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L'infirmière n° 050 du 01/11/2024

 

THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION IN NURSING

DOSSIER

DU FRANÇAIS À L’ANGLAIS

Émilien Mohsen  

professeur d’anglais aux écoles d’ergothérapie de Nancy et Mulhouse

A senior nurse (SN) is explaining to a trainee nurse (TN), who’s carrying out her first internship, the importance of therapeutic communication in a correctional setting.

SN : First, you should know how to deal with inmates, which leads us to what we might refer to as the therapeutic communication.

TN : I feel ill-at-ease at the idea of dealing with prisoners.

SN : Well, being a professional nurse in correctional nursing practice includes being familiar with nurse-patient relationship, and also with the need for safety.

TN : What do you mean by that?

SN : Here we refer to effective communication, which is a gold-standard for the nursing practice in a carceral environment. Communication strategies should be grounded in empathy, respect, and active listening, but also authenticity and trust, which are essential.

TN : But, still I’m a bit usure about this notion of “effective” communication with prisoners. What does that consist in?

SN : Therapeutic communication involves a face-to-face interaction designed to enhance a patient’s overall well-being. Nurses utilize therapeutic communication skills to provide information and support to patients while maintaining neutrality and professionalism.

TN : Ok. What kind of strategies can we use to engage in therapeutic communication with an inmate patient?

SN : A range of techniques, such as asking open-ended questions, acknowledging and accepting the patients’ feelings, using silence to allow for reflection, seeking clarification, actively listening…

TN : Can you give me an example of these notions?

SN : Sure. For an open-ended question, we might say “what would you like to discuss?” As for acceptance and acknowledgement, it is rather to signify to patients that they have been heard. An example response is saying, “Yes, I get what you are saying.”

TN : But then what is the silence used for?

SN : It allows both you and the patient time to reflect on an issue, or for the patient to change the subject. You’d let him initiate the next conversation or ask for clarification. Active listening can include verbal and nonverbal signals to show that you are engaged in the conversation. For example, you can nodd your head in agreement with something. However, reflecting and summarizing are also techniques that a correctional nurse should employ to solve a problem by rephrasing the request or question back to the patient, or summarizing it in order to indicate that you were listening and verify that the patient has understood what you were saying.

COMMON PHRASES

Communication strategies should be grounded in empathy, respect, and active listening, but also authenticity and trust, which are essential.

Les stratégies de communication doivent être fondées sur l’empathie, le respect et l’écoute active, mais aussi sur l’authenticité et la confiance, qui sont essentielles.

Therapeutic communication involves a face-to-face interaction designed to enhance a patient’s overall well-being.

Une communication thérapeutique implique une interaction en face-à-face destinée à améliorer le bien-être général du patient.

Nurses utilize therapeutic communication skills to provide information and support to patients while maintaining neutrality and professionalism.

Les infirmières utilisent leurs compétences en communication thérapeutique pour fournir des informations et un soutien aux patients en restant neutres et professionnelles.

You can involve a range of techniques, such as asking open-ended questions, acknowledging and accepting the patients’ feelings, using silence to allow for reflection, seeking clarification, actively listening…

Vous pouvez faire appel à une série de techniques, comme poser des questions ouvertes, reconnaître et accepter les sentiments des patients, utiliser le silence pour permettre la réflexion, demander des précisions, écouter activement…

Silence allows both you and the patient time to reflect on an issue or for the patient to change the subject. You’d let him initiate the next conversation or ask for clarification.

Le silence vous donne, à vous et au patient, le temps de réfléchir à une question ou lui permet de changer de sujet. Vous le laissez entamer la conversation suivante ou demander des éclaircissements.

Active listening can include verbal and nonverbal signals to show that you are engaged in the conversation. For example, you can just nodd your head in agreement with something.

L’écoute active inclut des signaux verbaux et non verbaux pour montrer que vous participez à la conversation. Par exemple, vous pouvez hocher la tête en signe d’approbation.

VOCABULARY

Therapeutic communication

Communication thérapeutique

Correctional setting

Milieu carcéral

Inmates

Détenus

Correctional nursing practice

Pratique infirmière en milieu pénitentiaire

Nurse-patient relationship

Relation soignant-soigné

Safety

Sécurité

Carceral environment

Environnement carcéral

Empathy

Empathie

Active listening

Écoute active

Authenticity

Authenticité

Trust

Confiance

Face-to-face interaction

Interaction en face à face

Neutrality

Neutralité

Professionalism

Professionnalisme

Verbal and nonverbal signals

Signaux verbaux et non verbaux