Arthur has a family history of colon cancer and is scheduled to have a sigmoidoscopy. He is crying as he tells you, “I know that I have colon cancer, too.” Which response is most therapeutic?
A. “I know just how you feel.”
B. “You seem upset.”
C. “Oh, don’t worry about it, everything will be just fine.”
D. “Why do you think you have cancer?”
Correct Answer: B. “You seem upset.”
Making observations about what you see or hear is a useful therapeutic technique. This way, you acknowledge that you are interested in what the patient is saying and feeling. Observations about the appearance, demeanor, or behavior of patients can help draw attention to areas that might pose a problem for them.
Option A: Giving one’s own opinion, evaluating, moralizing, or implying one’s values by using words such as “nice”, “bad”, “right”, “wrong”, “should” and “ought” is not appropriate. Advanced levels of emotional support include sitting with patients and “providing opportunities for them to feel accompanied in their struggles,” directly answering questions, making the patient feel special, and making supportive gestures such as, when appropriate, holding the patient’s hand.
Option C: Giving the patient false reassurance is inappropriate. False reassurance is something a nurse might give to a patient in an effort to comfort or encourage them, but in reality, is not based on fact either.
Option D: Probing is inappropriate in this situation. Nontherapeutic communication also includes probing, or the continuous questioning of the client about something, that may, in turn, discourage proper communication between the nurse and patient.
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