Therapeutic Relationships and Boundary Maintenance: The Perspective of Forensic Patients Enrolled in a Treatment Program for Violent Offenders

Abstract

To extend current knowledge about therapeutic relationships and boundary maintenance with the incarcerated forensic patient, the focus of this naturalistic inquiry was the exploration of the perspectives of forensic patients enrolled in a treatment program for violent offenders. Twelve male participants were interviewed three times. Eight of the twelve participants were interviewed a fourth time for the purpose of soliciting their feedback regarding the researcher's analysis of the data. Analysis of the data collected revealed a core process--the development of "therapeutic" relationships--indicating that the development of relationships was a complex process. Consistent with the participants' tendency to use terms analogous to a house to describe their experiences, the analogy of a house was used to describe the five interrelated themes that emerged from the data. If the interpersonal relationship is the heart of nursing then forensic mental health nurses need to understand the complexity of therapeutic relationships from the perspective of their patients.