Nursing and self-care in the world of psychiatric care

Abstract

Objective: Understanding self-care among nursing professionals in mental health. Method: qualitative study conducted in a psychiatric unit of a teaching hospital in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception was used as a philosophical theoretical framework and Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a methodological framework. The research was conducted with 10 nursing professionals in mental health, out of a total population of 15 professionals, by means of open interview, within the period from September to December 2010. Results: through the metaphor of discourses, the theme emerged: the world of psychiatry. Conclusion: care in the world of psychiatry is unveiled as a stage of intense interpersonal exchanges, matches and mismatches with the other involved in care. This space of objective and subjective relationships and events interferes with care for the other and each nursing professional's self-care.