An Assessment of a Microcounseling Model for Nurse Training in Facilitative Interpersonal Skills

Abstract

Many large psychiatric hospitals, being overcrowded and understaffed, lack a healthy treatment atmosphere. The need for maximizing every staff member's potential cannot thus be overemphasized. Although psychiatric nursing staff have maximum contact with patients, they frequently lack training in interpersonal skills. The aim of the study was to tentatively assess the feasibility of implementing a brief counselling training programme for psychiatric nurses in a hospital context. A set of skills, conducive to the establishment of a therapeutic milieu, was selected. A number of available programmes were assessed in terms of their suitability for training these specific skills, and a microcounseling programme was chosen and implemented. A small sample of nurses was drawn, and no control group was utilized. An own-control, time-series design was used, and methodological difficulties relating to implementation and assessment are discussed. Significant trainee gains were demonstrated, although methodological shortcomings allowed only tentative conclusions. The value of a more rigorous design and extensive process analyses is stressed.