How to Develop Empathy in Psychiatric Nursing Students

Empathy is an important trait in all the caring professions. A person who is going to work with mentally ill patients will be engaged in communication with them for most of the working day. Her attitude towards the patients will shape much of this communication. One of the first things a student psychiatric nurse learns is the difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy is a very human and spontaneous reaction, but empathy is a more helpful feeling, which can be developed by the student.

Instructions

• 1

  Psychiatric nurses learn to communicate with people who are depressed.

  Teach the students about communication, covering the types and methods of communication. Discuss the importance of warmth and reciprocity and the need to respect the other person. Explain that empathy means attempting to put oneself in the shoes of the other person. It is not possible to completely do this, of course, but the student can try to experience some of the reactions of the patients.

• 2

  Use narrative of different types to enable students to look at a story from different viewpoints. Case studies are particularly useful for this. Encourage the students to read first person accounts of depression and other mental illnesses. Have discussions in the classroom about the stories, inviting the student nurses to explain how the stories have affected their understanding and insight.

• 3

  Use role-play to explore how difficult communication can be when a patient is experiencing other distractions, such as hallucinations. Explain the signs and symptoms of other mental illnesses, so the students can recognize them. Explore group dynamics, so the student can observe the interplay between patients in the care setting.

• 4

  Teach the students about nursing models. This helps the students put a framework on the therapeutic relationships they will develop with patients in the future. Discuss other types of relationships, including family relationships, and how these can affect patients' well-being.