THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION
TECHNIQUES & MISC. ACCURATE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
SOLUTIONS 2024
Using Silence - ANSWER Accepting pauses or silence that may extend for several seconds or minutes
with interjecting any verbal response.
Examples: sitting quietly (or walking with the client) and waiting attentively until the client is able to put
thoughts and feelings into words.
Providing General Leads - ANSWER Using statements or questions that:
(A) encourage the client to verbalize,
(B) choose a topic of conversation, and
(C) facilitate continued verbalization
Examples :
"Can you tell me how it is for you?"
"Perhaps you would like to talk about..."
"Would it help to discuss your feelings?"
"Where would you like to begin?"
"And then what?"
Being Specific and Tentative - ANSWER Making statements that are specific rather than general, and
tentative rather than absolute.
Examples:
"Rate your pain on a scale of 0-10." (Specific statement)
"Are you in pain?" (General statement)
"You seem unconcerned about you diabetes." (Tentative statement)
"You don't care about your diabetes and you never will." (Absolute statement)
, Using Open-Ended Questions - ANSWER Asking broad questions that lead or invite the client to
explore(elaborate, clarify, describe, compare, or illustrate) thoughts or feelings. Open-ended questions
specify only the topic to be discussed and invite answers that are longer than one or two words.
Examples:
"I'd like to hear more about that."
"Tell me about..."
"How have you been feeling lately?"
"What brought you to the hospital?"
"What is your opinion?"
"You said your were frightened yesterday. How do you feel now?"
Using Touch - ANSWER Providing appropriate forms of touch to reinforce caring feelings. Because tactile
contacts vary considerably among individuals, families, and cultures, the nurse must be sensitive to
these differences in attitudes and practices of clients and self.
Examples:
Putting an arm over the client's shoulder.
Placing your hand over your client's hand.
Restating or Rephrasing - ANSWER Actively listening for the client's basic message and then repeating
those thoughts and/or feelings in similar words. This conveys that the nurse has listened and
understood the client's basic message and also offers the client a clearer idea of what they have said.
Examples:
Client: "I couldn't manage to eat any dinner last night - not even the dessert."
Nurse: "You had difficulty eating yesterday."
Client: "Yes I was very upset after my family left."
Client: "I have trouble talking to strangers."
Nurse: "You find it difficult to talking to people you do not know?"
Seeking Clarification - ANSWER A method of making the client's broad overall meaning of the message
more understandable. It is used when rephrasing is difficult or when the communication is rambling or
garbled. To clarify the message, the nurse can restate the basic message or confess confusion and ask
the client to repeat or restate the message. Nurses can also clarify their own message with statements.
TECHNIQUES & MISC. ACCURATE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
SOLUTIONS 2024
Using Silence - ANSWER Accepting pauses or silence that may extend for several seconds or minutes
with interjecting any verbal response.
Examples: sitting quietly (or walking with the client) and waiting attentively until the client is able to put
thoughts and feelings into words.
Providing General Leads - ANSWER Using statements or questions that:
(A) encourage the client to verbalize,
(B) choose a topic of conversation, and
(C) facilitate continued verbalization
Examples :
"Can you tell me how it is for you?"
"Perhaps you would like to talk about..."
"Would it help to discuss your feelings?"
"Where would you like to begin?"
"And then what?"
Being Specific and Tentative - ANSWER Making statements that are specific rather than general, and
tentative rather than absolute.
Examples:
"Rate your pain on a scale of 0-10." (Specific statement)
"Are you in pain?" (General statement)
"You seem unconcerned about you diabetes." (Tentative statement)
"You don't care about your diabetes and you never will." (Absolute statement)
, Using Open-Ended Questions - ANSWER Asking broad questions that lead or invite the client to
explore(elaborate, clarify, describe, compare, or illustrate) thoughts or feelings. Open-ended questions
specify only the topic to be discussed and invite answers that are longer than one or two words.
Examples:
"I'd like to hear more about that."
"Tell me about..."
"How have you been feeling lately?"
"What brought you to the hospital?"
"What is your opinion?"
"You said your were frightened yesterday. How do you feel now?"
Using Touch - ANSWER Providing appropriate forms of touch to reinforce caring feelings. Because tactile
contacts vary considerably among individuals, families, and cultures, the nurse must be sensitive to
these differences in attitudes and practices of clients and self.
Examples:
Putting an arm over the client's shoulder.
Placing your hand over your client's hand.
Restating or Rephrasing - ANSWER Actively listening for the client's basic message and then repeating
those thoughts and/or feelings in similar words. This conveys that the nurse has listened and
understood the client's basic message and also offers the client a clearer idea of what they have said.
Examples:
Client: "I couldn't manage to eat any dinner last night - not even the dessert."
Nurse: "You had difficulty eating yesterday."
Client: "Yes I was very upset after my family left."
Client: "I have trouble talking to strangers."
Nurse: "You find it difficult to talking to people you do not know?"
Seeking Clarification - ANSWER A method of making the client's broad overall meaning of the message
more understandable. It is used when rephrasing is difficult or when the communication is rambling or
garbled. To clarify the message, the nurse can restate the basic message or confess confusion and ask
the client to repeat or restate the message. Nurses can also clarify their own message with statements.
