Module 4: Nurse Patient Relationship - Therapeutic Communication

Components of Therapeutic Relationship

1. Trust

2. Genuine interest

3. Empathy

4. Acceptance of person

5. Positive regard

Self-awareness

• is a process of understanding one’s own values, belief, thoughts, strengths, and limitations and how one’s thoughts and behaviors affect others

Therapeutic use of self

• is when the nurse uses aspects of his or her

• personality, experience, values, feelings, intelligence, needs, coping skills, and perceptions to establish relationship with clients that are beneficial to clients

Johari window

• is a self-awareness tool; categorizes qualities of self as:

  • open/public

  • blind/unaware

  • hidden/private

  • unknown

Orientation phase

• the nurse and client meet roles are established the purposes and parameters of future meetings are discussed, expectation are clarified and the clients problem is identified

Working phase

• involves problem identification where the client identifies issues or concerns causing problems, and exploitation, when the nurse guides the client examine his or her feelings and responses develop better coping skills and a more positive self-image, change behavior, and develop independence

Transference

is when clients unconsciously transfer feelings that have for significant persons in their life onto the nurse

Countertransference

is when the nurse responds to the client based on his or her own unconscious need and conflicts

termination/ resolution phase

begin when the client’s problems are resolved and ends when the relationship is ended. It is important to deal with feelings of anger or abandonment that may occur

Communication

• is the process people use to exchange information:

  • verbal

  • nonverbal

  • context

  • congruency

  • incongruency

4 types of touch

1. Functional-professional touch

2. Social-polite touch

3. Friendship-warmth touch

4. Love-intimacy touch

Active listening

• concentrating exclusively on what client is saying, can be promoted by:

  • facing the client

  • using moderate eye contact

  • removing physical barriers

  • maintaining open body posture

  • leaning forward

Concrete messages

• are specific and clear; abstract messages are unclear and vague and require interpretation

• elicit more accurate responses and avoid the need to go back and rephrase unclear
  questions, which interrupt the flow of a therapeutic interaction

  
  

Active observation

• means watching the speaker’s nonverbal actions as he or she communicates