Being met - A passageway to hope for relatives of patients at risk of committing suicide: A phenomenological hermeneutic study

Fifteen Norwegian relatives narrated their experiences of "being met" by me ntal health care personnel regarding the care of their adult family member who had seriously thought about or attempted suicide. The narrative intervi ews were audiotaped, transcribed into text, and then interpreted using a ph enomenological hermeneutic method. The results of the interpretation reveal ed that the context of being met was characterized by "being helpless and p owerless." The six themes that were constructed describing being met were: Being-seen as a human being; participating in an I-Thou relationship; trust ing personnel, treatment, and care; feeling trusted by personnel; being con soled; and entering into hope. The experience of being met in the midst of the care of a relative in crisis created possibilities for hope. Being met, in this context, is a passageway to hope. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saund ers Company.