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Importance of a Therapeutic Relationship in Nursing

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Therapeutic relationship is an essential part of nursing; it is the foundation of nursing (CNO, 2009). The National Competency Standard for Registered Nurses state that nurses are responsible for “establishing, sustaining and concluding professional relationship with individuals/groups.” Throughout this essay the importance of forming a therapeutic relationships will be explained. The process of building a therapeutic relationship begins from prior to time of contact with a patient, the interpersonal skills of the nurse; then the process includes skills required by the nurse to communicate effectively, including respect, trust, non-judgment and empathy. The way to portray these skills can be via verbal or non-verbal cues that are important …show more content…

A non-judgmental approach by the nurse when dealing with patients is critical as the involvement of the patient may be halted if the nurse shows signs of personal views and opinions, this may affect any further treatment and may cause the patient to refuse any holistic treatments (including counseling)(Hayter, 1996). Non-judgmental approach allows the nurse to attempt to understand a person’s situation, by providing attentive, understanding and supporting environment. “Empathy is a complex multidimensional concept that has moral, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components” (Mercer & Reynolds, 2002). Empathy is a technique that nurses need to do to establish a therapeutic relationship. Empathy involves observing, listening and understanding the ideas and emotions voiced by the patient. It allows for the patients situation to be understood as well as focusing on their past experiences objectively (different to sympathy, feeling of compassion, pity and commiseration). For example: A nurse who I was buddy shifting with was discussing the loss of her son in an accident, the nurse responding with a similar loss of her own but added her emotional context of how she felt and how she still feels now. The patient immediately stopped discussing the situation as the nurse had involved

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