Final answer:
The psychiatric nurse uses initial communication with a client suffering from psychosis to establish a therapeutic relationship and assess psychosocial needs, thereby creating an emotional support network and providing a framework for care. It helps in understanding the patient's condition and beliefs, and facilitates the effective administration of treatment, including the use of neuroleptic drugs.
Step-by-step explanation:
While providing care to a client with psychosis, the psychiatric nurse uses communication initially to establish a therapeutic relationship and to assess the patient's psychosocial needs. This initial communication forms an emotional support network, which is crucial in building trust and understanding between the patient and the healthcare provider. It also serves as a foundation for shaping the framework of care-giving and can enlighten the healthcare team about the patient's perception of their illness, which is essential for personalized care.
Effective communication can help determine the patient's cognitive state and readiness to participate in treatment, facilitating the effective administration of neuroleptic drugs if necessary. These drugs, while reducing initiative and interest in the environment and potentially causing some initial side effects such as drowsiness, also assist in reducing agitation and aggressive behavior, thereby allowing the patient to become more responsive and communicative over time.
Considering the holistic nature of psychiatric care, which also involves understanding the beliefs about the cause of mental illness among patients and their families, as stated by Aghukwa in a study from 2012, communication serves multiple purposes of care, support, and information exchange in the treatment of psychosis.