"It could have just as easily been me": nurses working in mental health services who have experienced mental illness

Abstract

This research explores the issues and experiences of mental health nurses who experience or have experienced mental illness. This project was prompted by my concern for colleagues and friends in this situation. I have approached the research topic using a mix of critical ethnography and action research principles. Five mental health nurses who all work for the same District Health Board were interviewed about their experiences of being mental health professionals with mental illness and the issues that arose from this. The themes that emerged from this research are: the reactions of nurse colleagues, the effects on participants own mental health treatment, employer responses, professional experiences and issues and strategies for coping. Discussion and recommendations focus on the need for improvements to the responses that mental health nurses with experience of mental illness encounter in their workplace. Recommendations from this research encompass suggestions for both individual and organisational education, action and change.