University Healthcare Reflection: Therapeutic Relationship & Dementia

This assignment presents a student's reflective journal entry detailing their clinical experience in establishing a therapeutic relationship with a 70-year-old patient suffering from advanced-stage dementia, characterized by sundowning and paranoia. The reflection describes the challenges of caring for a patient with cognitive decline, including difficulties with communication, obtaining medication consent, and managing anxiety. The student discusses the importance of respect, trust, and empathy in building a therapeutic relationship. The student reflects on their actions, including prescribing medication, and identifies the need for improved communication skills. The assignment also includes a reference to the patient's condition and the student's strategies for calming her. Finally, the student suggests improvements to the hospital environment to better support dementia patients. The document highlights the importance of empathy and consent in healthcare settings. It also identifies areas for improvement in communication to create a strong therapeutic relationship. This assignment is available on Desklib, a platform offering resources for students.

Running head: THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: REFLECTION
THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: REFLECTION
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: REFLECTION
The following reflection is going to deal with my clinical experience of handling a
patients who was suffering from advanced stage of dementia. I was given the duty to provide
therapeutic relationship with the patient which will help her to cope with the disease. Therapeutic
relationship is built on respect, love, trust and empathy with the patient (Carroll & Linsley,
2018). My patient was an old lady of 70 years who was suffering from sun downing and
paranoia. She always remained in the confused state and unable to recognize even her family
members. Therefore, it can be inferred that condition of the patient was deteriorating day by day
with advancement of her illness.
My whole day goes around her making her reassured as she had problem of sundowning.
After the sun set she become agitated, confused, aggressive and anxious. Such worse condition
of her continues till night. I have to be in care of her whole day. One day during my day shift,
she started to shout and was in anxious state, she was unable to identify the people around her.
To make her calm and relax, I prescribed her a medicine in consultation with the doctor.
However, she was not in agreement to take medicine and insisted her daughter to take her home.
I was not supposed to give her the medication without her consent and it was my responsibility
to make her understand the treatment process. I communicated with Mrs. Lily and showed
respect to her decision. I made her understand the importance of medication for her faster
recovery in a humble way and tried to make her relax by assuring that everything is fine. She
started to gain trust on the treatment process that is being given to her. However, still there was
the need for more effective communication to build a quality therapeutic relationship with my
patient.
To make my experience better, I would take training in creating quality communication
skill so that I can construct a strong therapeutic relationship with the patient and make them

2THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: REFLECTION
understand and competent enough to cope with their illness (Coyle, 2018). I would like to
change the hospital environment for dementia patient and will try to make them feel fresh and
calm which will help them to recover fast from their illness.

3THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP: REFLECTION
Reference
Carroll, V., & Linsley, P. (2018). The therapeutic relationship and emotional intelligence.
In Emotional Intelligence in Health and Social Care (pp. 65-80). Routledge.
Coyle, M. K. (2018). The Therapeutic Relationship: Enhancing Referrals. Rehabilitation
Nursing Journal, 43(6), E18-E24.