Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to a debate around the state of mental health nursing in the early 21st century. The author uses his nursing background in mental health in Australia as well as his training in philosophy to attempt to say something about what he terms the mental health imaginary. The research in situ commences with an outline of the philosophical traditions that are called upon, in particular Husserlian phenomenology, before launching into an experiential exegesis. Tracing his memory of a work history in mental and general health the author seeks to uncover constitutive elements of nursing in mental health. Outlining the evolution of nursing in mental health in Australia, as he recalls it, he touches on developments in education, professional amalgamations and the introduction of crisis teams. The question of risk and uncertainty is opened up to reveal that the assimilation of these elements into practice is what distinguishes nursing in mental health from nursing in other areas. The questions of subjectivity and objectivity are addressed throughout in relation to how they might operate within the imaginary.
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