The Therapeutic Approach to a Patient's Criminal Offense in a Forensic Mental Health Nurse-Patient Relationship-The Nurses' Perspectives.

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.