The future in the past: Hildegard Peplau and interpersonal relations in nursing

Abstract

The future in the past: Hildegard Peplau and interpersonal relations in nursing Researchers, educators and clinicians have long recognized the profound influence of the mid-twentieth century focus on interpersonal relations and relationships on nursing. Today, in nursing, as well as in medicine and other social sciences, neuroanatomy, neurobiology and neurophysiology have replaced interpersonal dynamics as keys to understanding human behavior. Yet concerns are being raised that the teaching, research and practice of the critical importance of healing relationships have been overridden by a biological focus on the experiences of health and illness. As a way to move forward, we return to Hildegard Peplau's seminal ideas about the transformative power of relationships in nursing. We propose that Peplau's formulations and, in particular, her seminal Interpersonal Relations in Nursing can provide direction. We do not propose that her formulations or her book be simply transposed from the 1950s to today's classroom and clinic. But we do believe that her ideas and writings are dynamic documents containing concepts and derived operations that can be brought to life in clinical practice. Finally, we explore Peplau's transformative idea that nursing is, at its core, an interpersonal process both to acknowledge an idea that has shaped our past and can guide us into our future.

Person‐centred care: clarifying the concept in the context of inpatient psychiatry

“…The centrality of interpersonal relations in the provision of care may seem self-evident within the discipline of nursing, but this is not necessarily the case. D'Antonio et al (43) argues that as emphasis has shifted towards a biologically oriented understanding of human behaviour, the thoughts and writings of Peplau on the transformative power of interpersonal relations (cf. 44) have gained renewed relevance and importance, providing concepts of relevance for the development of nursing practice.…”

Autonomy and Severe Mental Illness: The Relationship between Social Network and Functioning

“…Our aim with developing a theoretical framework about autonomy as a capacity is in line with the idea that nursing practice should be seen as a relational and intersubjective process, focusing on the relation between nurse and patient [24,25]. From this perspective, the present study can be seen as a contribution to the development of everyday nursing practice concerning the approach to patient autonomy.…”

Relationship-based nursing care and destructive demands

“…55 However, it is also claimed that the patient cannot see the nurse as a whole human being, 8 meaning that 'the patient can only and should only see the nurse through the manner in which she relates to him as a professional' (p. 315). 56 This article points out that such an understanding of relationship-based nursing care is slightly problematic because it potentially undermines a fundamental fact: a nurse is a human being under relationality and a view of reciprocity, just as much as the patient. This implies understanding nurses' life conditions as dependent on patients and their destiny and taking this into account as it manifests itself in everyday nursing care.…”