Therapeutic Communication & Barriers To Communication

Front 1

Using Silence

Back 1

Therapeutic Communication:
Accepting pauses or periods when no one talks that may extend for several seconds to minutes without interjecting any verbal response

Hint 1

Sitting quietly and waiting attentively until the client is able to put thoughts and feelings into words

Front 2

Providing General Leads

Back 2

Therapeutic Communication:
Using statements or questions that (a) encourage the client to verbalize, (b) choose a topic of conversations, and (c) facilitate continued verbalization.

Hint 2

"Can you tell me how it is for you?"
"Perhaps you would like to talk about..."
"Would it help to discuss your feelings?"
"Where would you like to begin?"
"And then what?"

Front 3

Being Specific and Tentative

Back 3

Therapeutic Communication:
Making statements that are specific rather than general, and tentative rather than absolute.

Hint 3

Say "Rate your pain on a scale of 0-10," (specific) instead of "Are you in pain?" (general).
Say "You seem unconcerned about your diabetes," (tentative) instead of "YOu don't care about your diabetes," (absolute).

Front 4

Using Open-Ended Questions

Back 4

Therapeutic Communication:
Asking broad questions that lead or invite the client to explore thoughs or feelings. Specifies only the topic to be discussed and invite answers that are longer than one or two words.

Hint 4

"I'd like to hear more about that."
"Tell me about..."
"How have you been feeling lately."
"What brought you to the hospital?"
"What is your opinion?"

Front 5

Using touch

Back 5

Therapeutic Communication:
Providing appropriate forms of contact to reinforce caring feelings.

Hint 5

Putting an arm over the client's shoulder.
Placing your hand over the client's hand.