The Role of Nurses in the Systemic Therapy of Mental Diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Systemic therapy is an approach to helping people with psychological difficulties which is radically different from other therapies. It does not see its work as being to cure mental illnesses that reside within individuals, but to help people to mobilize the strengths of their relationships so as to make disturbing symptoms less problematic. Aim: The objective of this retrospective study is to highlight the role of nurses in the safe and successful application of systemic therapy and in the formation of the therapeutic relationship. Material and methods: The sample consisted of recent articles (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) on the topic, found mainly in the electronic database Medline, the Greek Academic Libraries Link (HEAL-Link) and through search engine "Google scholar". Results: The use of systemic thinking presupposes acknowledgement of the fact that living creatures directly depend on their external environment. A nurse also plays a part in the creation of the reality seen. A nurse does not discover the truth, but the things he/she sees constitute products of his/her own observations about family. Conclusions: Systemic therapy is a form of psychotherapy. It addresses behavior and psychological symptoms within the context of people's day to day lives and interpersonal relations and interactions. The key guiding principle in systemic therapy is the focus on the system rather than the individual.