Psych NPs: Do you touch your clients?

[resilientnurse]

Perhaps this topic has been explored here before, so please forgive me. But I am curious about any current thoughts on the topic. I do not touch my patients. Although, on 1-2 occassions I have gone to stand up after a session and to my surprise clients simply lunge towards me for a hug AND JUST TAKE IT. I learned not to touch very early on in my training. In fact, I did clinicals with a psychiatrist who was absolutely up in arms and about to resign because it was suggested that she might have to take VS during an evaluation so that the agency could maximize it's reimbursement. "I will absolutely NOT touch a patient! They could be traumatized." I understood her point and subscribe to the no touching. Recently, I have been working in the Southwest (on locums) and I am amazed at the number of clients that come in, meet me for the first time and extend their hand to be shaked. My clients don't do that back home. This is such a foreign practice for me coming from the Midwest. Ironically, here if the RN takes off the clinicians are expected to take VS. This has happened to me once. I reluctantly did it, but am truly hoping that this nurse stays put.

[DrCOVID, DNP]

This topic is kinda funny...

But anyway, it would depend on the situation/and your knowledge of the patient. If you have good rapport, know the person well, pt not in distress, is mentally somewhat stable, etc, then touch is fine. I think I've come across research that says touch is therapeutic and releases feel good hormones.

Of course if someone is threatening staff, agitated, has a potential weapon in their hand I'm not going to go up and touch them!

[greygooseuria]

I'm in primary care, not psych, but when I am dealing with patients with depression and psychiatric disorders and they start crying, I'll often lean in and put a hand on their shoulder, knee, etc. and they often hug me since I've validated their feelings/told them they're normal and not to be too hard on themselves for feeling depressed/having some disorder. I'm not going to avoid touching them; they would interpret that as opposite what I was just saying to them. In my psych RN clinicals I was always told to use therapeutic touch whenever possible too and it's never steered me wrong so far. I've found patients usually appreciate it.