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CHAPTER 7 Jean Watson 85

behaviors, cognition, body language, feelings, in- growth and compassion called forth within this
tuition, thoughts, senses, the energy field, and so theory/philosophy (Watson, 2006b).
forth, all contribute to the transpersonal caring
connection. Theoretical Assertions
• The nurse’s ability to connect with another at this
transpersonal spirit-to-spirit level is translated via Nursing
movements, gestures, facial expressions, procedures, According to Watson (1988), the word nurse is both
information, touch, sound, verbal expressions, and noun and verb. To her, nursing consists of “knowl-
other scientific, technical, aesthetic, and human edge, thought, values, philosophy, commitment, and
means of communication, into nursing human art/ action, with some degree of passion” (p. 53). Nurses
acts or intentional caring-healing modalities. are interested in understanding health, illness, and
• The caring-healing modalities within the context the human experience; promoting and restoring
of transpersonal caring/caritas consciousness po- health; and preventing illness. Watson’s theory calls
tentiate harmony, wholeness, and unity of being by upon nurses to go beyond procedures, tasks, and
releasing some of the disharmony, that is, the techniques used in practice settings, coined as the
blocked energy that interferes with natural healing trim of nursing, in contrast to the core of nursing,
processes; thus the nurse helps another through meaning those aspects of the nurse-patient relation-
this process to access the healer within, in the full- ship resulting in a therapeutic outcome that are in-
est sense of Nightingale’s view of nursing. cluded in the transpersonal caring process (Watson,
• Ongoing personal and professional development 2005; 2012). Using the original and evolving 10 cara-
and spiritual growth, as well as personal spiritual tive factors, the nurse provides care to various pa-
practice, assist the nurse in entering into this deeper tients. Each carative factor and the clinical caritas
level of professional healing practice, allowing for processes describe the caring process of how a patient
awakening to a transpersonal condition of the attains or maintains health or dies a peaceful death.
world and fuller actualization of the “ontological Conversely, Watson has described curing as a medical
competencies” necessary at this level of advanced term that refers to the elimination of disease (Watson,
practice of nursing. 1979). As Watson’s work evolved, she increased her
• The nurse’s own life history, previous experiences, focus on the human care process and the transper-
opportunities for focused study, having lived sonal aspects of caring-healing in a Transpersonal
through or experienced various human conditions, Caring Relationship (1999, 2005).
and having imagined others’ feelings in various Watson’s evolving work continues to make explicit
circumstances are valuable teachers for this work; that humans cannot be treated as objects and that
to some degree, the nurse can gain the knowledge humans cannot be separated from self, other, nature,
and consciousness needed through work with other and the larger universe. The caring-healing paradigm
cultures and study of the humanities (e.g., art; is located within a cosmology that is both metaphysi-
drama; literature; personal story; or narratives of cal and transcendent with the co-evolving human in
illness or journeys), along with exploration of one’s the universe. She asks others to be open to possibility
own values, deep beliefs, and relationship with self, and to put away assumptions of self and others, to
others, and one’s world. learn again, and to “see” using all of one’s senses.
• Other facilitators are personal growth experiences
such as psychotherapy, transpersonal psychology, Personhood (Human Being)
meditation, bioenergetics work, and other models Watson uses interchangeably the terms human being,
for spiritual awakening. person, life, personhood, and self. She views the person
• Continuous growth for developing and maturing as “a unity of mind/body/spirit/nature” (1996, p. 147),
within a transpersonal caring model is ongoing. and she says that “personhood is tied to notions that
The notion of health professionals as wounded one’s soul possess a body that is not confined by
healers is acknowledged as part of the necessary objective time and space . . .” (Watson, 1988, p. 45).