BENEFITS OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY (YOGA) IN MENTAL HEALTH NURSING

Benefits of Complementary Therapy (Yoga) in Mental Health Nursing

Benefit of Complementary Therapy (Yoga) in Mental Health Nursing

Introduction

According to Johns (1995), reflection allows the practitioner to assess, discern and learn by means of their experiences. Reflection is a personal process that generally renders new learning opportunities for the individual or brings about some change for the individuals within their circumstances. Reflection begins with the own experiences of individuals or group and, if applied to practice, can lead to enhancement of the clinical skills executed by the individual via new knowledge acquired by reflection. It is noted by Clamp (1980) that attitudes of nurses strongly influences how care is administered to the patients and inappropriate attitudes and ignorance are the most usual reasons of poor care. If related into practice, the reflection process can help individual in attaining the requisite knowledge, bringing about a potential improvement in the quality of the care provided by that individual. As identified by Mezirow (1981), learning is the outcome of reflection.

Critical thinking and reflection is one of the key components of transition to role. Transition is a 'period of learning, adjustment and socialisation, when the nurse applies, consolidates and increases their existing knowledge, gaining competence (knowledge, skills and attitude) that is applicable to the nursing practice of the clinical setting or patient population in which they are expected to perform'(Patterson, 2005). According to Brown, (1999), when any nurse begins in a new clinical area, then a transition period takes place. Being a nursing student, I understand the importance of transition activities in nursing, as it opens new avenues of learning and gaining knowledge. I have always been interested in complementary therapies, therefore, as a part of my transition activity, I undertook yoga and Indian head massage sessions. As a mental health nursing student, these sessions were very beneficial for me as I came to know how yoga/head massage may affect a person's recovery, or in other words, how yoga/Indian head massage can be used as a recovery tool in mental health. These sessions provide me a valuable insight into the experience of healthcare staff and patients during and after yoga and head massage session in a mental health ward. These sessions provoke me to gain more understanding regarding complementary therapies, particularly yoga, and their role in improvement of mental health. I went through a couple of journal articles, periodicals, and books so as to critically evaluate the use and benefit of complimentary therapy in mental health nursing with focus on using Yoga/Indian head massage as a recovery tool in mental health. An increasing body of research evidence also implies that physical and mental health may be improved by certain yoga techniques through down-regulation of the SNS and HPA axis. This paper serves as a reflective log or diary of my experiences; I will discuss the benefit of complementary therapy, with a key focus on yoga, in mental health nursing.

Discussion

People with mental and physical health disorders are progressively falling ...