What this paper adds
• It argues that when nurses themselves are ‘therapeutic
instruments’, tensions are created because of contradictory
demands deriving from role conflicts.
• It asserts that the ideal of psychiatric nursing being a
balancing act between intimacy and distance, between
human and professional ways of acting, appears to be
too harmonious and too narrow.
• It argues that a nurse’s own vulnerability can be a
constructive element in patient care and that there is
potential for professional development if nurses are able
to recognize their own vulnerability.