Role of Psychiatric Nurses in Therapeutic Relationship Building

Abstract

Therapeutic relationship building is a process of close professional relationships between nurses and patients that takes time and requires maintenance of good trust-based mutual relationships. Nurses also help patients to recognize their true-self and to accept and to respect themselves. Psychiatric nurses are particularly in close contact with patients with cognitive, emotional, perception, and behavioral disorders. All these ailments not only affect patient’s way of life which include self-care and work but also hinder their relationships with others. Due to the closeness and involvement with patients throughout the entire nursing care practice, psychiatric nurses play an integral role in all phases of therapeutic relationship building. First in the pre-interaction phase, nurses are engaged in self-preparation of knowledge and skills, formulating goals and plans in meeting with patients, examining patients’ data, and maintaining their self-awareness. During orientation phase, nurses build relationships to strengthen patients’ trust, reach agreements and goals with patients, and explore problems in a collaborative manner. This phase help patients understanding their own problems and fostering the incentives to receive treatments. In the working phase, nurses maintain good relationships with patients and help them solve their own problems. This phase begins with jointly analyzing causes of the problems as well as planning and finding of suitable solutions. Finally in termination phase, nurses examine patient emotions, evaluate progress and success, and draw conclusions of relationship outcomes. In this regard, one important goal of therapeutic relationship building is to ultimately help patients attaining good health.