How Does Critical Thinking and Ethics Affect Therapeutic Communication in the Treatment of Mental Health Patients?

How does Critical Thinking and Ethics affect Therapeutic Communication in the Treatment of Mental Health Patients?
Donna Turner
Bryant & Stratton College
Phil 250: Practices in Analytic Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Mrs. Lyons
June 6, 2011

How does Critical Thinking and Ethics affect Therapeutic Communication in the Treatment of Mental Health Patients?

An important component of treatment for the mental health patient is knowledgeable, therapeutic communication abilities. The mental health patient is not physically sick, but is generally considered sick in his or her way of thinking. Therefore, the way a nurse communicates to this particular patient is important to the health and treatment of the patient. How does critical thinking and ethics affect therapeutic communication in the treatment of mental health patients? Critical thinking is a vital skill when communicating with the patient. The mental health patient will need therapeutic communication that incorporates open ended questions, observed behaviors, reflection, neutral responses, rephrasing and focusing. (Lhynnelli, 2110). As with any nursing intervention, the process involves assessments, documentation, planning and treatments. The therapeutic communication should be based on scientific rationale, evidence based standards, and practice guidelines in order to foster behavioral changes, emotional stability, and wellness. Critical thinking is achieved when communication involves not only taking into consideration the implications of the communication, but also the patients point of view, the information received, purpose of the information, assumptions, the issues at hand, and the conclusions and assumptions of the communication.(Heaslip,1999).
Treatment of the mental health patient will involve ethical issues that must be considered at times. Confidentiality is an issue that is addressed in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. (HIPAA). This law maintains that all health and treatment information remain private and confidential. Other ethical issues involved in the therapeutic communication of patients include; personal opinions about issues and how they affect nursing attitudes, cultural bias, equal treatment among patients, abstaining from personal opinions, and moral reasoning. (Boss, 2010).
Critical thinking in the mental health nursing field will involve problem solving skills, appreciation of differences of opinion regarding treatment plans, research involving specific health problems and treatment options, and the adaptation to a variety of problems, patients, and professional opinions. These skills and more are important in every aspect of nursing, and continue to evolve and grow each passing year in the workplace as confidence and personal knowledge of nursing skills develop.
Critical thinking and ethics in the workplace is a learned skill that will continue to improve with knowledge. Use of the internet, search tools and applied text books can be used to acquire the needed information to complete any assignment or to help with any question. There is an abundance of information on the internet that can be used to solve a variety of problems and may be helpful with writing, research and workplace competency. I began my research with a question on an internet search program, and progressed with answers and related information from the text.

References
Boss, J. A. (2010). Think: Critical Thinking and Logic Skills for Everyday Life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Heaslip, P. (2009). Critical thinking: To think like a nurse. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/HE/ctandnursing.cfm
Lhynnelli, (2010). Psychiatric mental health assessment. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcrib.com/nursing-notes-reviewer/psychiatric-mental-health-nursing/psychiatric-mental-health-assessment/

References: Boss, J. A. (2010). Think: Critical Thinking and Logic Skills for Everyday Life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Heaslip, P. (2009). Critical thinking: To think like a nurse. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/HE/ctandnursing.cfm Lhynnelli, (2010). Psychiatric mental health assessment. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcrib.com/nursing-notes-reviewer/psychiatric-mental-health-nursing/psychiatric-mental-health-assessment/