TY - CHAP
T1 - ‘Your experiences were your tools’
T2 - Qualitative research on Mental Health
AU - Oates, Jennifer Louise
PY - 2016/5/25
Y1 - 2016/5/25
N2 - This paper will present findings from 27 interviews with UK mental health nurses who had their
own subjective experience of mental illness. The aim of the presentation will be to address the
research question of:
How does subjective experience of mental health problems inform mental health nursing?
Using a thematic analysis approach, after Braun and Clark (2006), the study developed a three part
conceptual model for how the mental health nurses brought their own experiences into their work.
First, experiences became part of their identity as nurses, motivating them and guiding their career
choices. Second, they made conscious but subtle use of their self and their experiences in their
rapport and relationship building with patients. Third, they disclosed their experiences to patients
and colleagues in certain circumstances when boundary crossing was deemed a judicious means of developing and progressing a therapeutic relationship. This study offers a novel insight into the
‘expertise by experience’ on which some mental health nurses draw. It builds on the findings of
previous qualitative studies of mental illness in mental health workers, where disclosure has been
seen as a ‘selective’ and ’strategic’ move(Moll et al, 2013; Joyce, McMillan & Hazelton, 2009).
AB - This paper will present findings from 27 interviews with UK mental health nurses who had their
own subjective experience of mental illness. The aim of the presentation will be to address the
research question of:
How does subjective experience of mental health problems inform mental health nursing?
Using a thematic analysis approach, after Braun and Clark (2006), the study developed a three part
conceptual model for how the mental health nurses brought their own experiences into their work.
First, experiences became part of their identity as nurses, motivating them and guiding their career
choices. Second, they made conscious but subtle use of their self and their experiences in their
rapport and relationship building with patients. Third, they disclosed their experiences to patients
and colleagues in certain circumstances when boundary crossing was deemed a judicious means of developing and progressing a therapeutic relationship. This study offers a novel insight into the
‘expertise by experience’ on which some mental health nurses draw. It builds on the findings of
previous qualitative studies of mental illness in mental health workers, where disclosure has been
seen as a ‘selective’ and ’strategic’ move(Moll et al, 2013; Joyce, McMillan & Hazelton, 2009).
M3 - Conference paper
SP - 45
EP - 46
BT - QRMH 6 Conference Timetable and Abstracts
Y2 - 25 May 2016 through 27 May 2016
ER -