SOCIAL and THERAPEUTIC

Relationship
IGDALINO, MARK JOHN P. BSN 3
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP

• A social relationship is any voluntary or involuntary

interpersonal link between two or more people,
individually or within/between groups.

• When people are socially connected and have stable

and supportive relationships, they are more likely to
make healthy choices and to have better mental and
physical health outcomes. They are also better able
to cope with hard times, stress, anxiety, and
depression.
THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

• Therapeutic relationship refers to the relationship

between a healthcare professional and a client or
patient. It is the means by which a therapist and a
client hope to engage with each other and effect
beneficial change in the client.
THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

• Edward Bordin, defined a good therapeutic

relationship as consisting of three essential
qualities: an emotional bond of trust, caring, and
respect; agreement on the goals of therapy; and
collaboration on the “work” or tasks of the
treatment.
A therapeutic relationship differs from a social
relationship in that it is health focused and patient
centered with defined boundaries. Peplau (1991)
described the nurse’s focused interest in the
patient as “professional closeness.”
Communication is the cornerstone of the nurse–
patient relationship.
 THERAPEUTIC
DIFFERENTIATION SOCIAL INTERACTION
INTERACTION

Characteristics Personal and intimate Personal but NOT intimate

Doing favor for mutual Promoting functional use of

Goal
benefit one’s latent inner resources

Termination Not defined Defined in the beginning

By client with the help of

Identification of Needs May not occur
the nurse

Specialized professional
Resources Used Variety during interaction
skills for intervention
Focus of therapeutic relationship is in helping
clients (RELEASE):

Reinforce self-worth
Enhance self-concept & confidence
Learn coping strategies
Examine relationships
Achieve Growth
Solve Problems
Extinguish unwanted behavior
NON-THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION

Communication is important in managing many aspects of

mental health. It can make or break our recovery, personal
relationships, and interactions with professionals who are
charged with helping us heal.

Psychiatric nurses must be skilled at knowing the right

words to use with a patient. Words should inform but not
overwhelm, and be honest without causing upset. Nurses
must know how to use their tone of voice and volume of
speaking in ways that cause patients to respond with a calm
and peaceful demeanor.
The best way to define nontherapeutic communication is to
understand its converse, therapeutic communication.
Therapeutic communication is a combination of verbal and
nonverbal communication techniques that helps improve a
patient’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Thus, nontherapeutic communication involves various words,

phrases, actions, and tones that make a patient feel
uncomfortable, increase their stress, and worsen their
overall mental, and perhaps even physical, wellbeing.
NON-THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION

Nontherapeutic communication includes words,

phrases, actions, and tones that make a patient
feel uncomfortable, increase their stress, and
worsen their mental and even physical wellbeing.
Examples of nontherapeutic communication
techniques include: Advising, or telling the patient
what he or she needs to do.
 RESPONSE EXAMPLE
“Don’t worry, you will be better in a few weeks.
False Reassurance “Don’t worry, I had an operation just like it, it was
a snap.”
“What you should do is…” “If I were you, I would
Giving Advise do…”
“I don’t like it when you…” “Please, don’t ever
Rejecting
talk about…”
“Everybody feels that way.” “Why shouldn’t you
Belittling
feel that way?”
“Tell me more about your relationship with other
Probing
men.”
“Hi, I am Joann, your student nurse. How old are
you? What brought you to the hospital? How many
Overloading
children do you have? Do you want to fill out your
menu right now?”
Not giving enough information so that the meaning
Underloading
is clear, withholding information.
Cliches “Gee, the weather is beautiful outside.”
Best Responses in tests are those that:

Clarify and validate behaviors

Use silence but express presence
Reflect and focus on feelings
• Encourage clients to express more fully