Therapeutic Communication Skills In Nursing

Therapeutic communication is how the nurse interacts with the client. The skills that the nurse uses are essential to helping the person, as well as the development of a positive nurse-patient relationship. It is important for the nurse to have good communication skills as the form the basis of every intervention. According to Stevenson these skills are essential. Another skill that nurses need to be able to perform is listening. Most of the time people only passive listen. It is very important for the nurse to be able to actively listen. They don’t know what part is going to be relevant to the situation so its important that they listen to everything being said. The first step that Peplau (1952) used was observing the client during a therapeutic

The patients will trust the nurse when they know that they can be reliable. The nurse can gain clients trust by being caring, showing an interest in them, being honest and showing the client that they are listening to them. In nursing it is important to be empathetic. The nurse ensure that they are being empathic towards the client and not sympathetic. Empathy allows the nurse to relate to the client’s pain or distress. Listening to the client speak about an experience, allows the nurse to imagine how they felt. Different types of therapeutic communication skills help the nurse to be empathetic towards the client. Nurses should be non-judgemental when they are with a client. They should respect the client despite their mental health backgrounds. This attitude is known as positive regard. Positive regard values the clients as a person and not their mental illness. The nurse pays attention to the client and tents to steer clear of negative opinions. The nurse thinks about the client’s ideas when planning their nursing care. This shows the client that the nurse has confidence in them to contribute their

Implement, deliver the care that was agreed. Lastly the nurse must evaluate, they need to review the care plan to see if the goals are achieved. To complete a psychosocial assessment the client must participate. Some parts of the assessment will be vague if the client is not involved. If the client lacks awareness or has a short attention span, they may not be able to understand and answer the questions they are being asked. For the assessment to be completed the nurse may need to have several meetings with the client for this to happen. Another factor that can affect the assessment process is the client’s health status. The nurse may have difficulties getting the client to engage in the process if they are anxious, tired or in pain. The information gathered may not be as accurate to when the client isn’t experiencing anxiety or pain. It may be the case that the client needs to rest or be given medication before the assessment can continue. The psychosocial assessment should be conducted in an environment that is comfortable for the client. The location chosen shouldn’t be isolated especially if the client has history of aggressive behaviour. The nurse must protect the safety of themselves and the