title: Listening and focusing: holistic health care tools for nurses.
abstract: This article explores the roles of two methods of holistic communication: active listening and focusing. Active listening is a technique used by the nurse to reflect on what a patient has said to him or her and can help patients feel more deeply and be understood better by the nurse. Focusing, a body-centered method for developing self-awareness, is a way of listening to feelings by becoming aware of body sensations that carry meaning about issues or concerns. This article includes four uses of focusing: (1) reducing stress, (2) creating better coping strategies (e.g., pain control, decision making), (3) making behavioral changes, and (4) developing a collaborative approach with patients. Clinical examples (mini-focusing moments) that demonstrate how listening and focusing may be integrated into daily nursing care are also included.
authors.affiliation: Division of Counseling Psychology, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klagsbrun
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology