PFI #4 Working Effectively with "Orchid" Clients

Adopting the Dr. Boyce’s Orchid/Dandelion framework, we explore challenging behaviours that show up in our collaborative cases. ‘Orchid’ clients show up with seemingly insatiable needs and no set of instructions. We can respond most effectively when we identify specific challenging behaviours and understand why they are showing up. Often, there are rational reasons for their irrational behaviours. We see behaviours which are negatively impacting the family, the team and the process, such as rigidity, all-ornothing thinking, defensiveness, bullying, blaming, unregulated emotions, intransigence, indecisiveness, and attribution biases.  Underlying these behaviours are distortions, biases, needs and fears, such as fear of being inferior, ignored, abandoned, or dominated and fears of losing, having regrets or facing their future.  Knowing this, we can respond more effectively using tools of self-awareness/self-regulation, trauma informed process (e.g. safety, transparency, expectation management, road mapping, empowerment) CARS, BIFF, EAR, emotional granularity and education on cognitive distortions and attribution biases.  We can create an instruction guide for our Orchid clients!