Some Implications of Training Psychiatric Nurses in Family Therapy

Psychiatric nurses were included in family therapy training, but few of them applied their new skills in their work settings. A seeming paradox was the lack of support given these trainees by the nursing administration. The situation became understandable when analyzed as a “family” problem; the nurses being members of the larger social system comprising the psychiatry department. Strategies were accordingly adopted to modify aspects of the system, and this facilitated more positive contributions by nurses as family therapists.