Communication in Relationships Quiz

Aims of Therapeutic Communication

• Establishing a trusting and respectful relationship
• Transmitting and sharing information
• Exchanging ideas and understanding perceptions
• Creating a platform for renewed understanding
• Enhancing understanding of attitudes, ideas and beliefs
• Achieving mutually acceptable goals for discourse, interventions and therapy

Communication Theory

• Communication is about interacting with people and is core to nursing
• Effective therapeutic nursing requires patient-centred communication skills
• Continuous awareness by nurses of their interactions with others enhances therapeutic relationships

Concepts of Communication

• Communication is both simple and complex (Rosengren, 2000)
• A linear method of communication has sender, message, channel, and receiver
• The linear model assumes the sender is responsible for verbal and nonverbal communication. The sender knows the receiver interpreted the message accurately through feedback, the sender is clear about the purpose of the message and the receiver is receptive.
• The linear model does not account for factors including personal and professional aspects of both the sender and receiver (values, beliefs, culture, goals).

Concepts of Communication: Circular Model

• Communication is an ongoing dynamic process.
• It takes place within a context of a relationship
• It acknowledges intrinsic and extrinsic factors
• Feedback is fundamental

Concepts of Communication: Noise

• DeVito (2002) described 4 types of noise
  • Physical
  • Physiological
  • Psychological
  • Semantic

Purpose of Communication

• convey a message
• satisfy personal needs
• influence others
• establish relationships
• engage in play and entertainment

Levels of Communication

• Cliché (ritual conversation), Gossip (reporting facts or events), Discussing ideas (sharing thoughts), Sharing feelings, Peak communication (intimacy).

Blocks to Communication

• Authority
• Power
• Language
• Ability and disability
• Personality
• Background
• Gender
• Health
• Age
• Socio-economic group
• Race

Barriers Within the Patient

• Lack of motivation toward being healthy
• Perceptions of health status (cognitive-perceptual factors)
• Beliefs about the cause of illness
• Control over health
• Benefits and barriers to health

Barriers Within the Nurse

• Lack of active listening
• Non-verbal cues conflicting with verbal messages
• Language barriers
• Communication filters
• Transference (unconscious projection of feelings/attitudes)
• Countertransference (nurse's response to patient's inappropriate feelings/attitudes)
• Defense mechanisms (rationalization, regression, repression, denial, identification, projection)

Ethical Dilemmas and Boundaries

• Boundaries are parameters of the professional relationship, creating space for therapeutic interaction and safety
• Specific red flags that indicate boundary crossings (e.g. giving personal details, spending excessive time with a client, preferential treatment)
• Ethical dilemmas arise when individuals or entities need to choose between options that involve moral considerations.
• What are boundaries in a professional relationship? Create space for therapeutic relationship and safety for the client.
• What are some boundary crossings? Abuse of power, touch, sexual exploitation, dual roles (relative/neighbor, social event), self-disclosure, providing personal contact information (phone number, address), spending excessive time, special treatments, giving late/early appointments, preferential treatment, styles of communication e.g. too familiar, overuse of personal space, touch.

The inability to differentiate professional relationship from social relationship

• Some activities may seem social but are still considered part of the professional relationship
• Treatment needs of the client are what drive the therapeutic nurse-client relationship.

What can help me keep an eye on my professional boundaries?

• Self-awareness and self-monitoring
• Peer debriefing and group approach
• Supervision/buddy system
• Staff support
• Continuing education

Psychology and Nursing

• Aims: explore a range of psychological perspectives and explaining their role in human behaviour and nursing practice
• Definitions: Nursing assists the individual in activities relating to health/recovery. Psychology studies behaviour and mental processes (outward actions & reactions, internal thinking/feelings/remembering).

Psychology Perspectives

• Biological
• Psychodynamic
• Behavioural
• Cognitive
• Humanistic

Biological Psychology

• Suggests that biological function/structure determine behaviour
• Genes, anatomical differences, development through the lifespan

Psychodynamic Psychology

• Active forces within personality motivate behaviour
• Conflicts between inner/unconscious and conscious
• Freud's theory of mind, personality, and development
  • ID: basic needs, instant gratification
  • Ego: balances ID with reality
  • Superego: moral values and ideals

Psychodynamic Psychology - Stages of Psychosexual Development

• Oral: 0-18 months
• Anal: 18-36 months
• Phallic: 3-6 years
• Latent: 6 years to puberty
• Genital: puberty onwards

Behavioural Psychology

• Learning is a core concept
• Four building blocks: habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning.

Cognitive Psychology

• How people think or think through information
• Processes like schemas are used to process information.
• Cognitive development stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
• Cognitive psychology and health decisions regarding health behaviors

Humanistic Psychology

• Emphasis on the potential and uniqueness of each person
• Maslow's Hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization)

Topic 5: Multidisciplinary Care

• Interprofessional: Interactions among team members with shared goals.
• Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary (different backgrounds)
• Intraprofessional (same profession, different specialisations)
• Interagency (collaborating agencies)
• Multidisciplinary teams (shared decision-making, continuity of care, etc.)
• Multidisciplinary clinics: provide access to various clinicians in one setting.

Topic 6: The Concept of Care in Nursing

• Caring is central to professional nursing practice (core value)
• Caring theories (Watson's theory, Leininger's theory, etc.) explore the multifaceted nature of caring and relationship
• Caring behaviours (facilitative, supportive, assistive)

Simone Roach's Conceptualization of Caring

• Caring is a humanistic perspective
• Key concepts: Compassion, Competence, Confidence, Conscience, Commitment (The 5 C’s)
• These concepts are essential attributes of caring.

Test your understanding of key concepts related to communication, especially in the context of relationships. This quiz covers types of noise, factors that affect communication, and the levels of openness and honesty. Challenge yourself with questions that explore the cognitive factors influencing health motivation.