Consulting activities: Models and skills from the nurse’s point of view

Abstract

Nurses who work in general hospitals with patients’ mental care needs are required functional capability to provide therapy and an environment that supports developmental growth that guarantees safety and security in everyday life of the patient. Because of their particular situation, however, nurses may be faced with a dilemma related to balancing patient needs with the physical risks associated with those needs, or may become emotionally involved with patients caused by their relationship with the patient. The psychiatric liaison nurse clarifies real needs of or relationship between patients in a nurse-patient relationship by grasping the meaning of stories told by both, and interpreting meaning of gap between the stories of both. This task corresponds to "drawing out hidden needs" and "identifying the problem" of a consultation process and is the most difficult task among all processes. In the present article, we focused on the consultation skill in this phase on our experiences.