A therapeutic relationship is an essential component of any successful health care intervention and this holds no more truth than in the relationship between nurse and patient. As registered nurses we are not trained counsellors, however we do have an understanding of basic counselling skills and how they are applied at a ward level and as such it is more important as a registered nurse to establish a proactive therapeutic relationship with a patient than it is to use an appropriate counselling approach. This paper will examine what counselling is, the role of the nurse counsellor, the basic counselling skills used by registered nurses and the differences in counselling approaches.
Counselling and psychotherapy are frequently used interchangeably, however the Psychotherapist and Counsellors Association of Western Australian [PACAWA] (2005) distinguishes between the two. PACAWA (2005) states that “counselling usually focuses on particular issues or concerns for an individual” and aims to help individuals “develop a clearer understanding of their concerns and their context, both personally and situational”, whilst “psychotherapy focuses more on issues of personal meaning, relationship to self, and the impact of past events and trauma” and aims to help individuals “gain a deeper understanding of themselves and to overcome core issues or blocks that persistently disrupt their lives.” A counsellor will help individuals on “dealing with feelings and reactions they are experiencing, and will assist them in accessing their own creativity to find a way of moving forward” opposed to a psychotherapist, who “works with individuals to gain an understanding of what is happening for that individual” (PACAWA, 2005). PACAWA acknowledges that ther...
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...es distributed in the course NB300 - Counselling Skills for Nurses, at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle on February 28, 2012.
Ryan, B. (2012). Counselling Skills for Nurses: Week 2. Lecture notes distributed in the course NB300 - Counselling Skills for Nurses, at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle on March 06, 2012.
Ryan, B. (2012). Counselling Skills for Nurses: Week 3. Lecture notes distributed in the course NB300 - Counselling Skills for Nurses, at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle on March 13, 2012.
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The framework for creating a therapeutic relationship is built on the nurse’s ability to show empathy towards the client. Empathy is being able to put oneself in the patient’s shoes, to feel the same things they feel and to explore what it means to them (RNAO, 2002). Without the ability to relate to Irene, a trusting relationship cannot be developed nor can mutual respect be earned. Trust is the foundation for building a relationship; once created, the client feels more comfortable opening up. Trust is established in many ways; such as keeping confidentiality, be...
The relationship between the person seeking help and the nurse/counsellor should be appropriate for producing therapeutic change, to ensure that the patient maximizes from the therapeutic relationship. The health care provider should ensure that they communicate effectively to the patient/client. The skills explained in the above essay are the relevant skills that nurses in the contemporary hospital environment should adhere to and respect.
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There are multiple structures of that can be applied to the counselling process, ranging from the basic idea of a beginning, middle and end to a more structured approach as that proposed by Egan (1994). Although his initial structure offered three main components; Stage 1, exploring the situation, stage 2, identifying a new or desired scenario to strive for and stage 3, the action stage, in which methods of coping are devised of and implemented. Egan later devised a ten stage structure that still takes into account initial stages from the speakers perspective of identifying a problem and seeking help, within this structure stage 4 is the initial meeting of the counsellor and client and can be considered the beginning stage of the helping re...
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Within nursing many skills and attributes contribute to a knowledgeable and well rounded healthcare professional, a key concept is of the individual as a lifelong learner which is defined as the process of continuous learning which spans a nurse’s professional life time (Jarvis, 2004). Previously once nurses had been registered they would be fit to practice and no longer be required to further advance their skills, now however the NMC requires mandatory updates to nurses knowledge and training in order to make sure the best and up to date care is provided (Oxford Handbooks in Nursing 2012). Two key skills this essay will explore are communication and working collaboratively. Communication includes at least two people engaged in a meaningful exchange to express facts, opinions and information, using both verbal and non- verbal methods, which can be written or face to face (www.gov.uk, 2010).Working collaboratively requires, equal treatment of all colleagues and the ability to exchange relevant skills and experience with other professionals when appropriate for the treatment of the patient (Barton and Le May, 2012). The essay will subsequently explore these two skills and attributes in more depth and look at how they are used in lifelong learning as a nurse.
Counselling Patients and Families: Families recognise their strengths in the process of sharing their stories. A feedback process alongside the storytelling assists in reaching the desired outcomes of counselling ( Vetere & Dowling, 2005). The use of stories in buffering and making reality easier to talk about out loud and with another person. A way of using stories about others that relate to the client and coming up with solutions for success on how to overcome obstacles and barriers associated with the issue at hand (Robjanta & Fezelb, 2010).
This paper will review the historic and current field of nursing and look at goals for its future. It will examine a vision document created in 2002 by a diverse group of nursing associations which outlines an ideal of what the future of nursing should look like as well as the areas that need to be focused on in order to achieve this ideal state. This document will also be used in the examination of the current nursing issue of bullying among nurses. To begin the author will discuss what nursing has looked like throughout history.