“I Can Just Be Me”

Abstract

Nurses have a key role to play in therapeutic interventions for bereaved and grieving families. In this article, hermeneutic inquiry is used to uncover what families found helpful or useful with respect to therapeutic conversations with advanced practice registered nurses. The findings show that nursing expertise is important in family nursing practice. Expertise in the relationship allowed the family to find healing and hope by addressing core constraining beliefs. Clinical judgment, or sense, was significant in guiding the therapeutic conversation. Lastly, how problems are framed and how families are positioned have implications for outcomes and therapeutic change.