Research Paper on "Health Care Communication"

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The Theories and Principles of Therapeutic Communication in Health Care Settings for the Health Care Professional.

In 1976, Psychologist Stewart Tubbs defined therapeutic communication most insightfully as "an interaction which provokes personal insight or reorientation." (Tubbs, S.L., 1976, p. 3). Recent scholars in the field understand "therapeutic communication" by comparing it with normal, everyday "social communication." (Rosenberg, S., 2008, p. 73). Social communication is highly casual, unreflective, and unfocused, whereas "therapeutic communication" is highly attentive and focused on bringing the other person into a certain frame of mind. In the health care field, the target frame of mind is one of comfort and trust towards the health care professional, so as to "create a healing exchange between nurse and patient." (Rosenberg, S., 2008, p. 75).

For health care professionals, the immediate objective in therapeutic communication is to keep communication open through expressions of care, interest, and respect. (Rosenberg, S., 2008, p. 76). These are expressed by specific tactics such as active listening reinforced by attentive body language, conversational prompts, and open-ended questions. Any self-criticism from the patient should be met with empathetic, non-judgmental responses and can be reinforced with encouraging words about the patient's past successes and ability to manage their condition.

Conclusion

Because of their level of authority, duty, and training relative to their patients, health care professionals have a heightened responsibility to make sure that the patient feels comfortable enough to communicate openly and honestly. The tremendous benefits of such communication have already been proven. For health care professionals, these benefits far outweigh the cost of developing their health communication skills.

Bibliography

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Rosenberg, S. (2008). Therapeutic Communication in the Clinical Setting. In Transit: The LaGuardia Journal on Teaching and Learning, 3, 72-84.

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