Therapeutic listening: developing the concept

1. Therapeutic listening is an art that all nurses, especially psychiatric nurses, must possess to be effective. Listening has been listed as the most effective therapeutic technique available. 2. Therapeutic listening is an interpersonal confirmation process, involving all the senses, in which the therapist attends with empathy to the client's verbal and nonverbal messages to facilitate the understanding, synthesis, and interpretation of the client's situation. 3. The therapeutic listening process includes maintaining eye contact; an attending posture; staying within conversational distance; responding with facial expressions, touch, gestures, and encouraging words; asking relevant questions; and interpreting and summarizing key points using specific words spoken by the client.