Personal reflections of mental health nurses training to use Hobson's Conversational Model (psychodynamic-interpersonal) of psychotherapy

Current mental health policy documents highlight the need for mental health nurses to become increasingly involved in the delivery of evidence-based psychological interventions. However, substantial evidence exists indicating that there is a paucity of training to adequately equip nurses to deliver these interventions and, even when training is available, there are barriers to their implementation into routine clinical practice. This paper reports on the personal reflections and experiences of a group of four mental health nurses undertaking training in the Conversational Model of psychotherapy (also known as psychodynamic-interpersonal 'PI' psychotherapy). These reflections highlight the rewards and challenges arising from the effort to undertake training in an evidence-based model of psychological intervention and from attempting to implement and sustain this training into routine practice.