Learning to practise the Guided Self-Determination approach in type 2 diabetes in primary care. A qualitative pilot study

Aim: To describe how diabetes nurses in primary care experience the process of learning to practise the person-centred counselling approach Guided Self-Determination among adults with type 2 diabetes. Design: A descriptive qualitative design. Method: Data were collected in 2014–2015 by means of individual interviews with four diabetes nurses at two points in time. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three themes that reflect nurses’ processes in learning to use the Guided Self-Determination approach were identified: (1) from an unfamiliar interaction to “cracking the code”; (2) from an unspecific approach to a structured, reflective, but demanding approach; and (3) from a nurse-centred to a patient-centred approach. The overall findings indicate that the process of learning to practise Guided Self-Determination increased the nurses’ counselling competence. Moreover, the nurses perceived the approach to be generally helpful, as it stimulated reflections about diabetes management and about their own counselling practices