Some cultures are likely to engage in self-treatment using healing processes and may differ from Western medicine. The nurse is caring for a client who uses these healing practices. What is the best action by the nurse?

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who developed psychoanalytic theory and therapy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He believed that unconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences from childhood could influence behavior and mental health in adulthood. Psychoanalytic therapy is a type of talk therapy that aims to bring these unconscious thoughts and experiences to the surface, in order to help patients gain insight into their behavior and mental health.

Defence mechanisms are psychological strategies that individuals use unconsciously to protect themselves from anxiety and emotional pain. Freud identified several defense mechanisms, including repression, denial, projection, and displacement. Psychoanalytic therapy is designed to help patients identify and understand these defense mechanisms, in order to develop healthier coping strategies.

Dorothea Dix was a social reformer who advocated for the humane treatment of the mentally ill. Erick Erickson was a developmental psychologist who developed a theory of psychosocial development.

Hildegard Peplau was a nurse theorist who developed a theory of interpersonal relationships in nursing. None of these individuals were associated with the development of psychoanalytic therapy.

Countertransference occurs when a healthcare provider unconsciously redirects their own feelings and emotions onto their client. This can be triggered by similarities between the client and someone from the provider’s past or present, or by similarities between the client’s situation and the provider’s own experiences. In this case, if the nurse and client have similar histories, it may trigger countertransference in the nurse.