Reconstructing a Sense of Self in Patients With Chronic Mental Illness

TOPIC: The loss and reconstruction of self in patients with a chronic mental illness. PURPOSE: To describe the loss of self and its reconstruction. SOURCES: The authors' own clinical work and review of the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses can help patients who have undergone a loss of self to discover a more active sense of self, take stock of the self, put the self into action, and use the enhanced self as a refuge. This process involves the fostering of hope.