Therapeutic Communication Skills Essay

Fostering a Culture of Safety through Mindfulness and Effective Therapeutic Communication

Cultivating effective therapeutic communication skills is essential to all nursing staff. Furthermore, effective therapeutic communication skills are a crucial quality of a competent psychiatric nurse. An adolescent psychiatric milieu can be a stressful environment due to aggression and attention-seeking behaviors of patients. Developing positive relationships with psychiatric patients prior to an escalation of behaviors facilitates opportunities for early intervention. Nurses who focus on self-awareness, therapeutic use of self, presence, and listening skills are capable of de-escalating behavioral incidents efficiently. Several studies have represented

Aggressive behaviors often lead to safety issues such as assaults against peers or staff, which increases 1:1 staffing and restraint/seclusion episodes. Disruptive/impulsive behaviors repeatedly lead to patient safety incidents such as falls or medication errors. Opportunities for interventions such as limit-setting and de-escalation are frequently missed by nursing staff due to poor communications skills, interruptions, time pressure, and lack of

Delaney, Shattell, and Johnson (2017) offered that patient engagement is a vital component to cultivate a culture of safety and care within an inpatient psychiatric milieu. The authors presented that patients often perceive nurses as being too busy, focused on tasks, or retaining distance. Delaney et al. (2017) additionally addressed that conventional therapeutic communication descriptions overlook the importance of interpersonal engagement in which one moves away from attitudes and acquires the ability to empathize and develops a non-judgmental, compassionate