Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing

Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing 1
Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing
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Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing 2
Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing
How Nurses Develop Therapeutic Relationships
Therapeutic alliances are an essential part of mental health intervention based on the
clinical evidence that supports collaborative relationships (Cecilia, 2017). There are several
factors that mental health nurses consider in order to develop therapeutic relationships with
consumers who have depression. Collaboration between nurses and consumers depends on the
confidence and the ability of the patient to trust and rely on practitioners for support and help
(Cecilia, 2017; Leeuw et al., 2011). Mental health nurses build this trust by being consistent and
familiar with the patient to nurture the required confidence. There is a possibility of barriers
existing between mental health caregivers and consumers who have depression; however, nurses
usually start, develop, and maintain communication to build an effective therapeutic alliance
(Macea et al., 2017). When mental health nurses freely and professionally share ideas,
knowledge, experiences, and thoughts with the consumers who have depression, they exchange
their desires, affective status, attitudes, and perceptions. Communication could be informed of
writing, behavioral expressions, or speech and signals (Cecilia, 2017). Another approach used by
nurses to build therapeutic alliances is by sharing the feelings of the patients by being
empathetic. Mental nurses are in a position to explore the imagination of depressed patients and
consider improving their experience and recovery process (Brown and Wissow, 2012; Byrne and
Deane, 2011). Empathy also involves the ability to occasionally understand and interpreting
feelings and thoughts. At the same time, a mental health nurses usually remains oneself
professionally under all circumstances to inspire the development of a therapeutic alliance. Being
genuine with consumers who have depression provides an avenue for long-lasting patient-nurse
collaboration.

Fundamentals of Mental Health Nursing 3
While in some cases confidence and empowerment are intertwined, in cases such as
mental health care, empowerment could create a familial attachment between the nurse and
patient. When nurses constantly and professionally health mental health patients to regain their
normal life control, they develop a close relationship for effective care outcomes (Cecilia, 2017;
Donnelly et al., 2011). It is equally important that highlight how the onset of a relationship does
not guarantee its sustainable existence. Nurses develop therapeutic alliance with patient by
maintaining both care and management continuity (Kiosses, Leon, and Arean, 2011). When
nurses maintain continuous and consistent care management, they develop a common ground for
interaction with the patients, which inspires the existence of a therapeutic alliance. Through
strategies such as care planning and information sharing, mental health nurses have been able to
develop professional relationships with consumers who have depression (Cecilia, 2017). Another
strategy adopted by nurses to build professional collaborative relationship with mental health
patient is by showing unconditional respect and regard. Nurses are bound to show patients
respect regardless of their condition and status (Cecilia, 2017; Leeuw et al., 2011). Each patient
deserves inherent dignity and recognition. While these values are apparent as professional
requirements that are mandatory, they influence the development of therapeutic alliance between
patients and nurses by laying the foundation for the existence of other essential attributes.
Moreover, nurses also develop therapeutic alliance by maintaining a high level of confidentiality
and privacy when handling patients and their related data or information (Donnelly et al., 2011).
By keeping private all mental, emotional, and physical information of the consumers who have
depression, mental health nurses guarantee a high level of trust in therapeutic alliances.