Therapeutic Communication Skills

THREE THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS

This essay will discuss the three therapeutic communication skills that I need to develop and they are; empathy, caring and politeness. I have chosen these skills because; firstly, empathy will help to facilitate supportive and respective approach and identify patient’s feelings. Secondly, caring skill will promote trust, honesty, and respect. Being sensitive to patients’ feelings with acceptable language with ability to listen and talk with patients. Thirdly, politeness will promote the service-users’ respect for feelings, needs, courtesy and concern. The method of improving the communication skills will be demonstrated using the action plan (See Appendix 2) and a conclusion will be drawn.

Empathy means to walk in someone else’s shoes, being polite and deeply considerate with patients’ feelings. However, empathy involves close and careful listening as well as allocating time to patient’s requests which are vital to all nurses that are working effectively with patients. It is another way of seeing oneself in the patient’s position in a hospital bed. Empathy is defined as a prevailing mental process that involves in comprehends the patients’ emotional thoughts, engages with a mental view combined with ability to communicate and comprehend (Hojat et al. 2009, p.1183). It is therapeutic to express to the patient exactly what we are communicating and make sure they understand and be valued by empathising with them. For example, Mr. A. (a service user) was disappointed and angry because there was no transport booked to take him home from the Resource Centre. As a student nurse, there was an empathic feeling for Mr. A to listen and support him by maintaining eye contact, active listening, facial expression, body language with respect to transmit the message back to him. The situation was resolved after reporting the matter to the Resource Centre manager. Though empathy is non-observed but if nurse fails to demonstrate it, the...