| Sumario: | Aim: This qualitative study explores how digitalisation primarily through electronic health records and digital documentation systems is experienced by psychiatric nurses and patients within a state hospital in eastern Turkey, with particular attention to its perceived influence on professional identity, the therapeutic relationship, and ethical responsibilities. References to artificial intelligence in this paper reflect participants' anticipatory perceptions rather than documented routine AI use in this setting. Methods: Using a qualitative, phenomenologically informed approach, data were collected from 16 psychiatric nurses and 14 patients in a Turkish state hospital through semi‐structured interviews and analysed using Colaizzi's seven‐step descriptive phenomenological method. Findings: The findings suggest separate themes for nurses and patients, followed by three integrated themes reflecting their shared experiences: 'Identity Under the Pressure of Digitalisation: The Silent Rewriting of the Professional Role,' 'The Fragility of the Therapeutic Relationship in Screen‐Mediated Care,' and 'The Digital Trust Paradox: Between Privacy, Surveillance, and Responsibility.' Participants described that digitalisation was associated with increased efficiency and professional visibility, while also being experienced as contributing to more structured and technically oriented care practices, perceived reductions in empathic engagement, and concerns related to trust and privacy. Conclusion: Overall, the findings suggest that digitalisation in psychiatric nursing is experienced as extending beyond technical efficiency to include changes in how professional identity and therapeutic relationships are perceived. Participants described that digital practices may be experienced as introducing more technical and screen‐mediated elements into care, which may be perceived as limiting empathic engagement and aspects of the therapeutic relationship. In addition, participants reported concerns related to digital trust, including issues of privacy, surveillance, and responsibility. Specifically, participants described a perceived shift from relational to technical care, a 'digital trust paradox' in which surveillance and accountability coexist with distrust, and a concern that screen‐mediated work distances nurses from the humanistic core of their role. These findings highlight the importance of developing context‐sensitive and ethically informed approaches to the use of digital systems, rather than assuming widespread or routine use of artificial intelligence in clinical practice. Accessible Summary: What is known on the subject?: Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are increasingly integrated into mental health care, influencing clinical workflows, documentation, and modes of patient–nurse interaction.Previous research has shown that digital technologies may enhance efficiency and accessibility in psychiatric services, while also raising concerns regarding depersonalisation, reduced empathic engagement, and ethical challengesProfessional identity and the therapeutic relationship are central to psychiatric nursing practice and are particularly sensitive to technological and organisational changes. What the paper adds to existing knowledge?: This study advances understanding of digitalisation in psychiatric nursing by foregrounding the shared experiences of both nurses and individuals with mental health conditions, rather than privileging a single professional perspective.Through a phenomenologically informed lens, the findings illustrate how digitalisation is experienced as influencing professional identity, therapeutic relationships, and perceptions of trust and responsibility within psychiatric care contexts.The study proposes the concept of a 'digital trust paradox' as an interpretive framework based on participants' accounts, capturing tensions between efficiency, surveillance, and ethical responsibility. What are the implications for practice?: Participants' accounts suggest that digitalisation may be experienced as extending beyond technical or organisational processes to include changes in relational and ethical dimensions of care.Understanding patients' and nurses' shared experiences may support the development of more relationally sensitive and ethically grounded digital mental health practices.The findings point to the importance of digital health strategies that support therapeutic presence, trust, and professional integrity alongside technological development. Relevance to Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: This study contributes to psychiatric mental health nursing by illuminating how digitalisation, and to a lesser extent artificial intelligence, are experienced relationally by both nurses and individuals receiving mental health care. The findings suggest that digital technologies are experienced as influencing not only clinical efficiency but also how professional identity and therapeutic relationships are understood. By foregrounding shared experiences, the study supports nursing practices that prioritize empathy, trust, and ethical responsibility within increasingly digital care environments. Originality: This study offers an original contribution by exploring digitalisation in psychiatric nursing as a lived and relational process through a phenomenologically informed analysis of both nurse and patient experiences. Moving beyond system‐centred accounts of technological change, it provides an interpretive understanding of how digitalisation is experienced within therapeutic relationships. By conceptualizing digitalisation as an experiential and relational phenomenon, the study contributes to ongoing theoretical discussions in psychiatric nursing. Rigour: A qualitative phenomenologically informed design was employed in accordance with established standards for qualitative inquiry. Data were generated through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews with psychiatric nurses and patients within the same clinical context, enabling comparative analysis of shared experiences. Colaizzi's analytic method supported systematic theme development, credibility, and transparency through iterative analysis and reflexive engagement with the data. Significance: The findings suggest that digitalisation in psychiatric nursing is associated with perceived identity‐related, relational, and ethical implications that extend beyond technical functionality. While digital tools may enhance efficiency and professional visibility, participants described that they may also be experienced as increasing the technical orientation of care and influencing therapeutic relationships. These insights highlight the importance of integrating digital innovation with relational ethics, professional identity, and human‐centred psychiatric care.
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