By the end of the lecture, students should be to:
• Define therapeutic communication
• Differentiate between verbal and non-verbal communication
• Discuss the components of communication
• Explain effective communication skills
• List the barriers to effective communication

• Complex process of sending, receiving and comprehending messages between two or more people
• Dynamic and on-going process
• Creates a unique experience between the participants
• Skill that can be learned

• Demonstrate care
• Establish relationships
• Obtain information
• Assist with changing behaviour
NB: Therapeutic communication is foundational to the nurse-client relationship

Intrapersonal –occurs within an individual
• Self talk-
• Internal discussion that takes place when an individual is thinking but nor verbalizing it
• Access client and or situation and critically think about it before verbalizing

Interpersonal – occurs between two people
• Most common in nursing
• Requires exchange of information with an individual or small group of people

Public – occurs with large groups of people
• Educational programmes
• Teaching in community settings

Transpersonal- addresses spiritual needs
• Provides interventions to meet the needs

Small group - within a group of people

Functional Components of
Communication
• Referent -incentive or motive for communication
• Sender - Person who initiates the message
• Channel - method of transmitting and receiving the message (sight, hearing, touch)
• Receiver - person to whom message is aimed at

• Environment- emotional and physical climate in which the communication took place
• Feedback- message returned to sender
- Maybe verbal or non-verbal
- Positive or negative
NB: Feedback is an essential component of ongoing communication

• Interpersonal variable- influence the communication between sender and receiver

Factors that Affect Verbal
Communication
• Vocabulary- words
• Denotative/connotative meaning- share meaning
• Clarity/brevity- short and simple
• Timing/relevance- knowing when to communicate
• Pacing- rate of speech
• Intonation- tone of voice

- Assess the client’s non-verbal communication and meaning.
- Attention to these are important
• Appearance
• Posture
• Gait
• Facial Expression
• Eye contact

• Gestures
• Sounds
• Territoriality
• Personal space
• Silence

Purposeful use of communication to build and maintain relationships with clients
• Elicit and attend to client’s thoughts, feelings, concerns and needs
• Express empathy and genuine concern for client and family
• Obtain information and give feedback about clients condition

Therapeutic CONT’D
• Intervene to promote functional bahaviour and effective interpersonal relationships
• Evaluates clients progress towards desired goals and outcomes
NB: 1. Children and older adults requires altered techniques
2. T. Comm. is required in the nursing process

X’tics of Therapeutic Communication
• Client –centered - (not social or reciprocal)
• Purposeful
• Planned
• Goal directed

Essential Components of Therapeutic communication
• Time
• Attending bahaviour or active listening
- Eye contact
- Body language
- Vocal quality
- Verbal tracking
• Caring attitude
• Honesty
• Trust
• Empathy
• Non-judgemental attitude

• Use simple, straight forward language
• Be aware of non-verbal messages
• Be at child’s eye level
• Incorporate play

• Client may require amplification
• Minimize distraction and face the client when speaking
• Allow plenty of time for the client to respond
• When communication is impaired, ask for input from caregivers

• Silence- allows time for meaningful reflection
• Active listening- hear ,observe and understand
• Open-ended questions- allow clients to explore feelings
• Clarifying techniques- use to check if information is accurate: Restating, reflecting, paraphrasing, exploring

• General leads- start and continue talking
• Acceptance and recognition —interest and no judgment
• Focusing -conc. on what is important
• Asking questions - seek additional info.
• Giving info - provides details –decision making

• Presenting reality - actual happening
• Summarizing - important points summary
• Offering self - relevant self disclosure
• Touch - communicate caring and comfort

Barriers to Effective Communication
• Asking irrelevant questions
• Offering personal opinions
• Giving advice
• Giving false assurances
• Minimizing feelings

• Changing the topic
• Asking ‘why’ questions
• Offering value judgment
• Excessive questioning
• Responding approvingly or disapprovingly