Building Trust: Nurse-Patient Relationship in Psychiatric Care

1. Chapter 9 Therapeutic Relationships

2. Concepts of the Nurse-Patient Relationship • Basis of all psychiatric nursing treatment approaches • To establish that the nurse is • Safe • Confidential • Reliable • Consistent • Relationship with clear boundaries

3. Goals and Functions Facilitate communication of distressing thoughts and feelings Assist patient with problem solving Help patient examine self-defeating behaviors and test alternatives Promote self-care and independence

4. Social Relationships • Initiated for the purpose of friendship or meeting a goal • Mutual needs are met • Communication to give advice, give or ask for help • Content of communication superficial

5. Therapeutic Relationships • Needs of patient identified and explored • Clear boundaries established • Problem-solving approaches taken • New coping skills developed • Behavioral change encouraged

6. Necessary Behaviors for Nurses Accountability Focus on patient’s needs Clinical competence Delaying judgment Supervision

7. Establishing Boundaries • Physical boundaries • The contract • Personal space

8. Blurring of Boundaries • When relationship slips into social context • When nurse’s needs are met at expense of patient’s needs

9. Blurring of Roles • Transference– patient unconsciously displaces onto individual in current life emotions and behaviors from childhood that originated in relationships with significant others • Transference intensified with person in authority in current life

10. Blurring of RolesContinued • Countertransference– nurse displaces feelings related to people in nurse’s past onto patient • Patient’s transference to nurse often results in countertransference in nurse • Common sign of countertransference in nurse is overidentification with the patient

11. Values, Beliefs, and Self-Awareness • Nurse’s values and beliefs • Not right for everyone • Reflect own culture/subculture • Derived from range of choices • Chosen from a variety of influences and role models

12. Peplau’s Model of Nurse-Patient Relationship • Orientation phase • Working phase • Termination phase

13. Orientation Phase • Establishing rapport • Parameters of the relationship • Formal or informal contract • Confidentiality • Terms of termination

14. Working Phase • Maintain relationship • Gather further data • Promote patient’s • problem-solving skills • self-esteem • use of language

15. Working PhaseContinued • Facilitate behavioral change • Overcome resistant behaviors • Evaluate problems and goals • Redefine them as necessary • Promote practice and expression of alternative adaptive behaviors

16. Termination Phase • Summarize goals and objectives achieved • Discuss ways for patient to incorporate new coping strategies learned • Review situations of relationship • Exchange memories

17. Factors That Help Nurse-Patient Relationship • Consistency • Pacing • Listening • Initial impressions

18. Factors That Help Nurse-Patient RelationshipContinued • Promoting patient comfort and balancing control • Patient factors include • trust and • active participation

19. Factors That Encourage and Promote Patient Growth • Genuineness • Empathy (not sympathy) • Positive Regard • attitudes and • actions

20. Factors That Encourage and Promote Patient GrowthContinued Attending Suspending value judgments Helping patients develop resources

21. A nurse seeks to establish a relationship with a patient readmitted to the hospital. The patient has bipolar disorder, depressed type, and was hospitalized the preceding month. Which statement by the nurse would contribute to establishing trust?

22. “Weren’t you complying with your medication regimen?” “It must be discouraging to be readmitted to the hospital so soon.” “Everyone with bipolar disorder ends up in the hospital occasionally.” “You must take your drugs as prescribed or you will be rehospitalized.”