Short-Term Nursing Therapy: A Conceptual Model for Inpatient Psychiatric Care

As a result of changing perspectives in psychiatric practice and increasing fiscal limits imposed by legislative and economic issues, psychiatric nurses have found their traditional models of practice challenged by shortened lengths of stay and the need for more efficient assessment and treatment. Short-term nursing therapy, which draws on the principles of crisis intervention and brief psychotherapy, was developed to provide psychiatric nurses with a cohesive, comprehensive nursing philosophy for practical application in changing inpatient settings. The authors review the development of the short-term nursing therapy concept from the perspective of the changing inpatient milieu and nurse-patient relationship. They then discuss the assumptions that constitute its framework, as well as other key factors in its implementation.