What's the right therapeutic distance?

Most specialists working in helping or caring for others are asked to adopt a healthy distance from those they treat. This is often referred to as "therapeutic distance". Yet this concept can be blurred for some. This nurse and trainer explains the principle in this podcast.

The idea, in a nutshell, is to be able to hear the realities of the individual in front of you, while at the same time having a humane attitude and standing back from the situation. There are two main dangers for those working in care or therapeutic relationships.

• The first is to experience too great an emotional connection with the patient and become overwhelmed by what is happening. The trainer has an interesting image to explain this: attachment becomes a rope around the professional's waist, and he or she risks being swept away if the person being helped jumps off the metaphorical bridge he or she is on.
  
  
• Conversely, some people literally armor themselves and become totally insensitive to people in pain. This attitude is no healthier, as it demonstrates a destabilizing closure for the patient, who will then avoid revealing too much, feeling much worse than he or she already is.

Professionals are therefore urged to be empathetic in their attitude. If they feel moved by the situation, they can take a few seconds to observe how they feel. They can then take a step back without ignoring what they're feeling. Afterwards, they should tell trusted colleagues or other sources of confidence what it was like for them. If the situation is such that they feel they're losing their footing, it's best to ask someone else to deal with the situation.

Running time: 11min44