Empathy and Communication Training Program for Psychiatric Nurse Specialists in Saudi Arabia (ECTP)

This study tests whether a five-day Empathy and Communication Training Program (ECTP) helps psychiatric nurse specialists in Saudi Arabia engage better with their patients. Good relationships between nurses and patients are central to mental health care, but structured training in empathy and communication is limited in Saudi psychiatric hospitals. The ECTP is a face-to-face program of five two-hour sessions (10 hours in total). It covers empathy and communication, the work environment, language and cultural barriers, and emotional preparedness. Sessions use short lectures, role-play, case discussions and group reflection. The study took place at two psychiatric hospitals. Nurses at the Eradah Complex for Mental Health in Dammam took the ECTP. Nurses at the Eradah Hospital for Mental Health in Madinah attended their usual hospital training sessions instead. Participants were not randomly assigned. The hospital they worked in decided which group they joined. Nurses at both hospitals completed a 15-item questionnaire about therapeutic engagement before and after the training period. After the program, 15 nurses from the Dammam group were interviewed about how the training affected their work and what barriers remained. The study aims to find out whether nurses' self-reported therapeutic engagement improves after the ECTP compared with usual training, and to understand nurses' own experiences of the program.