During a nurse–client interaction, the client tells the nurse, "I don't think I can deal with feeling so sad much longer." The nurse's best response is which of the following?

1. "Is there a history of depression in your family?"
2. "We all have times of sadness."
3. "Are you saying you feel sad?"
4. "Tell me about your feelings of sadness."


4
Rationale: The nurse is using the therapeutic communication technique of encouraging the client to explore feelings when asking the client to talk about the feelings of sadness. The technique of reflecting "You feel sad?" is therapeutic, but the better response is to encourage the client to explore the feelings about being sad to facilitate developing insight. Restating at this point would prompt a closed-ended response by focusing on the content (sad), as opposed to focusing on the behavior or feelings (sadness). Asking about the client's history provides the client with an opportunity to shift the focus from the feelings to providing information about the client's family; the nurse should review the client's history prior to the interaction. Suggesting that we all have times of sadness discounts the client's feelings.

Nursing

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