Communication Type

Communication is essential in having a normal life. We communicate from little kids and as we get older it seems easy and normal. But in order to communicate effectively we have to practice and develop communication skills. Therapeutic communication is a method used to make patients interact and develop this side. Patients that come in order to get help in this domain, have problems in communicating with others, lack self esteem and so they need to be encouraged.

Here are some of the Therapeutic Communication techniques that are applied: listening . Listening is essential in understanding the patient. The patient has to talk, express himself, share thoughts and feelings in order to develop this quality and to discover what is really the problem. The relationship between nurse or doctor-patient is usually made through lot of talking. Broad openings is a technique used in order to make the patient choose what he wants to talk about. Just as in any other communication and conversation, asking open ended questions is great. The nurse can ask  what are you thinking about? what shall we discuss today? Even if the response the patient gives is not the one the nurse seeks to find, the process goes differently. The nurse is specially trained to know what to do in such cases.

Questioning the patient is another good Therapeutic Communication technique. Asking questions is a real art. The nurse has to ask questions, but there is a limit. Not too many but also not two or three. In order to find out what the patient has asking questions is necessary. Intimate or too private ones should be asked when a certain connection and relationship has already been defined. Restating what the patient has said is very important because in this way the nurse can reinforce, validate and also call attention to what he has said. Restating also shows that the nurse pays attention . Clarification is just as restating but only here the nurse trys to understand each idea the patient has said. She can ask something like „ I`m not sure what you mean can you say it again?”.

Therapeutic Communication includes also : Reflexion, focusing, sharing perceptions, theme identification, silence, humor, informing, suggesting, confrontation and role playing. Through all these methods, the nurse tries to figure out what the patient is thinking, if all these things end with success then the patient is ok. Each patient has a diagnosis, put after the nurse or the doctor makes a short summary of the symptoms.

As a conclusion, therapeutic communication is great because there are so many people that need to improve their self esteem and obtain courage. Many people have a bad opinion about themselves and that`s why they can`t communicate properly with others. Therapeutic communication is often very helpful, making people open up more easy. Communication is very important so if you think you have a communication problem it`s best to see a doctor . It`s no shame, we could all use guidance.