The intersection between being a nurse and being a therapist in Mental Health.

OBJECTIVE

to discuss the intersection between being a nurse/being a therapist in the mental health field.

METHOD

exploratory, qualitative study based on a self-report interview conducted with ten nurses from a psychiatric hospital in Rio de Janeiro between June and July 2017. Data were analyzed in the light of Travelbee's theory.

RESULTS

Nurses consider themselves therapists because of actions performed in mental health care practice, despite the theoretical fragmentation of interpersonal relationships identified in the distance from the promotion of self-knowledge, which is an essential element in the psychotherapeutic process.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

the strong relationship between being and doing in nursing stands out and favors the development of satisfactory therapeutic relationships with the hospitalized person.