The nurse speaks with a client diagnosed with schizophrenia who begins to look away toward the door and grimace. Which statement by the nurse is most therapeutic at this time?

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The goal of therapeutic communication with clients diagnosed with schizophrenia is building trust, self-awareness, reality testing, and self-confidence. The nurse should be aware of client cues that indicate hallucinations (distraction, mumbling, watching a vacant area of the room). This client might be having a visual hallucination, as evidenced by being distracted and grimacing. The nurse must assess for hallucinations that might direct or cause the client to be unsafe or aggressive (eg, suicidal or homicidal themes). It is most therapeutic to ask the client what is being seen, heard, smelled, or felt. Once the specifics of the hallucination are known, the nurse can help the client deal with it. (Option A) This statement does not help the client now. Later, when the nurse knows exactly what the client is seeing, it might be appropriate to redirect the client to the conversation as a way to ignore the hallucination. (Option B) Ending the conversation would not be therapeutic as it does not allow the nurse to help the client during the hallucination. (Option D) This statement is not therapeutic as it addresses the nurse's, not the client's, needs. Educational objective: Communication with a client experiencing a hallucination should first focus on the nature of the hallucination so that the nurse can assess for suicidal or homicidal themes.

The Nurse Speaks with a Client Diagnosed with Schizophrenia Who