Therapeutic Alliance and Its Resulting Methods and Interventions

Therapeutic Alliance
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Therapeutic Alliance
The 90-year-old female patient may be having a co-morbid disease or inter-current illness that is causing her respiratory issues. Besides, her instability may be the result of a single disease process or the accrued effect of several impairments. The patient’s immediate needs are her breathing difficulties and instability. The elderly patient requires a systematic respiratory assessment given the high susceptibility of geriatric populations to respiratory infections including pneumonia and aspiration. She also requires an assessment of gait and balance impairment in order to understand the somatic diseases that could be impacting her functional dexterity and possible solutions to the same. The patient should therefore be referred to a health care center that can conduct both assessments and provide appropriate care.
The patient’s understanding of her medical condition and her available options of care will be assessed by first demonstrating genuine interest, respect, warmth, and empathy in a nonjudgmental and nonthreatening manner. A bilingual and bicultural clinician is critical to establishing confidence and mutual trust so as to allow the patient to open up about symptomatic conditions (Baggett et al., 2010). The patient’s understanding of her medical condition and her available options to care will then be assessed by asking questions. Simple questions are an effective tool to assessing whether a patient comprehends their medical status and options: the accuracy of the patient’s answers will help determine understanding and knowledge of medical condition and available options. The patient will be encouraged to ask questions and asked to explain her condition and options comprehensively in her own words.
The patient’s rural location may adversely affect health outcomes owing to challenges in accessibility of health care services or clinicians, adverse social determinants (like lower employment opportunities, limited health education resources, and higher poverty levels), as well as higher incidences of risky behaviors like alcohol use and tobacco smoking. Her background may pose significant linguistic and cultural barriers when accessing health care services. She may have difficulty communicating her needs or understanding prescribed treatment, especially in rural hospitals where there is a limited number of multicultural staff. The patient is also homeless and therefore she may have trouble finding someone to consistently support her in getting to appointments, seeking care, and obtaining medications. Her limited support networks means that she may not also have someone to help her recognize symptoms of worsening conditions or health complications.
One of the methods I would use to understand the family’s communication style and culture better to improve my professional relationship is by familiarizing myself with the culturally inappropriate gestures as well as body language in order to avoid any misunderstandings. When using an interpreter, I will choose to speak directly to the patient and their caregiver rather than the interpreter ...