Assessment of knowledge and attitudes regarding psychotherapy among nurses in selected mental hospital of Bangladesh

Psychotherapy is an important mental health intervention for managing psychiatric disorders and everyday life problem. The aim of the study is to explore nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding psychotherapy in the management of psychiatric patients. A Descriptive correlation study was conducted among 100 nurses selected by using convenient sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data. Finding shows that the relationship between knowledge and attitudes among nurses regarding psychotherapy is very highly significant (r =.63, p =.000). The mean age of the respondents was 41.45 years. The result shows that nurses who were BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and above degree have higher knowledge (t =-5.50, p<.001) and positive attitudes (t =-3.21, p<.002) compared with those who had Diploma. This study indicates that nurses who had diploma and more aged have less knowledge. Therefore, nurses with diploma with or without experience still need psychotherapeutic educational curriculum in diploma level and training on psychotherapy for nurses who are working in mental health setting. It is expected that the finding of this study will help to delineate psychotherapeutic nursing knowledge and its effectiveness for nursing department.