Guidelines for Therapeutic Communications

• Be congruent in what you are saying and what your body language is conveying.
• Use clear, concise words that are adapted to the individual’s intelligence and experience.
• Do not say “I understand” or “you’ll be okay.” Verbally or Non-verbally say “I care about you” or “I want to help you.”
• Use appropriate silence to give the patient time to organize his thoughts and respond.
• Let the patient set the pace of the interaction, do not hurry him.
• Accept the patient as he is without making judgments.
• Offer a collaborative relationship in which you are willing to work with the patient in resolving problems and making change.
• Use open ended questions to encourage expression of feelings and thoughts.
• Explore ideas completely. Do not drop a subject that the patient has introduced without some resolution.
• Clarify statements and relationships when necessary. Do not try to read the patient’s mind or interpret what he says.
• Give positive feedback every chance you get. Praise the patient for communications and attempts at problem solving or decision making.
• Encourage expression of feelings.
• Paraphrase statements and feelings to facilitate ventilation.
• Translate feelings into words so that hidden meanings can be discovered.
• Focus teaching especially if the patient misinterprets facts or if he misinterpreting the truth.
• Offer teaching and information, but avoid giving advice.
• Encourage the patient to ask for clarification if he does not understand what is being said. Do not use phrases or slang that can be misunderstood.
• Encourage an appropriate plan of action, example self care.
• Summarize at the end of the conversation to focus on the important points of the communications and validate the patient’s understanding.
• Remember the more personal and intense feelings or thought is, the more difficult it is to communicate. The keyword is TO LISTEN.