POSITIVE EXPERIENCE AND CHALLENGES IN LEARNING AND DELIVERING COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY AMONG PSYCHIATRIC NURSES OF HONG KONG

Abstract

Most psychiatric nurses do not implement cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) after training. We examined the experience of psychiatric nurses from Hong Kong (HK) in learning and implementing CBT in clinical practice and elucidated the reasons for discontinuing and continuing CBT using a qualitative interview and evaluation survey. We interviewed 13 Chinese psychiatric nurses trained in CBT and reviewed 35 evaluation forms from nurses not implementing CBT. The survey response rate was 100%. Among eligible participants, >70% were recruited from different psychiatric settings to minimize the bias. The overarching theme was the “challenges of psychiatric nurses in CBT learning and implementation and reasons to continue learning CBT without a clear role in CBT delivery.” The main themes were challenges in learning and implementing CBT and positive CBT experience. The psychiatric nurses’ role in HK needs a clear definition for delivering CBT.