What Is Peplau's Theory Of Interpersonal Relations

Therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is defined as: “an interpersonal process that occurs between nurse and patient. It is a purposed communication with the main goal of promoting the values, interests, and health outcomes of the patients (Pazargadi & Moghadam, 2015). Developing a therapeutic relationship is a vital skill that is necessary in making the patient feel comfortable and safe. The nurse must acknowledge that the words that are exchanged between the nurse and the patient will form ideas and feelings (Porr, Drummond & Olson, 2012). Therapeutic relationships allow the nurse and patient to establish clear and appropriate boundaries and maintain confidentiality. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on a nurse-patient therapeutic relationship and explore relational behaviors displayed within the interaction.

Hildegard Peplau was born on September 1, 1909, and she lived until March 17, 1999, she was raised in Reading, PA by her parents. In 1918 Hildegard witnessed the devastating flu epidemic which greatly influenced her understanding of the impact of illness and death on families. Hildegard graduated in 1931 from the Pennsylvania school of nursing, received her bachelor’s degree in interpersonal psychology in 1942, received her masters and doctoral degrees from

Hildegard Peplau’s middle-range theory, Interpersonal Relations, established in 1948 and highlighted the nurse-patient relationship as the groundwork of nursing practice. Peplau supports each role individually, the nurse and the patient, by ensuring that equal participation is implemented to reach a mutual goal. For example, the role of the patient reflects vulnerability and the expectation to be open to the health care providers throughout care and treatment plan. Subsequently, the nurse is supposed to facilitate a reciprocated relationship by noting the client’s behavior, defining the client’s illness, creating the most proper care for the client, understanding the physician’s treatment plan and confirming it, and intervening when required (Sue Penckofer, 2013).

In order to illustrate the importance of theory in nursing practice, I would like to consider Peplau's middle-range theory which " focuses on the interpersonal process and therapeutic relationship that develops between the nurse and client " ( Ranesh, 2013 ). The work of Hildegard. E. Peplau whose career began in psychiatric nursing was influenced by Henry Stack Sullivan, Percival Symonds, Abraham Maslow, and Neal Elger Miller and published in 1952. Subsequently, in 1968 Peplau's interpersonal techniques became the substance of psychiatric nursing underscoring four phases in a nurse-patient relationship as orientation, identification, exploitation, resolution while identifying six nurse's role: stranger, teacher, resource person, counselor,

With many theories on nursing, the nurse must determine which approach is best suited to her particular skills and patient population. In 1952 Hildegard E. Peplau presented her theory on interpersonal relations in regard to nursing care and practice, providing a model for nurses to aid patients in healing and overcoming illness through personal interaction (Cherry & Jacob, 2011, p. 96).

Peplau’s work is well-known and several publications have used her interpersonal relations in nursing theory in various settings and contexts. Various research applications of Peplau’s interpersonal relations theory include application in emergency and rural nursing (Senn, 2013), patients with long-term serious mental illness (Kim & Kim, 2007), psychiatric workforce development (Armstrong & Kelly, 2007), adolescents with mental health problems (Davies & Huws-Thomas, (2007), and healthcare professionals and ethnopharmacology (Warren, 2008).

Nursing theorist, Hildegard Peplau knew that in order to care for patients, the nurse must establish a strong relationship with the patient. This is an essential element in being able to provide adequate planning, diagnosing, and successfully treating patients. Personally, my desire to learn more about Peplau’s theory is because it is a very significant quality to have as a nurse. Nursing is a very interpersonal career, and by forming trusting relationships with patients early in one’s nursing practice, I can provide the best care possible to meet psychosocial needs as well as treat the present illness. The benefits that creating interpersonal relationships can have on the patients’ health condition and their planned outcomes, is also a very interesting area of focus. Many nursing students today did not understand the importance of Peplau’s theory. They choose a career in nursing because of the finical stability and wide range of options that the career offers. Overall, one cannot forget that nursing is patient centered care.

As a nurse, communication is an essential and important factor to building a therapeutic relationship between a nurse and patient as it is the difference between average and excellent nursing care, as it helps maintain a good quality of life and allows nurses’ and patients to interact and provide comfort when needed. The importance of good communication can become apparent with patients especially when they are in the hospital, as it helps the nurses build a positive relationship with patients and helps overcome barriers including physical, psychological and social. A therapeutic relationship is built on many factors which include both verbal and non-verbal communication which helps maintains the relationship and strengthens it due to the positive impact it has not only on the patient’s experience but also the nurse’s.

By giving nurses a sense of identity, nursing theory can help patients, managers and other healthcare professionals to recognize the unique contribution that nurses make to the healthcare service (Draper 1990).Hildegard Peplau, one of the role model of nursing theorist, established a theory of interpersonal relationships in nursing. Her reason is the goal of the nurse-client relationship is to give a quality nursing care moving forward to health promotion and maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a basic assessment of her theory.

Hildegard Peplau was an influential nursing theorist, who’s also known as the “mother of psychiatric nursing.” Her primary concern was how people relate to one another and through research and science based practice theories, she came to the conclusion that the nurse-patient relationship is the center of nursing. According to Peplau, in order for a trusting relationship to develop there has to be trust between the nurse and the patient as

Arnold E (1999). Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nursing. 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company.

She focused on the nurse-patient connection, that is formed through a professional relationship influenced by verbal and Nonverbal communication. The interpersonal theory promotes four different aspects of nursing care, however, Hildegard's Peplau's interpersonal theory is replicated and implemented in modern, nursing practice through seven types of nursing roles; although the interpersonal theory is proven to be used in

Peplau published her Theory of Interpersonal Relations in 1952. Her theory focused on the nurse-client relationship. She felt that this was the foundation of nursing practice. Peplau created an interpersonal model highlighting the need for a partnership between nurse and clients. This model opposed the patient passively receiving treatment and the nurse passively acting out physician’s orders.

Within nursing, there is a very delicate balance between a nurse and her patient that must be maintained if the patient is to receive the care that he or she is entitled to receive. The patient must feel comfortable trusting his nurse to hear his needs and respond to them appropriately and in order for this to be the case, the nurse must first provide therapeutic communication effective enough to elicit such a response in her patient. There are both verbal and non-verbal components within the nurse-patient relationship. These components greatly influence how a nurse and patient will relate to each other and, ultimately, greatly influence the care that the patient receives.

Therapeutic Communication has a huge impact on patients, whether, we, as nurses, see it or not. It is very important for a nurse to gain a patient’s trust. Many patients are already filled with sadness, nervousness and unsure thoughts of their current situation. Such thoughts may make a person scared to trust or open up to a nurse or doctor. Developing a close rapport with a patient can help to create a safe, warming environment, resulting in a positive experience throughout their time in the hospital or even nursing home. In “Therapeutic Communication”, Anna Lauria opens saying, “What we say or do not say can influence whether a client is able to quiet his mind, relax his body and initiate a healing response” (Lauria). Being a nurse, we automatically have the opportunity to create a strong influence on patients’ lives during, and even after, their hospital experience.