Therapeutic Communication Flashcards
Therapeutic Communication
The purposeful use of communication to build & maintain helping relationships w/clients, families, & significant others
Client-centered
Includes both verbal & non-verbal communication
Purpose of Interactive Communication Skills
Elicit & attend to the client’s thoughts, feelings, concerns, and needs
Express empathy & genuine concern for client & family issues
Obtain information & give feedback about clients’ status
Intervene to promote functional behavior & effective interpersonal relationships
Evaluate clients’ progress toward desired goals & outcomes
Ways to Enhance Therapeutic Communication
Establish a trusting nurse-client relationship.
Provide empathetic responses and explanations by using observations, giving information, conveying hope, and using humor.
Manipulate the environment to decrease distractions.
Make sure verbal communication and nonverbal communication are congruent.
Demonstrate empathic presence by appearing relaxed and comfortable, facing the client, having an open posture, leaning toward the client, and maintaining good eye contact unless cultural norms discourage it.
Therapeutic Communication Techniques
Silence
Active listening
Asking questions
Open-ended questions
Focusing
Presenting reality
Clarifying techniques
- Restating
- Reflecting
- Paraphrasing
- Exploring
Summarizing
Giving information
Offering general leads, broad opening statements
Showing acceptance and recognition
Offering self
Touch
Sharing feelings
Barriers to Effective Communication
Asking irrelevant personal questions
Stereotyping
Giving advice
Give false reassurance
Minimizing feelings
Changing the topic
Asking “why” questions or asking for explanations
Challenging
Offering value judgements
Asking questions excessively (probing)
Responding approvingly or disapprovingly (refusing)
Being defensive
Testing
Judging
Offering sympathy
Arguing
Making automatic responses
Reacting with passive or aggressive responses
Considerations for Older Adults
Recognize that many older adults require amplification of sound.
Make sure assistive devices (glasses and hearing aids) are available for clients who need them.
Minimize distractions, and face clients when speaking.
Speak in short and simple sentences
Allow plenty of time for clients to respond.
Ask for input from caregivers or family to determine the extent of any communication deficits and how best to communicate.
Interventions to Demonstrate Cultural Considerations
Provide an interpreter when one is available.
Address the client directly when the interpreter is present.
Provide educational materials and instructions in the client’s language.
Respect the client’s personal space and watch body language for cues that you are getting too close or touching him/her inappropriately
Examples of Cultural Considerations
Avoiding direct eye contact. Direct eye contact is considered a sign of disrespect for some cultures.
A client might nod as a sign of compliance or understanding and respect.
Shaking hands with a person of the opposite sex is considered forward and inappropriate.
Intimate zones are reserved for family and close friends
