Wounded Healer in Action: A Case Study of a Nurse’s Role in Peer Support for Mental Health Recovery in China

This case study explores the multifaceted roles of a nurse with lived experience of mental illness in facilitating peer support for mental health recovery in China. Drawing on qualitative interviews with the nurse, four service users, and four family caregivers, as well as non-participant observations, the study highlights how the nurse enacted four interrelated roles: wounded healer, educator, coordinator, and advocate. Through shared narratives and empathetic engagement, the nurse fostered emotional resonance and challenged internalized stigma among participants. Her integration of family caregivers and mobilization of external resources further strengthened the recovery environment. The study applies the "wounded healer" framework to examine three stages of role transformation-trauma recognition, pain transformation, and transcendence-within a culturally collectivist setting. Findings suggest that even a single nurse with lived experience can play a transformative role in recovery-oriented care, promoting both individual healing and broader social inclusion. By highlighting the therapeutic potential of integrating experiential knowledge into nursing practice, this study offers practical insights for expanding peer support models in under-resourced mental health systems. It also provides culturally relevant implications for the training and inclusion of nurses with lived experience in recovery-oriented mental health care in China and beyond.