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• Therapeutic communication is an interpersonal interaction between a medical technologist and a client during which the medical technologist focuses on the client's specific needs to promote an effective exchange of information
• Therapeutic use of self is the ability to use one's personality consciously and in full awareness in an attempt to establish relatedness and to structure interventions
• Requirements for a therapeutic relationship include: rapport, trust, respect, genuineness, and empathy
• Phases of a therapeutic Medical technologist-Client relationship:

  • Pre-interaction phase
  • Orientation/introductory period
  • Working phase
  • Termination
• • Social distance - the distance for conversation with strangers or acquaintances (4-12 feet)
  • Public distance - the distance for speaking in public or yelling to someone some distance away (12-15 feet)
• Context of therapeutic communication:

  1. Values, attitudes, and beliefs:

  • Attitudes of prejudice are expressed through negative stereotyping

  2. Culture or religion:

  • Cultural norms, ideas, and customs provide the basis for ways of thinking

  3. Social status:

  • High-status persons often convey their high-power position with gestures of hands on hips, power dressing, greater height, and more distance when communicating with individuals considered to be of lower social status

  4. Gender:

  • Masculine and feminine gestures influence messages conveyed in communication with others
• 5. Age or developmental level:

  • The influence of developmental level on communication is especially evident during adolescence, with words such as "cool," "awesome," and others

  6. The environment:

  • Territoriality, density, and distance are aspects of the environment that communicate messages
  • Proxemics: Use of Space
  • Intimate distance - the closest distance that individuals allow between themselves and others (0-18 inches)
  • Personal distance - the distance for interactions that are personal in nature, such as close conversation with friends (18-36 inches)
• Touch:

  1. Functional-professional touch is used in examinations or procedures such as when a medical technologist touches a client during blood extraction

  2. Social-polite touch is used in greeting such as handshake and the "air kisses" some women use to greet acquaintances

  3. Friendship-warmth touch involves greeting when an arm is thrown around the shoulder, back slapping

  4. Love-intimacy touch involves tight hugs and kisses between lovers or close relatives

  5. Sexual-arousal touch is used by lovers
• Nonverbal Communication: Body Language

  Components of nonverbal communication:

  • Physical appearance and dress
  • Body movement and posture
  • Touch
  • Facial expressions
  • Eye behavior
  • Vocal cues or paralanguage
• Facial expression:

  • Facial expressions are responsible for a huge proportion of nonverbal communication
  • Facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar throughout the world
• Gestures:

  • Deliberate movements and signals are an important way to communicate meaning without words
  • Common gestures include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate numeric amounts
• Paralinguistics:

  • Refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language
  • Factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch play a role
• Body language and posture:

  • Posture and movement can convey a great deal of information
  • Research on body language has grown significantly since the 1970s
• Proxemics:

  • People often refer to their need for "personal space" as an important type of nonverbal communication
  • The amount of distance we need and the space we perceive as belonging to us is influenced by various factors
• Eye gaze:

  • Eye gaze is used as a means to determine honesty and trustworthiness
  • Steady eye contact is often taken as a sign of truthfulness
• Appearance:

  • Choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting appearance are considered a means of nonverbal communication
  • Different colors can evoke different moods and alter physiological reactions
• Listening to the patient:

  • Active listening involves being attentive to what the client is saying, both verbally and nonverbally
  • Nonverbal behaviors like sitting squarely facing the client, observing an open posture, leaning forward, establishing eye contact, and relaxing facilitate attentive listening