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The Therapeutic Approach to a Patient's Criminal Offense in a Forensic Mental Health Nurse-Patient Relationship-The
Riitta Askola1,2, Merja Nikkonen3, Hanna Putkonen4
1Riitta Askola, RN, MNSc, is a Nurse Manager, Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, The HUCH Psychiatry Center, Finland.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to describe the therapeutic approach to a patient's criminal offense in a forensic mental health nurse-patient relationship from the nurse's perspective.
Design And Methods:
Eight nurses in a Finnish forensic psychiatric hospital were interviewed, and the resultant research material was analyzed by inductive content analysis.
Findings:
The results revealed the process of the therapeutic approach to a patient's offense, which comprises numerous steps and various phases.
Practice Implications:
For the nurse, the process of working through the offense can be divided into stages in which an attempt is made to respond to the patient's behavior and interaction in a manner that leads to working through the criminal act.
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