Understanding Family Resistance Toward Long-Term Psychiatric Treatment from the Perspective of Mental Health Nurses

Family involvement plays an important role in the success of long-term psychiatric treatment, but family resistance is still a significant challenge in mental health nursing practice and has not been widely studied from a nurse's perspective. This study aims to understand family resistance to long-term psychiatric treatment based on the perspective of mental health nurses. Qualitative research with a phenomenological design was conducted through in-depth semi-structured interviews with mental health nurses. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Family resistance is influenced by the stigma of mental disorders, low mental health literacy, treatment exhaustion, economic limitations, and distrust of psychiatric services. Resistance often arises indirectly through inconsistent support and delays in treatment decisions. Family resistance is a multidimensional phenomenon that requires a family-based nursing approach, strengthening psychoeducation, and service system support to improve the sustainability of psychiatric care