Objective To explore the effect of group psychotherapy on mental health of psychiatric nurses after violence.Methods Group psychosocial interventions were conducted on psychiatric nurses who were exposed to violence.The measures included observation and understanding,learning and self-understanding,self-acceptance,self-adjustment and behavioral improvement for 8 weeks,once a week,60-120 min each time.Before and after intervention,the mental health status of psychiatric nurses was evaluated by self-reporting inventory (SCL-90).Results The scores by SCL-90 in the psychiatric nurses before and after intervention were higher than those in the national norm with statistically significant difference (P ＜0.05).The scores by SCL-90 as well as all of dimensions after the intervention were all significantly higher than those before intervention (P＜0.05).Conclusion Group counseling intervention has a positive effect on improvement of mental health of psychiatric nurses after violent incidents.