COMMUNICATION IN MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Communication is a key concept in nursing. Care Quality Commission (2012) highlighted the importance of accessible information and communication in the delivery of high quality care services. Nurses often spend a large proportion of time exchanging information with their patients and listening to their needs. Therefore, effective communication and interpersonal skills are vital in building caring professional and ethical nurse-patient relationships. These enable the delivery of personal centered care which is particularly important for mental health patients. For instance, therapeutic communication in mental health services can promote the well –being of the clients. To address these issues, this essay aims to identify key components of effective communication that can enhance good quality care for people with mental health problems. Poor practice examples that are resulted from the lack of sufficient communication are investigated for example, report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry (2013). Finally, the influence of effective communication on my future practice is discussed.
Communication is the process by which people use to exchange information through verbal or nonverbal messages. It comprised of both verbal and nonverbal messages, such as; body language, eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, rate of speech, context and hesitations that accompany the words (Videbeck 2011). Morrissey and Callaghan (2011) states that communication in mental health nursing is a primary factor of all therapeutic interventions. It is important for a mental health nurse to have the knowledge and interpersonal skills of communicating effectively in order to help people experiencing mental health problem as well as facilitating the development of a positive nurse service user relationship. It is