The revolving door phenomenon in psychiatric care: a qualitative exploration of nurses’ perceptions and experiences

Purpose This study aims to explore the experiences and perceptions of nurses regarding the revolving door phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a qualitative descriptive method, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health nurses. Participants worked in acute departments of psychiatric hospitals. Data analysis was conducted using the thematic analysis method, following Braun and Clarke’s model, to highlight themes and categories that reflect nurses’ experiences. Findings The analysis revealed the four main themes related to Emotional Impact, nurses experience emotional fatigue and frustration due to frequent readmissions, feeling that their efforts do not have long-term results. At the same time, they report moments of satisfaction when patients show improvement or express gratitude. Challenges to care include a lack of adequate staff and infrastructure and the absence of community support structures. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its qualitative design and relatively small sample of nurses working in acute psychiatric hospitals in Greece, which may restrict the transferability of the findings to other settings. The perspectives of patients, caregivers, psychiatrists and community mental health professionals were not explored. Future research should adopt multi-stakeholder and mixed-methods approaches to examine the effectiveness of continuity-of-care interventions, community mental health services (CMHS) and post-discharge support in reducing psychiatric readmissions and improving long-term recovery. Practical implications The findings highlight the need for person-centred discharge planning, improved medication adherence strategies and stronger collaboration between inpatient and CMHS. Investing in community-based follow-up, home treatment programmes and multidisciplinary continuity of care may reduce repeated psychiatric readmissions. Furthermore, healthcare organizations should strengthen staffing levels, provide training in therapeutic communication and relapse prevention and implement psychological support and resilience programmes for mental health nurses to improve both staff wellbeing and quality of care. Social implications Reducing the revolving door phenomenon has important social benefits by promoting recovery, social inclusion and sustained community living for people with severe mental illness. Strengthening CMHS and reducing stigma may improve treatment adherence, lessen caregiver burden and decrease dependence on repeated hospitalization. Supporting nurses through better working conditions and organizational resources also contributes to safer, more compassionate mental healthcare, ultimately benefiting patients, families, healthcare systems and society. Originality/value This study provides one of the few qualitative explorations of the revolving door phenomenon from the perspective of mental health nurses. Rather than focusing solely on predictors of psychiatric readmission, it examines the emotional, professional and organizational consequences experienced by frontline nurses. The findings offer a comprehensive understanding of how repeated readmissions affect nursing practice while identifying practical strategies to strengthen therapeutic relationships, continuity of care and CMHS. These insights contribute to the growing evidence base informing person-centred and recovery-oriented psychiatric care.