Elements of psychiatric nursing practice in clinical literature

¶ … Pilot Study', displays a detailed analysis on verbal and non-verbal communication amongst a nurse and three known schizophrenic patients, diagnosed through the DSM-IV criteria. Disturbance in the ability to understand verbal and non-verbal cues displayed by patients interrupts the nurse-client relationship. (Pounds, 2010)

Certain negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as, anhedonia, apathy, lack of motivation, sociality and poverty of thought have been refractory to drugs that are used to treat this condition. This makes effective interaction with these patients all the more necessary for the alleviation of such symptoms. The relative scarcity of research regarding this aspect of social interaction has been rather surprising. The aim of this study was to provide some insight to the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behavior of a clinical nurse specialist to the verbal and nonverbal behavior of a client. (Pounds, 2010)

This study explains several interesting components, most captivating of which was the detailed description of each participants' personality who were included in the study and the influence it had on the outcome of the session. The nurse-client relationship was unique for each participant. (Pounds, 2010)

Each client, Jane, Sam and Gary, were described in terms of their hygiene status, psychotic and obsessive symptoms, body language, and work and disease history. Jane, aged 63, had been experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations despite aggressive medical therapy. She had attended an Adult Day Health Program in the community, despite her disease status. In each session, she was neatly dressed and kept her sunglasses on throughout each one of them. (Pounds, 2010)

Sam, aged 57, was the next client, who had a history of paranoid schizophrenia, and displayed psychotic symptoms, loose associations and paucity of thought during the session. Sam did not have any work history and displayed poor hygiene. His body language was mostly closed through the session. The third client was Gary, a 44-year-old male, who displayed good hygiene. He carried a pair of leather gloves with him in each session. He did not display any overt psychotic thought process unless when asked by the nurse. He most looked ahead at the wall during the conversation and displayed a flat affect during the sessions. (Pounds, 2010)

There were differences in body posture and movements, most of which were observed in the interaction with Jane. The session with Jane was also conversational and she maintained greatest eye contact when compared to Sam and Gary. The nurse's interaction with Jane reflected mutual understanding and enjoyment. Sam, on the other hand, displayed sad emotions, to which the nurse expressed a concerned look and open body language. Unlike Jane, the interaction with Sam and Gary was one of question and answer. Both of these patients exhibited moments of silence before responding. (Pounds, 2010)

The key component, and the most interesting aspect of the nurse-client interaction, is the question, 'do certain behaviors evoke certain responses?' The answer is yes. This conclusion stems from the fact that during the sessions, the nurse displayed a behavior, through verbal and non-verbal cues, that encouraged the clients to participate, despite their acute psychotic and negative symptoms. At instances, she responded by using exaggerated verbal and non-verbal cues, that attracted attention. (Pounds, 2010)