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Mental Health Nurses' Experience of Trauma: A Qualitative Descriptive Study
Kim Foster1, Michael Roche2,3, Jane Shakespeare-Finch4
1School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
|November 15, 2025
Summary
Mental health nurses experience significant personal and workplace trauma, risking psychological distress and re-traumatisation. Organizations must implement trauma-informed care and support staff well-being.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Trauma Studies
Background:
- Mental health nurses face personal and professional trauma.
- Previous research has not qualitatively explored these experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe mental health nurses' experiences with potentially traumatic events.
- To explore personal and professional trauma exposure in this cohort.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative descriptive study.
- Survey data collected from mental health nurses.
- Content analysis using Foli's trauma framework.
Main Results:
- 82 nurses reported traumatic events.
- Personal traumas included family deaths, suicides, domestic violence, and adverse childhood experiences.
- Workplace traumas involved violence, patient/colleague deaths, second-victim syndrome, and resource scarcity.
Conclusions:
- Nurses' trauma exposure increases risk of poor psychological health and re-traumatisation.
- Findings are specific to the studied group and setting.
- Organizational duty of care necessitates trauma-informed, staff-centered approaches and resource improvement.
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