Therapeutic Communication Using Mirroring Interventions in Nursing Education: A Mixed Methods Study

Therapeutic communication between nurses and patients is a method of interaction occurring throughout the process of identifying and resolving the patient's health problems. This study investigated the effects of interventions on nursing students' therapeutic communication competency.

This mixed methods study used a sequential exploratory design involving four sessions of therapeutic communication interventions with 40 third-year nursing students in South Korea. A pre- and post-therapeutic communication competence survey was conducted, and the effect was confirmed through individual interviews. Paired t-tests assessed the difference in therapeutic communication competence, while qualitative data underwent content analysis.

Therapeutic communication competence results improved from 79.30 to 89.58 points out of 100. Three themes were derived: "the process of properly recognizing myself," "active learning to understand communication between myself and others," and "successful steps toward practicing sincere nursing."

Therapeutic communication interventions involving mirroring interviews and shared experiences improve nursing students' patient-centered communication skills. The findings provided evidence for strategies needed to improve therapeutic communication competency in clinical settings.