[Nursing experience helping a client with schizophrenia improve her family relationships: application of reality...

Reality therapy has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy in achieving behavioral change. This case study used reality therapy as a therapeutic communication tool to help improve the family relationships of a client with schizophrenia. We used a four-tiered questioning technique to address, respectively, the aspects of "want," "doing/direction," "evaluation" and "plan" (WDEP). Nursing interventions were held between October 21st and November 19th, 2010. The authors used the reality therapy framework and WDEP system to guide the client to explore her inner needs, review problems objectively, and determine where efforts could be focused most effectively. Better appreciation of her abilities and strengths and encouragement of effective actions helped improve client relationships with her family members. This study introduced reality therapy and shared clinical experiences in order to help readers better understand reality therapy as an alternative framework of communication in nursing care.