Therapeutic Communication Techniques in Nursing: A Practical Approach

This essay describes what therapeutic communication is all about and some of the therapeutic communication techniques outlined precisely. A dialogue between a nurse and the patient has also been presented which conveyed how the techniques are applied practically to support the patient’s feeling of well-being.

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Question 1
Communication is a process that leads to interaction and connectedness between human
beings while exchanging information and can occur verbally or nonverbal (Adler, Rodman & Du
Pré, 2016). Therapeutic communication is the process of face to face interaction which normally
focusses on advancing the physical and emotional well-being of the patient (Davis Boykins,
2014). The setting for the interaction to take place for a therapeutic communication interview
include a private room, with a free chair that is comfortable. The room is neat and clean. The
patient named as (Mrs. X) who approached me (Nurse) in the morning during the major ward
round to discuss a certain issue that was disturbing her and I asked her to visit my office over the
lunch hour for a discussion.
Question 2 and 3
It was over lunch hour when the patient (Mrs. X) found her way to my office room in the
hospital. I allowed her in she sat down. Good afternoon! Not that bad, the pain is decreasing.
(seems disturbed and stressed) Yeah sure! (complaining) I’m really mad. I’m really upset. My
brother spent all the money I left him with and he still has the guts of asking for more. I feel so
bad, I can’t sleep. I stay awake all night. (relieved)Yeah sure! (smiling back) Mmhh I see. I will
just take it as it is. It has already happened. Thank you!
Question 3
Come in. May you please have a sit. Good afternoon madam! How are you feeling now? Is
there something you would like to talk about? Go on... (maintaining eye contact) You are really
mad? Well! This causes you to feel angry? (Amazed) you have difficulty sleeping? (smiling) This
gives a whole new meaning to “just relax.” That’s hard to believe. You welcome!
Nurse: you welcome!
Question 4
I applied therapeutic communication technique in the conversation and it ended up
effective as the patient got out of the room while relaxed compared to how she got in. Some of
the techniques I applied in my therapeutic communication include broad openings (by using

phrases like Go on...), active listening by maintaining eye contact, humor “just relax”, Reflection
(directing her feelings back to her) and finally restating whereby I repeated the main idea in
different words. The rationale of therapeutic communication is supporting the patients feeling of
well-being (Riley, 2015).
I felt relaxed, confident, and exited throughout the conversations. These feelings put me in a
position of giving positive feedback to every information needed from my side and this made the
client feel free and went ahead speaking her mind. When I said the statement "That's hard to
believe!", I simply responded to the distortion of reality by expressing doubt. That was according
to my beliefs and I made the patient realize that other people do not necessarily perceive events
in the same way or draw the same conclusions. And she saw some sense in it and chose to accept
the situation the way it is.
The theory I considered, in this case, is the cognitive theory which focusses on how people's
thinking can change their feelings and behavior (Sue et al., 2019). Initially, the patient felt angry
and upset but I didn't give them a chance to alter my feelings too. I maintained my conversation
until the end.
Question 5
Other techniques I may have used include open-ended questions, these ones would have
made the patient say more about what happened till his brother spent her money, secondly is
clarification this would have clarified the matter and be understood better as why it is causing the
client feel angry, next techniques can be translating feelings, summarizing, seeking more
information and many others.
Conclusion
The essay has described what therapeutic communication is all about and some of the
therapeutic communication techniques outlined precisely. A dialogue between a nurse and the
patient has also been presented which conveyed how the techniques are applied practically to
support the patient’s feeling of well-being.

References.
Adler, R. B., Rodman, G. R., & Du Pré, A. (2016). Understanding human communication (Vol.
10). Oxford University Press.
Davis Boykins, A. (2014). Core communication competencies in patient-centered care. ABNF
Journal, 25(2).
Riley, J. B. (2015). Communication in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences
Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L. (2019). Counseling the culturally diverse:
Theory and practice. Wiley.