Gender Differences In Therapeutic Communication

A situation in which I had a challenging communication interaction was with my sister. The issue was concerning her personal finances and how to proceed in assisting her with her finances. The communication breakdown came as result of us having a difference of opinion about how to approach her finances particularly as it relates to her living situation. Although we were raised in the same household, we hold differing opinions on many issues particularly when it comes to dealing with finances. She is currently an undergraduate student living on her own with a roommate paying about half of the rent. On top of this, she also has a job that she works in order to help with her living expenses. The job that she works doesn’t always pay her enough depending on the number of hours that she is allocated each week since it is not a full time

The fact that I am male and my sister is female plays an important part in how we view life. There are certain situations that I will go through as a male that she will not understand and there are certain situations that she will go through as a woman that I will never understand as a male. This is important when it pertains to stress like situations. In the Therapeutic Communications for Health Care, the authors stated concerning stress “It is interesting to note that men and women respond differently to stress. Men often become physically or verbally aggressive, and may also use denial as a defense mechanism. Women, on the other hand, often internalize their stress, mulling it over and over again in their minds. This reaction may lead to depression if satisfactory solutions to the stress are not achieved” (Lindh & Tamparo, 2008). This description by the authors is a prime example of how my sister is approaching her financial situation internalizing her predicament and also an over exaggeration of her