What kind of coping mechanisms do you use to get through brief, tough situations?  Don't worry about being too "out there" with your ideas -- I have even called a psychic in for this one! UPDATE: The dreaded meeting is just concluding. I cannot stand to remain at the table a moment longer so I am hiding at my desk before going out to a fun lunch with a colleague. It's been nearly 3 hours of largely absurd and adversarial verbiage. I figured out a fool-proof coping mechanism, and it worked! I was the note-taker for the meeting, which was great at keeping my emotions in check for the most part, as my cognitive skills were being called upon to analyze and transcribe what was said. Father made several insulting comments and outrageous demands, and I just faithfully wrote them down. Ditto the litany of services -- I was able to detach from what they would mean for this child, and just jotted them down. After repeated references to our substandard work and history of disagreement, I did recommend, calmly and neutrally, that he might want to request another team to conduct this child's upcoming assessment. He is going to "think about it." I briefly wondered whether, if he caught me egging his house, if that might influence his decision in this matter.... Seems I can't through a single morning without some kind of snarky fantasy! He kept wanting to make sure he would have enough time to procure independent assessments to compete with ours (at public expense, natch), so I suggested that we cut to the chase and just have him call on his Rent-A-Shrink to get the desired diagnosis. The Administrator shot that idea down, but I did try! Thank you, MTers, SO MUCH for all your suggestions and support. I incorporated lots of your strategies for today and will continue to use them. YOU ROCK!!! I am relieved this is over and looking forward to a great weekend, and I hope you all are too!