ArticleInternational journal of mental health nursing2026
The Therapeutic Use of Self by Mental Health Nurses: An Evolving Practice.
Article in International journal of mental health nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The therapeutic use of self, first articulated by Peplau in the 1950s, remains fundamental to mental health nursing practice, yet continues to be interpreted in diverse ways. This paper reports findings of a qualitative descriptive study, situated within a constructivist paradigm, exploring how experienced Australian mental health nurses understand and apply the therapeutic use of self in contemporary recovery-oriented contexts. Eleven mental health nurses participated in semi-structured interviews, with data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes were developed: 'Diverse conceptualisations of the therapeutic use of self'; 'The prominence of self-disclosure'; and 'The nurse as a therapeutic instrument'. Participants described the therapeutic use of self as an intentional and reflective use of the professional self to foster connection, presence and trust. While the value of self-awareness and relational authenticity was acknowledged, self-disclosure emerged as a significant, ethically bounded strategy within a broader reflective orientation. By recognising the diverse conceptualisations of the therapeutic use of self, this study offers a more integrative formulation of the practice as relational, contextual and also experiential, with the prominence of self-disclosure reflecting evolving socio-cultural and recovery-oriented frameworks. Such recognition strengthens shared professional language, education and critical reflection in mental health nursing practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.