Factors that Affect the Quality of Therapeutic Relationships in Mental Health Nursing - Dissertation Example

This research paper “Factors that Affect the Quality of Therapeutic Relationships in Mental Health Nursing” acknowledges the significance of developing quality relationship between a mental health patient and nurse so as to realize the desired outcome from the therapeutic relationship. Mental health nurses play a critical role in caring for people with mental illness hence the need for them to establish co-operation with such patients that would yield therapeutic solutions as guided by the nurses’ code of conduct.

This nurse-patient relationship is referred to as therapeutic relationship. This study is founded on the importance of ensuring quality therapeutic relationship to achieve the desired outcome. As such, it aims at determining the factors, attributed to a service user, that influence the quality of therapeutic relationship in a mental health setting. This would be accomplished using an electronic search engine, Wiley Online Library, sourcing for articles published between 2007 and 2012 in the UK setting to determine these factors.

The findings would be categorised into three themes: service user’s interpersonal aspects, perception and expectations. Despite the limitation to one search engine and the geographical coverage of the candidate studies, the themes articulated in the study point out to the importance of effective communication among mental health nurses and guide on the attributes desired of such nurses. As the quality of therapeutic relationship determines the outcome posted.. ion on the themes 20 3.3 Limitation of the study 21 3.

4 Implication and recommendation for future practice 22 References 23 Appendices 28 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction to therapeutic relationship in mental health nursing In the modern society, mental health has had a significant impact on health care provision. The mental disorders could be categorised as depression, psychotic illness and drug dependence (World Health Organisation 2008). It has been noted that mental illness affects the community, workmates, family and the individual as well.

According to the World Health Organisation (2003), a third of the years that humans have lived with disabilities would be attributed to mental health disorders. In the UK, the prevalence of mental health nursing stands at one case in six people according to Dooher (2008). These figures indicate the importance associated with mental health in the society. Mental health nurses are charged with caring for people who have mental health needs both in the community and hospital setting. At times referred to as psychiatric nursing, mental health nursing is one of the branches in nursing that deals with caring for people who suffer from mental distress.

According to Dooher, these nurses “help patients lead as ‘normal’ a life as possible, striving to enable the optimum potential of those they work with” (2008, p.1). There has been a shift in the mindset of nursing in mental health setting from the psychiatric point of view where the primary function involved executing the orders from the doctor and administering the prescribed treatment to an evidence-based care which is health oriented and practiced in diverse settings. This shift began in 1970 in the UK and 1960 in the US (Baker 2004; Horsfall et al. 2001). Therefore,