Notes on narrative knowledge in psychiatric nursing

Abstract

This paper reports briefly on one part of an empirical study of nurses' accounts of conversations with patients diagnosed as 'neurotic' and addresses issues related to narrative knowledge in psychiatric nursing. A rationale for analysing psychiatric nurses' narratives of practice is presented, and one framework for doing so is outlined. The form and grammar of nurses' narratives are sketched, and limitations of the present analysis are discussed. While the paper is based on research on practice in psychiatric hospital admission wards, the argument presented is relevant to psychiatric nursing practice generally.

The Tidal Model: developing an empowering, person‐centred approach to recovery within psychiatric and mental health nursing

“…Within each of these dimensions the nurse aims to explore the person’s construction of experience through narrative (Holdsworth 1995, Tilley 1995, Saunders 1997) employing the concept of the therapeutic alliance (Hummelvoll 1996). In each dimension of assessment and intervention, emphasis is given to engaging the person fully in the process of determining and, where possible, contributing to the interventions that might meet the person’s needs.…”

Judgement days: developing an evaluation for an innovative nursing model

“…Integrating nursing with the services provided by the rest of the multidisciplinary team. For example, nurses present a nursing formulation of patient need that complements the medical formulation of need in the context of a patient review. Resolving problems and promoting mental health through narrative‐based interventions within individual sessions and group work (Tilley 1995, Webster et al . 1995, Stevenson 1996, Saunders 1997).…”

Exploring caring using narrative methodology: an analysis of the approach

“…Reissman (1993) concludes that ‘most scholars treat narratives as discrete units, with clear beginnings and endings, as detachable from the surrounding discourse rather than as situated events’ (p. 17). Similarly, several other writers have stressed that a narrative is a story with a beginning, middle and end (Scholes 1981, Tilley 1995). However, Mishler (1995) warns that these terms are more than points in time but refer to recognizable boundaries of a passage, that is ‘to “openings” and “closings” that give a stretch of talk or text a unity and coherence’ (p. 91).…”

“…Nurses too have been late in discovering the benefits of using them, with increasing recognition of narratives as a valuable qualitative approach (Sandelowski 1991). Tilley (1995), who has used narratives within mental health nursing, contends that their use in research has facilitated the exploration of the more contextual elements of practice.…”