Mental Health Nursing II NURS 2310

Unit V Therapeutic Communication

Objective 1

Defining therapeutic milieu

The therapeutic milieu is a scientific structuring of the environment in order to effect behavioral changes and to improve the psychological health and functioning of the individual.
Within this structured environment, the client is expected to learn adaptive coping, interaction, and relationship skills that can be generalized to other aspects of his or her life.

Objective 2

Analyzing the nurses role in maintaining the therapeutic milieu in an inpatient psychiatric/mental health setting

The nurse maintains the therapeutic milieu in the inpatient setting by:

Encouraging health promotion Providing therapeutic interaction Allowing clients to participate in governing the unit Expecting the client to take responsibility for his or her own behavior Utilizing peer pressure or peer support as a tool to bring about acceptable group norms Dealing with inappropriate behaviors as they occur Avoiding restrictions and punishments

Objective 3

Reviewing the components of nurse-client relationship development and therapeutic communication

Therapeutic use of self:

Ability to use ones personality consciously and in full awareness in an attempt to establish relatedness and to structure nursing interventions

Therapeutic communication:
Consists of verbal and nonverbal techniques that focus on the clients needs and advance the promotion of healing and change Encourages the exploration of feelings and fosters understanding of behavioral motivation Promotes trust, discourages defensiveness, and is nonjudgmental

Active listening:
Being attentive to what the client is saying both verbally and nonverbally Facilitative skills include facing the client squarely observing an open posture leaning toward the client establishing eye contact maintaining a relaxed demeanor

Feedback:

Communication method that helps the client consider a modification of behavior

Therapeutic relationship:
Interaction between two people in which input from both participants contributes to a climate of healing, growth promotion, and/or illness prevention Goal-oriented goal of the relationship determined jointly by nurse and client goal is most often directed at learning and growth promotion in an effort to bring about some type of change in the clients life may be based on a problem-solving model

Conditions essential to the development of a therapeutic relationship include: Rapport

special feelings on the part of both the client and nurse based on acceptance, warmth, friendliness, common interest, a sense of trust, and a nonjudgmental attitude establishing rapport may be accomplished by discussing non-health-related topics

Genuineness
the ability to be open, honest, and real in interactions

Developing therapeutic relationships (contd)

Trust

confidence in another persons presence, reliability, integrity, veracity, and sincere desire to provide assistance when requested
providing a blanket when the client is cold providing food when the client is hungry keeping promises being consistent ensuring confidentiality

Developing therapeutic relationships (contd) Respect

unconditional positive regard
calling the client by name spending time with the client allowing sufficient time to answer the clients questions or concerns always being open and honest striving to understand the motivation behind the clients behavior

Empathy
process in which one is able to see beyond outward behavior and accurately sense anothers inner experience

Objective 4
Exploring the phases of the therapeutic relationship

Phases of the therapeutic relationship:

Preinteraction phase
Preparation for the first encounter with the client

Orientation (Introductory) phase

The nurse and client become acquainted

Working phase
Accomplishment of the therapeutic work of the relationship

Termination phase
Bringing a therapeutic conclusion to the relationship

Boundary issues within a professional relationship may include: Transference

When the client unconsciously attributes to the nurse feelings and behavioral dispositions formed toward a person from his or her past

Countertransference
The nurses behavioral and emotional response to the client which may be related to unresolved feelings toward significant others from the nurses past, or may be generated in response to transference feelings on the part of the client

Boundary issues (contd)

Self-disclosure
May be appropriate when the information to be shared is judged to be therapeutically beneficial to the client Never used for the purpose of meeting the nurses own needs

Gift-giving
Professional judgment Institutional policy Never financial
suggest a donation elsewhere

Boundary issues (contd)

Touch
Caring touch with no associated physical need can be therapeutically appropriate Beware of situations in which touch may be misinterpreted, culturally unacceptable, or dangerous paranoid patient psychotic client

Warning signs that may indicate a potential breech in professional boundaries in the nurse-client relationship include: Favoring one clients care over anothers Swapping assignments with another nurse to care for a particular client Giving special attention or treatment to one client over others Spending free time with one particular client Sharing personal information or work concerns with a client Continuing contact/communication with a client after discharge

Objective 5

Correlating appropriate modes of therapeutic communication with specific psychiatric behaviors

Modes of therapeutic communication:

Using silence

Accepting

gives the client the opportunity to collect and organize thoughts conveys an attitude of reception and regard acknowledging

Giving recognition

Offering general leads

Making observations Restating

offers the client encouragement to continue verbalizing what is observed or perceived repeating the main idea of what the client has said

Encouraging description of perceptions

asking the client to verbalize what is being perceived

Therapeutic communication (contd)

Reflecting Focusing

referring questions and feelings back to the client so that they may be recognized and accepted taking notice of a single idea or a single word works well with the client who is moving rapidly from one thought to another not to be used with a client who is anxious when a client has a misperception of the environment, the nurse defines reality expressing uncertainty as to the reality of percpetions

Presenting reality Voicing doubt

Objective 6
Exploring the concept of therapeutic community

The therapeutic community holds that everything that happens to the client or within the clients environment is considered to be part of the treatment program. Community factors, such as social interactions, the physical structure of the treatment setting, and schedule of activities may generate negative responses which are used as examples to help the client learn how to manage stress more adaptively in real-life situations.

Conditions that promote the therapeutic community include: The fulfillment of basic physiological needs The conduciveness of the physical facilities to achievement of the goals of therapy The existence of a democratic form of self-governance The assignment of responsibilities based on each clients capabilities The scheduling of a structured program of social and work-related activities The inclusion of community and family with regards to discharge planning

Objective 7

Examining the use of groups as a therapeutic tool

Group:
Collection of individuals whose association is founded on shared commonalities of interest, values, norms, or purpose Membership is generally

by chance (born into the group) by choice (voluntary affiliation) by circumstance (the result of life-cycle events over which an individual may or may not have control)

Group Therapy = a form of psychosocial treatment

in which a number of clients meet together with a therapist for purposes of sharing, gaining personal insight, and improving interpersonal coping strategies.

Use of a group as a therapeutic tool:

Instillation of hope Universality Imparting of information Altruism Corrective recapitulation of the primary family group Development of socializing techniques Imitative behavior Interpersonal learning Group cohesiveness Catharsis Existential factors

Objective 8

Identifying group types, roles, functions, development and stages

Functions of a group:

Socialization Support Task completion Camaraderie Informational Normative

enforcement of established norms

Empowerment Governance

rules committees

Types of groups:

Task Groups
accomplishing a specific outcome or task focus on problem-solving and decision-making

Teaching Groups
exist to convey knowledge and information to a number of individuals

Supportive/Therapeutic Groups
concerned with preventing future upsets by teaching effective ways of dealing with emotional distress

Self-Help Groups
allow clients to talk about their fears and relieve feelings of isolation while receiving comfort and advise from others undergoing similar experiences

Member roles within groups:

Task Roles Maintenance Roles Coordinator Compromiser Evaluator Encourager Elaborator Follower Energizer Gatekeeper Initiator Harmonizer Orienter Individual Roles Aggressor Monopolizer Blocker Recognition Seeker Dominator Seducer Mute/Silent member

Phases of group development:

Phase I Initial or Orientation Phase Group activities leader and members work together to establish the rules that will govern the group Leader expectations leader expected to orient members to specific group processes, encourage members to participate without disclosing too much too soon, promote an environment of trust, and ensure group rules dont interfere with goal fulfillment Member behaviors members have not yet established trust; fear of not being accepted by the group

Phases of group development (contd)

Phase II Middle or Working Phase Group activities productive work toward completion of the task is undertaken; problemsolving and decision-making occur Leader expectations role diminishes and becomes one of facilitator Member behaviors trust established among members; members turn to each other more often, and less so to the leader; members accept criticism from others and use it constructively to create change

Phases of group development (contd)

Phase III Final or Termination Phase Group activities termination process discussed in depth for several meetings before the final session Leader expectations the leader encourages group members to reminisce about what has occurred, review the goals, and discuss actual outcomes Member behaviors grief response may be evident; may lead to discussion of previous losses; successful termination of the group may help members develop the skills needed when losses occur in other dimensions of their lives.