Therapeutic Comm Q 12
A student nurse is learning about the appropriate use of touch when communicating with clients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Which statement by the instructor best provides information about this aspect of therapeutic communication?
A. "Touch carries a different meaning for different individuals."
B. "Touch is often used when deescalating volatile client situations."
C. "Touch is used to convey interest and warmth."
D. "Touch is best combined with empathy when dealing with anxious clients."
Correct Answer: A. “Touch carries a different meaning for different individuals.”
Touch can elicit both negative and positive reactions, depending on the people involved and the circumstances of the interaction. The Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England (Skills for Care and Skills for Health, 2013) Section 1.6 states that you must maintain and establish appropriate and clear professional boundaries with your patients. This includes knowing when it is not appropriate to use touch or when that touch could be misunderstood by the patient.
Option B: As Quiddington (2009:65) states “touching a person is a boundary issue, so do not assume that every individual finds being touched acceptable or desirable.” Just as it may not be appropriate for a support worker to provide personal intimate care to a patient of the opposite sex then so too expressive touch may not be appropriate.
Option C: Expressive touch can be an important means of communication. Chamley and James (2013:584) identify that it is “a two-way process involving feelings and sensation, and indicates a caring or loving relationship.” Skills for Care (2016) states that touch can also be used in a more practical way to communicate with people who are deaf and visually impaired by signing information directly onto the person’s hand.
Option D: There is also a fourth type of touch known as therapeutic touch. Within the nursing literature, this is often wrongly confused with expressive touch. However, therapeutic touch is a complementary therapy whereby the trained support worker uses their hands to facilitate relaxation and healing. The goal is to smooth out or relieve energy congestion over the patient’s body and is believed to be helpful in reducing pain and anxiety (Coakley and Barron, 2012) and enhances the healing process of patients who are injured or ill (Kozier et al, 2012).