Nursing: Therapeutic Communication With Patients

Therapeutic communication is various techniques used to effectively engage with patients to create or maintain a nurse-patient relationship that focuses on the patient’s overall well-being. Therapeutic communication helps build trust and understanding. This essay will focus on three therapeutic communication techniques: active listening, empathy, and providing information. In the scenario, Brenda Ellis, aged 52, was admitted two days ago after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Brenda is anxious about the suggested chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. She is indecisive about which direction to take. Brenda’s vital signs will be taken by a student nurse, who will attempt to demonstrate the three therapeutic communication skills listed.

L.A., & Berry, L. L., 2017). According to Nursing Fundamentals (2020), during active listening, we communicate verbally and non-verbally that we are interested in what the other person is saying while also actively verifying our understanding with the speaker. Non-verbal cues such as posture, facial expressions, and eye contact are equally important as verbal cues. Nonverbal communication is important to convey affective and emotional affirmations, demonstrate respect for patients, and build therapeutic relationships with patients (National Institutes of Health, 2022). Verbal communication involves language and paralanguage. Verbal communication contributes to fostering therapeutic relationships by building trust through open communication. Effective patient-clinician communication involves two-way communication that engages patients in decision making and care planning. It is tailored, honest, and respectful and there is an opportunity for clarification and feedback (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare, n/d). Another component that contributes to non-verbal and verbal communication is reflective listening. This is important as it creates clear

Conversely, empathy has a much more positive patient response (Dziados, 2023). The student nurse will find using empathy with Brenda will be suitable as she is emotionally distressed. By demonstrating empathy, the student nurse will have a better understanding of the emotional and psychological impact of her diagnosis. The use of dialogue such as “I understand how difficult this must be for you”, to acknowledge Brenda’s distress. If effective expression of empathy is demonstrated, Brenda will be willing to share her feelings and emotions, which will allow the nurse to show support. By using supportive dialogue, the student nurse will be able to reduce Brenda’s feelings of distress. This will help build trust and contribute positively to their therapeutic relationship. However, if the student nurse were to demonstrate a lack of empathy by taking Brenda’s vital signs without engaging with Brenda or recognizing her emotional state, it would create a negative, unsupportive environment. Brenda may feel dismissed, making her unwilling to share her thoughts and feelings with the possibility of contributing negatively to her emotional