The place of the unconscious in mental health nursing.
This paper acknowledges the concept of the unconscious in psychiatric discourse and explores the importance of this for mental health nursing practice. Mental health nursing practice has always been strongly influenced by psychiatric discourse because of its dominance in the clinical setting. The most recent edition of the American Psychiatry Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has signalled that the concept of the unconscious is re-emerging in psychiatric discourse. This re-emergence provides the opportunity for mental health nurses to re-affirm or develop their psychotherapeutic skills in the nurse-patient relationship. The psychotherapeutic relationship could focus on ways for the patient to find meaning in their lives that recognize and value difference and multiple ways of being.
Crowe
Marie
M
Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch, New Zealand. marie.crowe@chmeds.ac.nz
D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology