareness in regards to one's physical and emotional reaction to situations involving conflict. The most common responses on approaching conflict include: avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating. 17 Avoidance (or silence) refers to an individual recognizing conflict in a situation and actively deciding to not engage or deal with the problem. Avoidance may be prudent when the issue is minor in nature, as a temporary response when emotions are high or when others can resolve an issue more efficiently. This approach would be the opposite of someone whose response is to compete, which is categorized as being forcing, uncooperative, and assertive in the situation. Competition might be appropriate in emergent situations or actions known to be unpopular need to be taken on an important issue. People whose response is to accommodate others generally do not have their own needs met. Accommodation may be necessary when one is wrong, if the issue is more critical to others or if the value of harmony in the situation outweighs the benefit of a conflict. When accommodation is used, the conflict is resolved but if the pattern repeats itself frequently residual resentment may affect the relationship. Accommodation is also referred to as yielding. 18 Compromise and collaboration are both a balance of assertiveness and cooperativeness. The difference between the two is that compromise is often a negotiation between two parties with equivalent power, whereas collaboration is focused on finding a solution where all parties involved have their needs met. Compromise is focused on fixing a problem with a set amount of resources and collaboration allows for a broader view on problem solving. A combination of compromise and collaboration has also been defined as a problem-solving response. 18 Although there is not a correct response, responses characterized by open-mindedness to the ideas and perspectives of others promote positive outcomes. 17

Conflict Management Skills

When a conflict exists, the first step is to decide whether to address it. That decision involves balancing the reward against price of addressing the issue; that balance is unique to each circumstance. Some general rules are that if the issue is troublesome enough that it is affecting your behavior or weighing on your conscience, it should be addressed. It is important not to confuse the perceived difficulty of the conversation with determination of whether it will be beneficial and appropriate to proceed. Perceived differences in power often impact a decision to address a conflict; however, lessons from aviation and other industries illustrate the benefits of open communication and the risks of silence even in situations of different levels of authority or power. 19 20

Once it is been decided to address the conflict, there are several steps involved in preparation for the conversation. One step is to determine the exact nature of the conflict. When considering the exact nature of the conflict, some authors offer the following guidance. 16 If the issue occurs once, it is appropriate to discuss the content of the issue; if it has occurred repeatedly, one should focus on the pattern of events. If the problem impacts your relationship with the other person or team members, then the topic should be your relationship. One pitfall of conflict management is allowing task or pattern type conflict to deteriorate to relationship conflict by overpersonalizing the issue. Another system appropriate for team conflict divides conflict into task, process, and relationship conflicts. Task conflict is similar to content conflict, while process conflict refers disagreement over team processes. 21

One must also thoroughly understand one's own position. It is critical to gather all of the background information and any data necessary to discuss the conflict. Then one needs to achieve clarity about what is desired from the confrontation as well as what one is prepared to give up or compromise. Another key element is awareness of which outcomes one considers undesirable. Part of the preparation is consideration of one's own motivations and goals as well as the motivations and goals of the other party. This step seems obvious but is frequently not done or only superficially evaluated. Considering why a rational and ethical person would have behaved in the manner troubling you often opens an alternative view of the situation. The authors of Crucial Confrontations label this preparation as “mastering your story.” 16 In short, it is understanding from as many vantage points as possible how the problem situation might have developed.

The level of intensity of the conflict is another consideration in determining how best to approach the issue. One model divides the intensity of conflict into five levels. 14 Level 1 is differences. Those are situations in which two or more people have different perspectives on the situation; they understand the other person's viewpoint and are comfortable with the difference. This level of conflict can be an asset for a team or organization because it allows individuals to compare or analyze without an emotional overlay. Level 2 are misunderstandings in which two people understand the situation differently. Misunderstandings are common and can be minor, but can also escalate when stakes are high. If there are negative consequences such as missed events or obligations people tend fault and accuse one another which adds negative emotions to the situation. If the misunderstandings are frequent, it may indicate problems with communication. Level 3 is disagreements; these are times when people have different viewpoints of the situation, and despite understanding the other's position they are uncomfortable with the difference. This level can also easily escalate if ignored. Level 4 is discord. In those instances, conflict results in relationship issues between the people involved even after a specific conflict is resolved. There is often constant tension between those individuals. Level 5 is polarization, which describes situations with intense negative feelings and behavior in which there is little to no hope of resolution. For those conflicts, the mandatory first step is the agreement to communicate.

Another aspect of preparation is to recognize your emotional response and how it might affect your view of the situation. Addressing a difficult situation when one is angry or frustrated is more likely to be ineffective than when one is calm. Several famous quotes illustrate the point.

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

–Ambrose Bierce

It is therefore important to postpone the discussion until one is able to think more calmly and clearly. It is helpful to have an awareness of behaviors that “push your buttons.” One list of possibilities comes from an assessment instrument, “Conflict Dynamic Profile (Center for Conflict Dynamics Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL)” that includes the following behaviors: abrasive, aloof, hostile, micromanaging, over analytical, self-centered, unappreciative, unreliable, and untrustworthy. 22 A technique to reduce tension is cognitive reappraisal or reframing which refers to looking at alternative perspectives and outcomes of the situation to “reframe” it in a different, generally positive, light. Some other suggested techniques to manage one's emotions are consciously identifying and addressing one's fears about the outcome of the conflict or possible consequences. Centering techniques, which are based on martial arts, offer a way to calm oneself and focus on the positive aspects of the situation. 14

“The great remedy for anger is delay”

–Thomas Paine

All conflict management research confirms that setting a safe environment is a critical element in successful management of conflict. In a safe environment, all participants believe they will be respected and treated fairly. The authors of Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace present a model that includes three different types of necessary trust. 23 One is contractual trust or trust of character which is confidence in the intentions of others. The second is communication trust or trust of disclosures. In an environment with communication trust, everyone is comfortable that people will share information, be honest, and keep private information confidential. The final type is capability trust; when present, the participants have confidence in others' abilities to deliver on promises. That model recognizes that trust can be harmed by betrayal, but also rebuilt.

Another description of a safe environment is one with mutual respect and mutual purpose. 16 Mutual respect involves using a tone of voice and words and facial expressions that convey respect for others as human beings. Mutual purpose is having the common goal of problem solving. Although the first model may seem difficult to achieve in all situations, mutual respect and mutual purpose are basic required elements for an effective discussion of a conflict.

How does one establish a safe environment? The conversation must be held in a private, preferably neutral, setting with enough protected time for the discussion. Some experts suggest that a potentially neutral way to establish the goal of joint problem solving is to start the discussion by describing the gap between the expected and observed behavior. Other options include asking for permission to discuss a topic or beginning with the facts from your perspective or your observations. It sets the wrong tone to start the conversation with your conclusion, particularly if it is harsh. One should share all appropriate and relevant information and avoid being vague. 16 Other tips to maintain a safe environment include asking open-ended questions, focusing initially on points of agreement and using “I” statements. Some examples of “I” statements are “I feel frustrated” and “I am concerned.” One must be aware of one's body language as well as tone and volume of voice.

Common mistakes to avoid are trying to soften the message by mixing it with complimentary statements or using an overly familiar tone of voice initially before addressing the problem. Most people feel they are being manipulated or treated dishonestly when the messages are mixed. Inappropriate humor or comments disrupt the rapport needed for a safe environment. Another common error is using nonverbal hints or subtle comments with the belief they can successfully address a conflict. This technique is risky because one is never clear on the other person's interpretations of the hints or comments. It also does not work to blame someone else for a decision or request you are making. It ultimately undermines any respect or authority you may hold. Asking people to guess the reason for the meeting, essentially to read your mind, is irritating and ineffective at problem solving.

Once a decision has been made and a neutral environment decided upon for the conversation, there are key elements to conducting the conversation. One organization (CMP Resolutions) terms this first phase as scoping. 24 It includes the time to understand what is happening, each person's perspective of the conflict, and what is important to them, as well as establishing ways the involved parties can work toward a solution. The first step in the conversation is to allow all parties to state their opinions and their perspectives on the conflict. Before beginning, the ground rules regarding confidentiality and decision making should be outlined. Listening, respectively, to each participant during this step is very important. Asking clarifying questions without imposing one's own view of the situation is a skill that often requires practice. One must be aware of the tone and volume of voice to ensure that the environment remains respectful. Expressions of empathy such as “that sounds really difficult” are helpful in setting the tone and encouragement of information sharing. One should avoid judgmental or blaming statements. Listening skills are one of the primary skills to be developed when working on one's ability to manage conflict. Utilizing “AMPP” helps to remember four main listening skills that are helpful when faced with a problem. 16 “A” stands for ask which starts the conversation and allows the other person to discuss their feelings about the situation. Mirroring (M) is a tool to encourage the speaker to continue or offer more information when they seem reluctant. The technique involves statements about what you are observing (e.g., you seem down today) in the other person and then asking a question. The third technique, paraphrasing (P), is the restating of their responses in your own words which shows active listening and makes clear whether you both have the same understanding. Finally, prime (P) refers to priming the pump. It is useful when someone is clearly emotional about the issue but reluctant to talk despite the use of the first three techniques. With this method, one makes a guess out loud about what the other person might be thinking or feeling. One must choose the words carefully and use a calm tone to avoid worsening the situation. The goal is to make the other person feel comfortable speaking. Other potentially helpful acronyms to use during conflict management are seen in Table 1 .

The next part of the conversation is defining the problem. A consensus on the definition of the problem is necessary for participants to be able to compare and discuss solutions. As noted earlier, the problem might be defined as the issue with one occurrence, a pattern of episodes or the working relationship. After creating a mutually agreed upon definition, the next step is to brainstorm possible solutions to the conflict. If possible, these solutions should address the needs of all parties involved.

After a list has been created of alternative solutions, each participant should discuss their preferred solution. There also needs to be a “reality check” with the decision makers. Perhaps the ideal solution is too expensive or not feasible because of existing regulation or organizational policies. The goal is finding commonality and acceptable compromises that allow for all participants to feel like their needs are met and the conflict is being addressed. Once this solution is chosen, an action plan that outlines the “who, what, and when” of fixing the problem needs to be devised. Making sure that everyone involved understands their role and tasks are an important step to accomplish the solution.

Many models suggest that reflection on ways to prevent or more effectively handle similar conflicts in the future at the end of the conversation is beneficial. A follow-up plan is critical. If a plan with timelines is not designed and implemented, the behavior will typically change for a period of time but then slip back into old patterns. Whether the plan is another meeting, completion of certain tasks, or a system of monitoring, it should be defined clearly.

A particularly complex issue in conflict management is the disruptive physician. Historically, that issue has been addressed reluctantly if at all. The physician is often a high revenue producer and organizational leaders fear the consequences of antagonizing the physician or there is concern about a potential conflict of interest. The term is defined in various ways. One definition of disruptive physician behavior is “a practice pattern of personality traits that interferes with the physicians' effective clinical performance.” 25 The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons defined it as “inappropriate conduct whether in words or action that interferes with or has the potential to interfere with, quality health care delivery.” 26 An occasional bad day or overreaction does not constitute disruptive behavior. Rather it is the pattern of repeated episodes of significant inappropriate behavior.

The typical behaviors are often divided into aggressive and passive aggressive categories. Aggressive behaviors include yelling, abusive language, intimidation, and physically aggressive actions. Passive-aggressive behaviors include intentional miscommunication, impatience with questions, racial, general or religious jokes, and implied threats. Despite estimates that only 3 to 6% of physicians qualify as disruptive physicians, 27 the negative impact on the health care system is significant. The behavior undermines morale and productivity as well as the quality of care and patient safety. For example, nurses are less likely to call physicians with a history of disruptive behavior even when they need to clarify an order or report a change in a patient's condition. According to the Joint Commission, these behaviors “can foster medical errors, contribute to poor patient satisfaction and to preventable adverse outcomes, increase the cost of care, and cause qualified clinicians, administrators, and managers to seek new positions in more professional environments.” 28 In an academic environment, this behavior is associated with poor role modeling for students and trainees. Because of the impact, both the Joint Commission and the Federation of State Medical Boards addressed the issue in their standards and policies. 28 29

If the pattern of behavior is recognized early, a conversation with a trusted colleague or physician leader using the techniques described above might be sufficient to change the pattern of behavior. One model of corrective feedback starts by preparing the physician for the meeting with advanced notice and provision of a private setting and respectful atmosphere. Often asking the physician to provide a self-assessment of their interactions with others is a good starting point that can be followed with the observations of specific disruptive behaviors. Strategies for change and improvement as well as set expectations and a monitoring program need to be discussed and articulated before concluding the meeting. 30

There is evidence that an organization that sets standards for behavior and uses the principles of “action learning” to address variances will have desirable outcomes with disruptive physicians. Briefly, the principles of action learning, which was developed by Reginald Revans, are that the best learning occurs through active questioning and reflection rather than instruction. 31 The people involved tackle a real-life problem by asking questions, discussing alternative solutions, reflecting on change, and monitoring progress. In an interview study of independent, single-specialty surgical practices representing 350 physicians, the investigator determined whether the use of action learning principles correlated with desirable outcomes with disruptive physicians. 32 Desirable outcomes include retention of the physician with a change in the troublesome behavior. In 20 practices, action learning resulted in successful management of the problem.

However, most disruptive physicians require more intensive intervention. Reynolds argues that “constructive change in disruptive physicians comes through requiring adherence to expected behaviors while providing educational and other supports to teach the physician new coping skills for achieving the desired behaviors.” 25 A comprehensive evaluation including medical, chemical, and psychiatric evaluation is the first step. It is important to identify an underlying treatable condition. A program of remediation including educational and psychological training to foster new coping skills is outlined. A critical part of the program is long-term follow-through and monitoring. For most disruptive physicians, it is the threat of imposed consequences rather than internal motivation to improve that guides their compliance with the program. 25 Several well-established programs offer resources for the training including the Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program at the University of California School of Medicine, San Diego 33 and the Distressed Physician Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. 34 A composite case study of transformative learning to address disruptive physician behavior illustrates the process used. 35

Conflict occurs frequently and often results in significant disruption and cost for individuals and organizations. Although often avoided or poorly managed, evidence suggests the skills for effective management of conflict can be learned. Multiple studies confirm when conflict is successfully addressed, and multiple benefits accrue to the organization and individuals.

Confrontation in Utah

• Government - Federal

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Abstract: When the new supervisor of the Manti-La Sal National Forest in San Juan County, Utah receives a letter from the local county commission demanding that she direct the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to remove a significant number of elk from the federal lands under her control, she realizes that she is likely to be caught in a political crossfire. The question of whether to reduce the number of elk grazing in the dry but spectacularly scenic lands in the so-called Four Corners area was caught up in the much larger questions of whether land use policy should favor environmentalists or local agricultural interests (such as cattle ranchers), and whether the federal government should make such decisions or whether state or local governments should have the leading role. At the time the letter is written, tensions are running even higher than unusual because of an exceptionally dry summer. The presence of elk, introduced to the area by the federal government, could be seen as exacerbating the effects of limited water supply. But local opinion about the elk is far from unanimous--and the area in question is of great interest to environmentalists nationwide as well. The case raises the question of how a public employee who has discretion to interpret policy in the field should respond to conflicting types of public pressure.

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The 1998 Needle-Exchange Decision: The McCaffrey-Shalala Confrontation

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Persuasive Encounters: Case Studies in Constructive Confrontation

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In today's world of instant communication, we often marvel at the ability of a public figure to handle a hostile audience. Persuasive Encounters studies successful persuasion against tough odds. Through the analyzation of specific historical and rhetorical evidence, the events presented here illustrate and sometimes challenge the viability of current abstract models. Detailed studies of encounters involving such diverse figures as Edward R. Murrow, Edward Kennedy, Thomas Szasz, and Ed Koch form the basis of the work. Shorter analyses focus on the sometimes controversial actions of social activists ranging from abolitionst Wendell Phillips to the Beatles' John Lennon. In its scope and assumptions, the book is the first of its kind. Such studies are usually isolated in journals or reduced to short examples in persuasion texts. Persuasive Encounters demonstrates that the understanding of communication processes can never be very far from the analysis of specific settings and events. It goes on to show that confrontations can be positive forces for change. The text is comprised of five instances of persuasion advocacy combined with six shorter case studies. Each chapter includes background information on the immediate and secondary audiences, a summary of significant events that surrounded the situation, and contemporary accounts of public reaction. In addition, a transcript of the remarks or exchanges that actually took place and an analysis of the persuasion are provided. Students of persuasion, communication theory, and discourse analysis will find this work a valuable resource.

• ISBN-10 9780275930912
• ISBN-13 978-0275930912
• Publisher Praeger
• Publication date November 9, 1990
• Language English
• Dimensions 6.14 x 0.56 x 9.21 inches
• Print length 216 pages
• See all details

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0275930912
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Praeger (November 9, 1990)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780275930912
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0275930912
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1380L
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.56 x 9.21 inches

About the author

Gary c. woodward.

GARY C. WOODWARD is Professor Emeritus and former Chairperson of the Department of Communication Studies at The College of New Jersey. He has degrees in communication and rhetorical theory from California State University at Sacramento and the University of Pittsburgh (Ph.D. 1972). A native of Colorado, he has taught in England as well as in the United States, and has undertaken research supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and The College of New Jersey at the LBJ Library, the JFK Library, Britain's House of Commons, CBS News and C-SPAN. His comments on political topics have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, the Dallas Morning News, CNN.com, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and other news outlets. He is also the author of The Sonic Imperative: Sound in the Age of Screens (Amazon, 2021), The Rhetoric of Intention in Human Affairs (Lexington, 2013), The Perfect Response: Studies of The Rhetorical Personality (Lexington, 2010), Center Stage: Media and the Staging of American Politics (Roman and Littlefield, 2007), The Idea of Identification (State University of New York Press, 2003), Perspectives on American Political Media (Allyn and Bacon, 1997) and Persuasive Encounters: Case Studies in Constructive Confrontation (Praeger, 1991). Woodward is co-author (with Robert E. Denton, Jr.) of Political Communication in America, Third Edition (Praeger,1999), and Persuasion and Influence in American Life, Eighth Edition (Waveland, 2019). Visit his website at http://theperfectresponse.pages.tcnj.edu.

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A Case Study of Conflict Management and Negotiation

There is a lot to be learned from this case study of conflict management and negotiation..

By PON Staff — on January 22nd, 2024 / Conflict Resolution

Group negotiations are a fact of managerial life, yet the outcomes of teamwork are highly unpredictable. Sometimes, groups cohere, reaching novel solutions to nagging problems, and sometimes infighting causes them to collapse. This is where you may find a case study of conflict management helpful.

How can you predict when the conflict will emerge in groups, and what can you do to stop it?

The following is drawn from a case study of conflict management and negotiation involving multi-party negotiation scenarios. Dora Lau of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Keith Murnighan of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University have examined group conflict in terms of fault lines the cracks that result when groups split into homogenous subgroups according to demographic characteristics.

For instance, in a four-person group made up of two white males in their forties and two African American females in their twenties, a very strong fault line would exist, one clearly defined by age, gender, and race. In a group consisting of one white male, one Asian male, one Hispanic female, and one African American female, all in their thirties, fault lines would be less evident.

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A Case Study of Conflict Management – Divisions in Group Negotiation

Recently Katerina Bezrukova of Rutgers University and her colleagues compared the effects of fault lines based on social categories (e.g., age, race, or gender) with those based on information (e.g., education or work experience). Their negotiation research found that groups with strong information-based fault lines perform better than groups with strong demographic-based fault lines.

While the latter create dysfunctional conflict within the group, information-based fault lines provide the diversity of information needed for effective performance – in other words, they provide functional conflict .

These studies provide useful hints on how diversity can be effectively managed. Specifically, when forming teams, avoid obvious demographic fault lines that would allow group members to split into categories. When broader diversity exists, fault lines can simply disappear.

Related Conflict Resolution Article:  Conflict Management and Negotiation: Personality and Individual Differences That Matter – How much do personality differences matter in negotiations? Negotiation research has found that negotiators perform similarly from one negotiation to another negotiation and that performance was only slightly impacted by other variables at the bargaining table like personality traits. Unchanging traits, like gender, ethnicity, and level of physical attractiveness, were not tied to negotiation performance. Some traits did affect negotiating performance, however, and in this study, those factors identified by the latest negotiation research are outlined and discussed. How can your beliefs about negotiation impact your ability to negotiate? Read more for negotiation skills and negotiation techniques a negotiator can do to mitigate the impact of these variables on her negotiating performance.

What is your favorite case study of conflict management? Let us know in the comments.

Originally published in 2012.

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No Responses to “A Case Study of Conflict Management and Negotiation”

One response to “a case study of conflict management and negotiation”.

I would love to consider the details of the research that suggests that “demographic fault lines” produce dysfunction in groups. The conclusion has a very subtle bias that could benefit from further investigation. Is it at all possible that the information and proposals are considered differently by people operating in different social contexts and that by “avoiding obvious demographic fault line” the management practice is to simply allow the internal power dynamics – which often have differential impacts along certain demographic fault lines – to play out unimpeded?

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Guhan Subramanian is the Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School.

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Case Study: Hate Speech

Strategies for combatting hate speech and promoting social cohesion.

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Recent studies indicate that hate speech, disinformation, and misinformation fuel violence during elections and transitions, exacerbate ethnic and religious tensions, and are tools for persecuting minorities and promoting gender-based violence. This case study explores the effectiveness of integrating human rights approaches with conflict prevention strategies to combat hate speech and disinformation, through a review of 12 projects that reveal critical issues such as electoral violence, youth vulnerability and inclusion, ethnic, religious, and political discrimination, and gender-based hate speech.

This case study is an excerpt from a larger 2024 Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Thematic Review examining synergies between human rights and peacebuilding. It examined a select sample of PBF programming – 92 projects implemented in 45 countries and territories – that were supported between 2017 and 2022, with a view to collecting best practices and lessons learned, and contributing to better understanding of how human rights and peacebuilding tools and strategies may complement each other in advancing peace and preventing conflict. This case study appears on pages 47 to 58 of the full report. Access the hate speech case study infographic here .

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31 May 2024

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CCSD releases nearly 2K pages of documents on officer confrontation with Durango High School student

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The Clark County School District announced nearly 2,000 pages of emails and documents Friday related to a confrontation that was recorded between an officer and a student from Durango High School last year. The officer involved was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

The incident, which was caught on camera in February 2023, made waves across the country and sparked the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLU) to sue for body camera footage, which was made public in January of this year.

Judge orders CCSD to pay ACLU $36K in attorney fees

“There was no firearm on any of our clients,” ACLU Executive Director Athar Haseebullah said in January after the footage was made public. “This was a BS justification to stop and accost children.”

ACLU responds to bodycam release, accuses Clark County School District of cover-up

In the batch of documents released Friday, one statement referenced two calls before the incident in question, citing instances of teenagers ‘pointing or pulling guns,’ causing officers to be ‘on high alert.’

A photo was also included of unknown teenagers making what appear to be volatile hand gestures.

Police reports and video released of campus officer kneeling on teen near Las Vegas high school

Another photo of what appeared to be CCSD Police included several police officer emojis with guns pointed at them.

In a subsequent document, police service employees said they ‘do not recognize’ the account associated with the photo as a Durango High School student.

According to court documents, the involved officer, Lieutenant Jason Elfberg, was not disciplined, but emails shed some light on an internal investigation.

Several showed correspondence with an outside agency on a ‘use of force’ review.

Video of Durango High School incident released

This all came two months after a judge ordered CCSD to pay the ACLU $36,000 in attorney fees. Access to CCSD internal investigation interviews and case files was also prohibited.

Also in the documents, several copies of what appear to be presentations of use of force policies were included.

All the emails included in Friday’s documents spanned from right after the February 2023 incident to a couple of months later.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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At Harvard, a confrontation during a protest erupts in political controversy — and lands in court

L ast October, Yoav Segev, a Harvard Business School student, walked through a pro-Palestinian demonstration on his campus. He used his phone to video record protesters who were lying on the ground as if they were dead.

As Segev stepped over and around the bodies, other demonstrators approached, and then surrounded him. One said, “Get out, get out, get out.”

A scrum formed, with Segev at its center, according to multiple videos of the incident recorded by bystanders and a news helicopter. There was bumping, bickering. Minutes later, Segev walked away. No one was injured. Police officers standing nearby did not intervene.

The incident might have been forgotten as a minor tussle in a charged environment. Instead, it has ricocheted across the globe for more than half a year in viral videos, civil lawsuits, missives from lawmakers, and international news reports. Republicans in Congress have used it as a cudgel to pound Harvard over its response to the turmoil over the Israel-Hamas war. Pro-Palestinian activists have said the reaction to the confrontation is evidence of a pervasive bias that paints them as violent extremists. Some Jewish advocates have held it up as evidence of resurgent campus antisemitism.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation looked into the incident. Mitt Romney signed a letter saying it revealed failings with Harvard’s leadership. It was an element of the conflagration at Harvard last fall that contributed to the resignation of the school’s president, Claudine Gay, earlier this year.

Now, more than seven months later, the confrontation has moved into court: Two pro-Palestinian Harvard graduate students, Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim Bharmal, are facing one misdemeanor count each of assault and battery and a civil rights violation — essentially a hate crime. They are accused of targeting Segev based on his Jewish identity and of making unwanted contact with him as they tried to obstruct his video recording and usher him away from the demonstration.

Segev, 26, who is Israeli, is a Harvard Business School student. Tettey-Tamaklo, 27, is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School. Bharmal, 28, is enrolled at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. He is an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

The accused say they are innocent. Any contact between themselves and Segev was unintentional and they did not know he was Jewish when they approached him, Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo said in an interview with the Globe.

They also say they are being railroaded. In court, their lawyers have raised the prospect that Harvard may be pursuing criminal charges against them in response to political pressure. Republicans in Congress, who are investigating Harvard’s response to antisemitism, have urged Harvard for months to punish them. More broadly, some donors have exerted pressure on universities to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including the recent encampments that upended the final weeks of the academic year at dozens of schools.

The Harvard University Police Department went to court in Brighton in March to bring the charges against Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo. The department, which reports directly to top Harvard leaders, has the power under Massachusetts law to make arrests and pursue criminal charges in state courts. The office of Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden did not publicly sign off on the charges or appear at a hearing on May 8 about the case.

The next day, a clerk-magistrate granted the Harvard police’s request and officially handed down the criminal charges.

In court filings, the Harvard police said Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo committed assault and battery by “interfering with [Segev’s] movement,” shouting the word “shame” at him, “appearing to make contact with [Segev] on more than one occasion,” and by “placing a keffiyeh” — a type of scarf — “on top of [Segev’s] head.”

The civil rights violation, Harvard police wrote, is for “participat[ing] in activity that appears to interfere with [Segev] freely walking throughout the campus and to interfere with him taking videos of the demonstration.”

Thomas Nolan, a former Boston police lieutenant and criminal justice professor, criticized the decision to pursue a misdemeanor assault and battery case. “It’s a Mickey Mouse charge,” he said. Battery is “a touching offense,” he added, meaning it can be applied in cases involving light physical contact.

“Most police officers are not going to charge someone with a simple assault and battery,” he said. “They’re going to have something else” — an allegation involving more serious criminality— “to go with that that would compel a criminal prosecution.”

Nolan watched a video compilation of the incident, which was provided to the Harvard police and to the Globe by Segev’s attorney. “I didn’t see anything in the video that I would characterize as an assault and battery ... or anything remotely approaching a civil rights violation,” he said.

Leonard Kesten, a lawyer who has represented police departments in criminal and civil cases, said that even if the elements of the assault and battery crime were met, Harvard police were not obligated to pursue criminal charges. “There’s always discretion whether to charge or not,” he said.

Both men thought the evidence for the civil rights violation was thin because it relies almost solely on Segev’s assertion the defendants knew he was Jewish, which the defendants deny.

They also thought political considerations could have influenced the case. “It’s certainly fair to question what the motivation is for pursuing this case all of these months later,” Nolan said.

A Harvard University spokesperson declined to respond to any questions about the case or the incident. The attorney for Segev, Douglas Brooks, said it would be inappropriate for him to comment since his client isn’t a party to the case.

Brooks, along with the Brandeis Center, an advocacy group, separately filed a civil lawsuit against Harvard in Massachusetts federal court last week. The suit references the Segev case and accuses Harvard of being “deliberately indifferent to the pervasive antisemitism on campus.”

The confrontation occurred during a hellish time on Harvard’s campus — 11 days after Hamas’s killing and kidnapping spree through southern Israel spurred Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip. The conflict provoked strong reactions on campus that put Harvard in a spotlight like few other schools. A statement issued by pro-Palestinian student groups on Oct. 7 saying Israel bore sole responsibility for the violence provoked an international furor.

Dozens of students linked to the statement were doxxed, that is, their names, photos, and addresses were posted online. They received death threats. They had job offers rescinded. Trucks with giant monitors rolled through Harvard Square displaying their faces and names under the words, “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites.”

During the Oct. 18 “die-in,” when Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo saw Segev video recording the protesters, they said they thought he was going to use the footage to dox them. They said they were also concerned he might hurt protesters lying on the ground as he stepped over and around them.

Numerous videos of the incident have circulated online, from bystanders who recorded from multiple angles, from a news helicopter covering the event, and from Segev himself.

The footage shows Segev stepping over and around the demonstrators lying on the ground while recording them. Then he was approached by Bharmal, who had volunteered as a safety marshal for the demonstration, and Tettey-Tamaklo, an organizer, as well as other demonstrators.

“Our primary concern is for the safety of the people at the die-in,” Tettey-Tamaklo said in an interview. “It’s important that we escort this individual out.”

Tettey-Tamaklo said he and other demonstrators used keffiyehs, a type of scarf that is a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, to block the camera on Segev’s phone. Excerpts from Segev’s video that have circulated online show keffiyehs draping over his lens.

“You’re grabbing me,” Segev is heard saying in the video. “This is not grabbing you,” a woman responds.

There is disagreement about what happened next.

Segev later told the Harvard police that he was “hit multiple times by many people,” according to a police report. The videos show one unidentified, masked man bumping Segev with his torso and pushing down Segev’s arm as Segev held out his phone. (In the videos, both Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo were not wearing masks.)

Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo said they were trying to de-escalate the situation. The videos show them obstructing Segev’s movement, as Tettey-Tamaklo and other demonstrators repeatedly yell “Exit!” and “Shame!”

A Harvard Business School administrator, Robert Breslow, who saw the confrontation, told police that he thought the demonstrators’ actions made the situation less safe, according to a police report.

At the end, the videos show Segev walking away from the demonstration.

Tettey-Tamaklo said he stood by his actions. “We felt pretty good about how we had de-escalated the situation,” he said. “It’s important to note,” he added, “that Harvard police officers were on the scene and they saw everything happen.” At least one even recorded the confrontation, according to a police report. None intervened. (The police video has not been made public.)

Later that day, Segev sat down with two Harvard police officers in a Harvard Business School building. He told them protesters had put “their hands on him” and “block[ed] his path,” according to a Harvard police report.

Later, Segev’s father, Ilan Segev, a former Israeli diplomat who lives in the Boston area, emailed the Harvard police and said he had identified two of the protesters shown in the video: Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo. Ilan Segev “stated in his email that his son wanted to press charges,” according to the police report.

Over the next two weeks, Bharmal’s and Tettey-Tamaklo’s lives were turned upside down. They were named in an article in the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet, that said they were among protesters who “shoved and accosted” Segev. Then the videos of the confrontation went viral.

Some media outlets called attention to a social media post by Tettey-Tamaklo in the weeks after Oct. 7 that said, “The beast of Zionism shall be slain.”

Websites and social media accounts sought to tie Bharmal to the controversial Oct. 7 statement by Harvard student groups. They noted that a group he had previously led, the HLS South Asian Law Students Association, had originally signed the statement. The group later rescinded its signature, said it regretted signing the statement, and said it “condemns terrorism.”

Bharmal, a Harvard Law School student, said he had a summer job offer from a major law firm rescinded. Tettey-Tamaklo, a Harvard Divinity School student, lost his job as a Harvard proctor, a role similar to a resident assistant. He also lost his university housing, he said.

Death threats and racist vitriol poured into their email inboxes. (Bharmal is South Asian and Muslim; Tettey-Tamaklo is Black.) “I hope you rot in a hole with the rest of the terrorists,” said one email to Bharmal sent on the night of Nov. 1. “You will be wiped off this earth and the world will be a better place.”

Bharmal said he was beginning to have regular panic attacks. Late on the night of Nov. 1, he wrote to three deans at Harvard Law School. “Severely Doxxed, Receiving Death Threats,” the subject line said. “I am currently experiencing targeted harassment and doxxing based on a false allegation,” Bharmal wrote. “I am reaching out proactively because online commenters are tagging Harvard accounts with these false allegations.”

The next day, that email was forwarded to the Harvard police, according to a police report. It became part of the evidence in a criminal investigation Bharmal did not know was underway.

Who kept it alive, and why? Harvard will not say.

What is clear is the university has faced extraordinary pressure to punish Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo. In a scathing letter to Harvard’s leaders about a hostile campus climate for Jews, Mitt Romney and other Harvard Business School alumni referred to the incident as a “violent assault.” Republicans in Congress made the incident a focal point of their investigation into Harvard’s response to campus antisemitism. Representative Elise Stefanik recently accused Harvard’s top leaders of a “delay of justice” in the case.

Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo also question if bias played a role in the investigation.

The Harvard police detective handling their case, Sergeant Thomas Karns, was accused in 2019 of calling a Black colleague the n-word and a gay slur. According to reports in the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper, Karns denied using the n-word. But the union for Harvard police officers said he used the gay slur, and an outside arbitrator who reviewed the incident said he used the n-word, according to Crimson reports.

Karns was also once accused by the American Civil Liberties Union of surveilling pro-Palestinian activists. He was spotted, in 2008, photographing demonstrators in Harvard Square and later explained in a police report that he had been engaged in “intelligence gathering,” according to the ACLU. Harvard has never specified why he was gathering intelligence. But in a sworn affidavit for an unrelated case last year, Karns identified himself as a member of an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Domestic intelligence agencies sometimes surveil pro-Palestinian activist groups.

Harvard declined to answer any questions about Karns or make him available for an interview.

Now that criminal charges have been issued, the decision whether to prosecute the case rests with Hayden, the Suffolk district attorney.

A spokesperson for Hayden’s office declined to comment.

On Tuesday, after the Globe sent questions to Hayden’s office and to Segev’s lawyer, a prosecutor from Hayden’s office asked the Brighton court to impound the files related to the case. The court complied, hiding all of the police records from public view, including from the defendants.

John R. Ellement and Jeremy C. Fox of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Thomas Nolan was misidentified in an earlier version of this story.

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EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Product (ETAP) and Value of Information (VOI) Case Study

EPA’s Safer Chemicals Research  aims to address the challenge of needing more chemical information to make informed, risk-based decisions. Less  than a quarter of the tens of thousands of chemicals in commerce--as well as those found in the environment, various waste streams, and the human body--have traditional toxicity or epidemiological data that can inform human health risk assessments. To address the challenge,  researchers developed the EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Product (ETAP). ETAP is a novel human health assessment approach targeting chemicals lacking traditional toxicity testing data. To accompany the ETAP, EPA also conducted a Value of Information (VOI) analysis to weigh the public health and economic trade-offs associated with the timeliness, uncertainty, and costs of the ETAP compared to traditional toxicity tests. 

EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Product (ETAP)

Value of information (voi) analysis.

• Expected Results

A human health assessment or science assessment is typically the hazard identification and dose-response analysis that produces a reference value for the chemical. This, along with exposure information, is foundational for a risk assessment . 

One reason for the limited number of human health assessments, and subsequent risk assessments, is traditional toxicity testing and human health assessments for a chemical are time and resource intensive--often taking eight or more years to complete. State agencies, the public, and various stakeholder organizations are in need of toxicity values for data poor chemicals in a shorter timeframe in order to take an informed action to protect human health.

The draft EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Product (ETAP) aims to help address chemicals lacking traditional toxicity testing data in a more timely way. The primary driver for this new assessment product is the lack of human health toxicity values for most chemicals under the EPA regulatory purview. The ETAP transcriptomic-based reference values can be developed and reported in a 6–9-month timeframe, providing key data to the Agency that may facilitate more timely regulatory decision-making. ETAP is currently undergoing a Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) and public comment review. 

" Transcriptomics " is the study of messenger RNA molecules expressed in a cell or tissue, and it takes advantage of technology from the human genome project   tha t allows for a comprehensive evaluation of changes in gene activity. Previous studies have demonstrated that doses of chemicals causing disruption of gene activity are highly correlated with doses causing toxicological responses in traditional animal toxicity tests. Costs associated with the RNA sequencing technology have fallen significantly, making it more accessible and enabling broad application to environmental issues.

Read the draft reports: 

• Standard Methods for Development of ETAPs (pdf) (3.1 MB)
• Scientific Studies Supporting Development of Transcriptomic Points of Departure for EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Products (ETAPs) (pdf) (2.3 MB)

EPA developed a Value of Information (VOI) decision frameworks to evaluate the ETAP compared to toxicity testing in traditional human health assessments. VOI analysis was listed as a recommendation in the 2009 NAS report Science and Decisions  to provide EPA a more objective decision framework in assessing the trade-offs of time, uncertainty, and cost for a variety of chemical exposure scenarios and decision contexts.

This socio-economic analysis compares the public health (i.e., societal health benefits) and economic trade-offs associated with the ETAP as compared to traditional toxicity testing and human health assessment.

The VOI results suggest a more timely new assessment product, like the ETAP, has significant public health and economic benefits compared with the traditional toxicity testing and human health assessment process.

Read the draft report:

• VOI Case Study Report (pdf) (3.1 MB)
• VOI Case Study Supplemental Material (pdf) (1.4 MB)

Results and Future Directions

The goal of the draft ETAP is to develop and operationalize a new process for timely human health assessment for chemicals that lack human health toxicity data. Once the chemical of interest is in the lab, an ETAP can be completed in less than a year. In the reports developed by the EPA for scientific peer review, a literature review and transcriptomic dose response analysis studies showed high concordance between transcriptomic and apical benchmark dose (BMD) values in traditional animal toxicity studies. The concordance was robust across species, sex, route of exposure, physical chemical properties, toxicokinetic half-life, and technology platform. The error associated with the concordance between the transcriptomic and apical BMD values was demonstrated to be approximately equivalent to the combined inter-study variability associated with the transcriptomic study and the two-year rodent bioassay. 

In July 2023,  EPA solicited public comment and held two separate ad hoc Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) panels met to review the ETAP and VOI materials. After these reviews, EPA will respond to comments, finalize and publish these reports. 

• Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)  EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Products (ETAP) Panel
• Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Value of Information (VOI) Panel
• Standard Methods
• Value of Information Case Study
• Assessments