Abstract

The therapeutic relationship is viewed as the "essence" or the "crux" of psychiatric nursing practice. The relationship between nurse therapist and client is considered to be healing and growth promoting for both participants . While we know a great deal about what therapists are supposed to do in a therapeutic relationship, we did not know the meaning of this everyday experience for the therapists. ;Most of the current research on the therapeutic relationship has been conducted within a paradigm of traditional science which emphasizes quantitative methods. While these investigations have provided vital information, they have been unable to capture the full complexity of this experience. Therefore, the purpose of this inquiry was to contribute to an increased knowledge of the meaning of the therapeutic relationship, from the perspective of experienced nurse psychotherapists who live it. ;Ontological hermeneutics was the mode of inquiry used to explore the meaning of this human experience. An interpretation of the meaning of being in a therapeutic relationship was derived from in-depth unstructured interviews with five experienced nurse psychotherapists. The interpretation of meaning was achieved through a process of continuous dialogue and reflection with the text. The interpretation revealed shared practices and common meanings among the therapists. ;Two constitutive patterns and seven themes emerged. The first constitutive pattern "In the Trenches or Lost in Stories" and the three themes that constitute it, describes the ways the therapists traveled with their clients on the journey of psychotherapy. The second constitutive pattern, "The Begging Bowl: Allowing an Opening for Possibilities" describes the how of the therapeutic relationship and consists of four themes. ;The therapeutic relationship is described as a journey, and pictured as moving in the shape of a double helix. The therapist and client travel side by side, bound together by the bonds of the therapeutic relationship. It is clear that the therapists were not distanced objective observers in the relationship, they were intimately and actively committed to their clients and their journey together. The relationship is not one way; the relationship is healing for the therapists as well and they grow in their ability to provide care authentically. ;The intent of this interpretive research was not to gather facts, but rather, to initiate a dialogue about experiences with therapeutic relationships in the practice of nurse psychotherapists. This research raised many questions that can only be addressed by continuing dialogue among nurse clinicians, educators and researchers