Nurse: Gives the patient and his family a
warm greeting to create a positive
atmosphere and establish a good rapport
N: Tries to open up a conversation by using
questions that encourages patient to talk
and share
N: Asks a question to seek viable
information
N: Attempt to evaluate patient’s
understanding and perception of his own
illness
N: Repeats the statement made by the
client to seek clarification. Asks further
questions to delve in to what the patient
has said.
N: Attempts to focus and bring in the
discussion into a single topic
N: Asks question to open and explore a
certain topic.
P: Retells what he experiences whenever
his illness recurs. The pause in between his
lines is a manifestation of blocking speech.
N: Evaluates how the patient reacts to such
stimulus
P: Patient has the tendency to heed to
whatever this stimulus is saying. Scratching
his head is another mannerism evident in
the patient.
N: Tries to stimulate the patient to recall
past events of his life that could have
contributed to his present illness.
P: Patient cannot remember any significant
event which he thinks is a contributing
factor.
N: Assesses patients relationship towards
his family
P: Expresses seriousness in his tone of voice
Tells the nurse how close he is to his family
The pause in between his statement is
again, a manifestation of blocking speech.
N: Asks question to look at the current topic
being discussed for further assessment
P: Strongly denies any presence of domestic
violence. Seeks affirmation from the nurse
by asking “Diba”.
N: Commends the patient for the good
insight given.
Assess the patient’s childhood to get viable
information
P: Expresses gloom through fall of voice
tone. Blocking of speech is evident.
N: Uses open-ended questions to allow
patient to explain
P: Restricted facial expression and
inconsistency of eye contact show that the
patient is not interested on the topic.
Circumstantiality is evident on his speech as
he provides irrelevant data before
answering the question.
N: Changes the topic since the patient
started to exhibit disinterest in the
conversation
P: Is interested again in the conversation as
his vocal tone rises and as he gestured
while talking
N: Tries to explore and encourage the
patient to recall his vices
Greetings acknowledge client’s presence as
well as creating a good start and knowing
client’s disposition.
Broad openings make explicit that the client
has the lead in the interaction. For the client
who is hesitant about talking, broad openings
may stimulate him or her to take the initiative.
Seeking information is used to know more
about client’s feelings, thoughts and ideas. It
is also used to make clear that which is not
meaningful or vague.
Exploring is delving further into a subject or
idea. This can help patient examine the issue
morefully. Any problem or concern can be
better understood if explored. If patient
expresses unwillingness to share, the nurse
must respect his or her wishes.
Clarification is putting into words vague ideas
or unclear thoughts of the client. Purpose is to
help nurse understand, or invite the client to
explain.
Focusing is concentrating on a single point;
Picking up on central topics or cues given by
the client. The nurse encourages the client to
concentrate his energies on a sing le point,
which may prevent a multitude of factors or
problems from overwhelming the client.
Encouraging description of perceptions is
asking the client to verbalize what he or she
perceives. To understand the client, the nurse
must see things from client’s perspective.
Encouraging the client to describe fully may
relieve the tension the client is feeling, and he
might be less likely to take action on ideas
that are harmful or frightening.
Exploring is delving further into a subject or
idea. This can help patient examine the issue
more fully. Any problem or concern can be
better understood if explored. If patient
expresses unwillingness to share, the nurse
must respect his or her wishes.
Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing by Ann
Isaacs p.197
Seeking information is used to know more
about client’s feelings, thoughts and ideas. It
is also used to make clear that which is not
meaningful or vague.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing by Frisch p
185
Focusing is concentrating on a single point;
Picking up on central topics or cues given by
the client. The nurse encourages the client to
concentrate his energies on a sing le point,
which may prevent a multitude of factors or
problems from overwhelming the client.
Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing by Ann
Isaacs p.197
Blocking is usually caused by affectively
charged topics, delusional thoughts or
preoccupations.
General leads indicate that the nurse is
listening and following what the client is
saying without taking away the initiative for
the interaction. They also encourage the
client to continue if he is hesitant or
uncomfortable about the topic.
Giving recognition is acknowledging and
indicating appraisal to the client’s actions.
This helps elevate client’s self esteem.
Questioning is a therapeutic communication
technique using open-ended questions to
achieve relevance and depth discussion
If in response to a direct question, the patient
provides and excessive amount of irrelevant
details before finally answering the question,
the condition is called circumstantiality
Questioning is a therapeutic communication
technique using open-ended questions to
achieve relevance and depth discussion.
Exploring is delving further into a subject or
idea. This can help patient examine the issue
more fully. Any problem or concern can be
N: Seeks significant information on the effect
of marijuana to the patient
he enjoys marijuana
N: Gives information and presents reality to
patient that marijuana use is not good neither
beneficial
N: Explores on the topic discussed to get more
information
N: Assesses patient’s perception on how
marijuana affected his illness
N: Evaluates the abstract thinking of the
patient of the client
N: Terminates the conversation and orients
patient on the scheduled meeting
Recognizes effort of the patient who was
accommodating to the group throughout the
conversation
Shows gratitude to patient for the time he and
his family spared for us.
Exploring is delving further into a subject or
idea. This can help patient examine the issue
more fully. Any problem or concern can be
better understood if explored.
Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing by Ann
Isaacs p.197
When it is obvious that the client is
misinterpreting reality, the nurse can indicate
what is real. The nurse does this by calmly
and quietly expressing the nurse’s perceptions
or the facts not by way of arguing with the
client or belittling h is experience.
Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing by Ann
Isaacs p.199
Exploring is delving further into a subject or
idea. This can help patient examine the issue
more fully. Any problem or concern can be
better understood if explored.
To understand the client, the nurse must see
things from client’s perspective. Encouraging
the client to describe fully may relieve the
tension the client is feeling, and he might be
less likely to take action on ideas that are
harmful or frightening.
Questioning is a therapeutic communication
technique using open-ended questions to
achieve relevance and depth discussion.
The nurse gives recognition in a
nonjudgmental way. The nurse then
terminates the interaction by thanking the
client for his participation and cooperation
during the whole interview.