John Heron's six-category intervention analysis: towards understanding interpersonal relations and progressing the delivery of clinical supervision for mental health nursing in the United Kingdom

Aims. This paper provides a critique of how Heron's six-category interventi on analysis framework has been adopted by nursing in the United Kingdom (UK ) as a theoretical framework in nursing research and model for clinical sup ervision. From this, its merits as an analytic framework and model for clin ical supervision in nursing are discussed. Background. Heron's six-category intervention analysis has been acknowledge d as a means by which nursing could develop its therapeutic integrity. It h as also been used as a theoretical framework in nursing research focusing o n nurses' perceptions of their interpersonal style. More recently descripti ons of this framework have been proposed as a structure for clinical superv ision. However, its use as a theoretical framework to underpin research inv estigating the interpersonal skills of nurses and as a model of clinical su pervision must firstly be scrutinized. Findings. Returning to Heron's original description and comparing this with its current adoption in the UK, misconceptions of this framework can be id entified. Its value as an analytic tool investigating interpersonal relatio ns in nursing has still to be evaluated. Furthermore, nursing's emphasis on certain intervention categories has undermined the potential potency of th is framework and its contribution as a model for clinical supervision in nu rsing. Conclusion. We argue that Heron's six-category intervention analysis as a f ramework to investigate the interpersonal competence of nurses, particularl y mental health nurses, requires investigation. This, in turn, would provid e an opportunity to challenge the framework's theoretical standpoint. In ad dition to its value as an analytic tool, all six categories of Heron's fram ework have equal relevance to its contribution in nursing as a supervision model.