Erikson's Theory: Its Significance and Importance in Nursing

This report examines the significance of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development in the field of nursing. It outlines the eight stages of development, from infancy to old age, and discusses how understanding these stages is crucial for nurses to effectively relate to and care for their patients. The report emphasizes the importance of recognizing the different crises individuals face at each stage, particularly in palliative care, where nurses can help older patients find contentment by understanding their life experiences. It concludes that a solid understanding of Erikson's theory enables nurses to provide personalized care, improve patient communication, and facilitate better mental health outcomes. The report highlights the application of this theory in clinical reasoning, patient assessment, and the development of therapeutic relationships, making it a valuable tool for nurses in various specializations.

1ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
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2ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
ABSTRACT
The development of an individual personality throughout the course of one’s lifetime is
referred to as psychosocial development. According to Erik Erikson, a person goes through
eight stages of such development in their life, where they undergo a sort of crisis, which helps
build their personality. This helps the therapist understand a structure of the person’s life and
decide on the course of therapy. It helps nurses understand how to relate with the patient,
especially how to help ageing patients in palliative care and make them feel content. Finally it
can be concluded that having a proper understanding of this concept can help nurses in
diagnosing the patient and providing them with personalized care to the best of their capacity.

3ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
Table of Contents
Erikson’s Theory: Importance in Nursing..................................................................................4
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

4ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
Erikson’s Theory: Importance in Nursing
The development of an individual personality throughout the course of one’s lifetime is
referred to as psychosocial development. According to Erik Erikson, a person goes through
eight stages of such development in their life, where they undergo a sort of crisis or dilemma.
Their choices and circumstances in these stages ultimately lead to development of their
personality adult (Branje & Koper, 2018). This report aims to shed light on the significance
of these stages in the nursing field.
Discussion
The eight stages of Erikson’s theory includes- Trust vs. Mistrust at infancy,
Autonomy vs. Shame as a toddler, Initiative vs. Guilt as a pre-schooler, Industry vs.
Inferiority as a youngster, Identity vs. confusion at adolescence, Intimacy vs. Isolation in
youth, Generativity vs. Stagnation in middle adulthood and finally Integrity vs. Despair as an
ageing adult (Branje & Koper, 2018). This provides a detailed structure of a person’s life,
their emotions and maturity. Needless to say, it is important in the field of psychotherapy.
This theory provides a realistic viewpoint of a person’s developmental journey that can help a
therapist in necessary diagnosis and counselling. It provides a holistic view of the client’s life
and helps the therapist plan out the course of treatment.
A report shows that it is easier to work with a client if a therapist knows where to
focus on. For example, if a therapist knows which stage of life a patient experienced trauma
or disturbance on, they can simply focus on the crisis the client faced at that point of time.
Sometimes a trauma can even cause the shift from one stage to other for the client. Symptoms
of the patient also have separate meanings in different stages of life. Understanding this is
crucial for the therapist to effectively help the patient (Knight, 2017). This is apparent while
working with adolescents who go through identity vs. confusion and are trying to find their

5ERIKSON’S THEORY: IMPORTANCE IN NURSING
place in world (Kroger, 2017). From a more practical point of view, understanding what
crisis a person is facing can help in clinical reasoning in terms of mental health and
diagnosing underlying illness.
Not only psychiatry, Erik Erikson’s theory is extremely important for nurses in other
fields as well. To connect with a patient, a nurse must relate to a patient and understand what
they are going through. A crisis faced by a middle aged adult and their response to it would
not be same as that of a toddler. So it is important to relate to them by understanding their
internal crisis. This is especially important for nurses who specialize in palliative care. A
majority patients being older in age, they often face Integrity vs. Despair where they look
back at their life either with satisfaction or with a sense of failure. It is important that the
nurses communicate with them, try to understand their point of views and help them feel
content (Landeg, 2018).
Conclusion
From this paper it can be concluded that understanding the eight stages of
psychosocial development is essential for nurses to effectively relate to the patients and treat
them. Different patients are at different stages in their life, hence going through different
struggles. The nurses must have an understanding of their problems in order to provide
personalized care to each patient.

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References
Branje, S. J. T., & Koper, N. (2018). Psychosocial development.
Knight, Z. G. (2017). A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik
Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Clinical psychology &
psychotherapy, 24(5), 1047-1058.
Kroger, J. (2017). Identity development in adolescence and adulthood. In Oxford research
encyclopedia of psychology.
Landeg, A. M. E. (2018). Remembering the story of me: To what extent can nurses use group
reminiscence interventions to facilitate psychosocial health promotion amongst
nursing home residents? (Bachelor's thesis, VID vitenskapelige høgskole.
Diakonhjemmet Oslo).