Therapeutic Communication Techniques Flashcards
Active Listening/ Accepting
Verbal and nonverbal skills that conveys to the patient that the nurse is paying attention. Conveys regard and interest.
Assisting in goal setting
asking clients to decide type of change needed
Attempting to translate feelings
responds to the feelings expressed, not just the content
empathizing
recognizing and acknowledging the clients feelings without losing objectivity
encouraging comparisson
asking for similarities and differences among feelings, behaviors, and events
encouraging decisions
asking the client to make a choice among options
Using silence
gives the client the opportunity to collect and organize thoughts to think through a point or to consider introducing a topic of greater concern than the one being discussed.
accepting
conveys an attitude of reception and regard
giving recognition
acknowledging and indicating awareness; better than complimenting which reflects the nurses judgement
offering self
making oneself available on an unconditional basis, increasing the clients feelings of self worth
giving broad opinions
allows the client to take the initiative in introducing the topic; emphasizes the importance of the client’s role in the interaction
offering general leads
offers the client encouragement to continue
placing the event in time or sequence
clarifies the relationship of events in time so that the nurse and client can view them in perspective
making observations
verbalizing what is observed or perceived, this encourages the client to recognize specific behaviors and compare perceptions with the nurse
encouraging descriptions of perceptions
asking the client to verbalize what is being perceived; often used with clients experiencing hallucinations
restating
repeating the main idea of what the client has said; this lets the client know whether or not an expressed statement has been understood and gives him or her the chance to continue or clarify if necessary
reflecting
questions and feelings are referred back to the client so that they may may be recognized and accepted and so that the client may recognize that his or her point of view has value a good technique to use when the client asks a nurse for advice
focusing
taking notice of a single ideas or even single words; works especially well with a client who is moving rapidly from one thought to another. this technique is NOT therapeutic with a client who is very anxious. focusing should not be pursued until the anxiety leval has subsided
exploring
delving further into a subject, idea, experience, or relationship; especially helpful with clients who tend to remain on a superficial level of communication. however, if the client chooses not to disclose further information, the nurse should refrain from pushing or probing into an area that obviously creates discomfort.
seeking clarification and validation
striving to explain that which is vague or incomprehensible and searching for mutual understanding. clarifying the meaning of what has been said facilitates and increases understanding for both client and nurse.
presenting reality
when the client has a misperception of of the environment, the nurse defines reality or indicates his or her perception of the situation to the client
voicing doubt
expressing uncertainty as to the reality of the clients perceptions; often used with clients with delusional thinking
verbalizing the implied
putting into words what the client has only implied or said indirectly; can also be used with the client who is mute or is otherwise experiencing impaired verbal communication. this clarifies that which is implicit rather than explicit
attempting to translate words into feelings
when feelings are expressed indirectly, the nurse tries to “desymbolize” what has been said and to find clues to the underlying true feelings
formulating a plan of action
when a client has a plan in mind for dealing with what is considered a stressful situation, it may serve to prevent anger or anxiety from escalatingt to an unmanagable level
