All I missed in the therapeutic relationship: The lived experience narrative of a mental health nurse receiving mental healthcare

Abstract

Introduction The therapeutic relationship is not always functional in clinical practice due to various factors, such as lack of time, lack of job motivation, exhaustion and rejection towards the person cared for.

Aim The aim of this study is to illustrate to professionals the needs of the persons they care for and how they see the world.

Method The aim was achieved through the development of a lived experience narrative.

Results This lived experience narrative describes the experience of a mental health nurse since her first psychotic symptoms and her perceptions of the therapeutic relationship with mental health staff in her trajectory from the first psychiatric appointment until her last contact with the community mental health services.

Discussion This narrative suggests that mental health professionals are sometimes far from discovering what service users are feeling and their precise needs. This highlights the need to humanize mental healthcare.