THEORETICAL

FOUNDATION OF
NURSING
NELLAS, SOFIE MAY C.

PROFESSOR FAYE FELICILDA

RN, MAN
HILDEGARD PEPLAU
HILDEGARD PEPLAU’S THEORY OF
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS :

“Nursing is the interpersonal

therapeutic process of functioning
cooperatively with other human
processes that make health possible for
individuals in communities through
education that aims to promote forward
movement of personality.”
Hildegard Peplau
 considered the mother of
psychiatric mental health nursing.
 credited for the following in the
nursing profession:
Promotion of professional standards and
regulation through credentialing
Introduced the concept of advanced
nursing practices
Stressed the importance of psychodynamics
in nursing practice
Proponent of the nurse’s unique ability to
understand his or her own behavior in order
to help others identify their perceived
difficulties
Four phases of the nurse-patient
relationship :
Orientation
- on admission
-the nurse-patient interaction
where the client seeks help and the
nurse assists the client to understand
the problem and the extent of the need
for help
Identification
-during intensive treatment period
-characterized by the client who
assumes a posture of dependence,
interdependence, or independence in
relation to the nurse. The nurse’s focus is to
assure the person that the nurse
understands the interpersonal meaning of
the client’s situation
Exploitation

-convalescence and rehabilitation

-client derives full value from what the
nurse offers through the relationship. The
client uses available services based on self-
interest and needs. Power shifts from the
nurse to the client.
Resolution

-discharge
-old needs are resolved, newer and
more mature one become evident.
Six nursing roles:

Stranger role
-role of nurses is exemplified by the
nurse receiving the client in the same way
one meets a stranger in other life situations.
The nurse provides an accepting climate
that builds trust.
Resource role
-the nurse answers questions,
interprets clinical treatment data, and gives
information.

Teaching role
-the nurse gives instructions and
provides training. She also involves analysis
and synthesis of the learner’s experience.
Counseling role
-the nurse helps the client understand
and integrate the meaning of current life
circumstances and provides guidance and
encouragement to make changes.
Surrogate role
-the nurse helps client clarify domains
of dependence, interdependence, and
independence and acts on clients’ behalf as
advocate.

Active leadership
-the nurse helps the client assume
maximum responsibility for meeting
treatment goals in a mutually satisfying way.
Four psychological experiences that compel
destructive or constructive responses:
Needs
Frustrations
Conflicts
Anxieties
Peplau’s contribution to the nursing profession is
greatly influenced by the works of Sigmund Freud
(Psychoanalytical Theory), Abraham Maslow
(Hierarchy of Needs Model), and Harry Sullivan
(Interpersonal Relationship Theory).The usefulness
of her theory is based on contemporary
psychoanalytical models. Peplau’s works reflect
mastery of the theories of different disciplines. Her
synthesis of theories from different fields into a
theory that is significant to the nursing profession is
one of the hallmarks of her career as a nurse theorist.
She used the psychological model to develop her
Interpersonal Relations Theory in the practice of the
nursing profession.
Theory Assertions:

Person
- viewed as an organism that strives to reduce
and minimize the tension generated by needs.

Environment
-described as the psychodynamic milieu that
receives attention emphasizing on the patient’s
culture and tradition.
Health
-defined as an ongoing human processes in
the direction of creative, constructive, productive,
personal, and community living.

Nursing
-viewed as the interpersonal therapeutic
process that functions cooperatively with other
human processes that make health possible for
individuals in the communities. It is an educative
instrument, a maturing force that aims to promote
forward movement of personality.
Applications of the Theory:
Peplau’s theory is significant in terms of the
different phases of the nurse-patient interaction
and the different roles the nurse can play in giving
nursing care to patients. It thus, becomes
important for nurses to understand the principles
behind each of these concepts so that clinical
nursing will be more meaningful for the nurse.
Eventually, this will translate to better patient
outcomes like improved health, prevention of
disease, and or enhancement of care faculties